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Retirement Plans and Other Postretirement Benefits
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
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 other postretirement benefit plans for the employees of Pinnacle West and our subsidiaries.  The other postretirement benefit plans include a group life and medical plan and a post-65 retiree health reimbursement arrangement (“HRA”). Pinnacle West uses a December 31 measurement date each year for its pension and other postretirement benefit plans.  The market-related value of our plan assets is their fair value at the measurement date.
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 BenefitsOther Benefits
 Three Months Ended
September 30,		Nine Months Ended
September 30,		Three Months Ended
September 30,		Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 20222021202220212022202120222021
Service cost — benefits earned during the period$13,868 $15,309 $41,605 $45,927 $4,117 $4,449 $12,352 $13,347 
Non-service costs (credits):
Interest cost on benefit obligation26,873 24,641 80,619 73,924 4,372 4,128 13,118 12,385 
Expected return on plan assets(46,443)(50,657)(139,331)(151,971)(11,510)(10,361)(34,531)(31,083)
  Amortization of:       
  Prior service credit— — — — (9,447)(9,425)(28,341)(28,279)
  Net actuarial loss (gain)4,379 3,987 13,136 11,961 (3,209)(2,523)(9,627)(7,569)
Net periodic benefit$(1,323)$(6,720)$(3,971)$(20,159)$(15,677)$(13,732)$(47,029)$(41,199)
Portion of benefit charged to expense$(4,246)$(7,803)$(12,258)$(24,428)$(11,318)$(9,765)$(33,736)$(28,901)
 
Contributions
 
We have not made any voluntary contributions to our pension plan year-to-date in 2022. The minimum required contributions for the pension plan are zero and we do not expect to make any contributions in 2022, 2023 or 2024. With regard to contributions to our other postretirement benefit plan, we have not made a contribution year-to-date in 2022 and do not expect to make any contributions in 2022, 2023 or 2024. In 2022 and 2021, the Company has been reimbursed $26 million and $24 million, respectively, for prior years retiree medical claims from the other postretirement benefit plan trust assets.