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Retirement Plans and Other Postretirement Benefits
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Retirement Plans and Other Postretirement Benefits
Retirement Plans and Other Postretirement Benefits
 
Pinnacle West sponsors a qualified defined benefit and account balance pension plan, a non-qualified supplemental excess benefit retirement plan, and an other postretirement benefit plan for the employees of Pinnacle West and our subsidiaries.  Pinnacle West uses a December 31 measurement date for its pension and other postretirement benefit plans.  The market-related value of our plan assets is their fair value at the measurement dates.

The following table provides details of the plans’ net periodic benefit costs and the portion of these costs charged to expense (including administrative costs and excluding amounts capitalized as overhead construction or billed to electric plant participants) (dollars in thousands):

 
Pension Benefits
 
Other Benefits
 
Three Months Ended
June 30,
 
Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
Three Months Ended
June 30,
 
Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
2019
 
2018
 
2019
 
2018
 
2019
 
2018
 
2019
 
2018
Service cost — benefits earned during the period
$
12,408

 
$
14,121

 
$
24,951

 
$
28,334

 
$
4,470

 
$
5,445

 
$
9,184

 
$
10,550

Non-service costs (credits):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interest cost on benefit obligation
34,069

 
31,338

 
68,421

 
62,345

 
7,421

 
6,973

 
14,947

 
14,074

Expected return on plan assets
(43,049
)
 
(45,759
)
 
(85,942
)
 
(91,426
)
 
(9,603
)
 
(10,520
)
 
(19,206
)
 
(21,041
)
  Amortization of:
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

  Prior service credit
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
(9,455
)
 
(9,461
)
 
(18,910
)
 
(18,921
)
  Net actuarial loss
10,053

 
8,259

 
21,292

 
16,041

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

Net periodic benefit
cost (credit)
$
13,481

 
$
7,959

 
$
28,722

 
$
15,294

 
$
(7,167
)
 
$
(7,563
)
 
$
(13,985
)
 
$
(15,338
)
Portion of cost (credit) charged to expense
$
7,000

 
$
2,769

 
$
15,244

 
$
5,011

 
$
(5,063
)
 
$
(5,119
)
 
$
(9,880
)
 
$
(10,724
)

 
Contributions
 
We have made voluntary contributions of $120 million to our pension plan year-to-date in 2019. The minimum required contributions for the pension plan are zero for the next three years. We expect to make voluntary contributions up to a total of $350 million during the 2019-2021 period. We do not expect to make any contributions over the next three years to our other postretirement benefit plans.