Benefit Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Net periodic cost for the defined benefit plans and other postretirement benefits was calculated using the following weighted-average assumptions:



	Pension Benefits			Other Benefits
	2019	2018	2017	2019	2018	2017
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Discount rate	3.04% - 4.16%	3.52	4.04	2.52% - 4.09%	3.45	3.93
Expected return on plan assets	7.00%, 7.25%	7.00	7.00	4.00%, 7.00%	7.00	7.00
Rate of compensation increase	4.00	4.00	4.00	N/A	N/A	N/A

Benefit obligations for the defined benefit plans and other postretirement benefits were calculated using the following weighted-average assumptions as of December 31:



	Pension Benefits		Other Benefits
	2019	2018	2019	2018
	%	%	%	%
Discount rate	3.05% - 3.23%	4.16	2.59% - 3.18%	4.09
Rate of compensation increase	4.00	4.00	N/A	N/A

Schedule of Net Benefit Costs

Net periodic costs for the defined benefit plans and other postretirement benefits for the years ended December 31 was as follows:



	Pension Benefits							Other Benefits
	2019			2018		2017		2019			2018		2017
Components of net periodic benefit cost
Service cost	$	5,947		5,790		4,699		$	581		616		529
Interest cost	8,506			6,879		6,993		775			627		634
Expected return on assets	(10,118		)	(9,255	)	(7,888	)	(475		)	(450	)	(376	)
Amortization of prior service cost	48			51		94		197			197		198
Recognized actuarial loss	3,984			3,986		3,844		240			321		273
Net periodic benefit cost	$	8,367		7,451		7,742		$	1,318		1,311		1,258

Schedule of Net Funded Status

The projected benefit obligations and the funded status of the defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans as of December 31 were as follows:



	Pension Benefits					Other Benefits
	2019			2018		2019			2018
Change in benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	187,877		196,207		$	17,489		18,003
Service cost	5,947			5,790		581			616
Interest cost	8,506			6,879		775			627
Business combinations	108,162			—		12,537			—
Actuarial (gain)/loss	35,502			(14,447	)	2,027			(988	)
Implicit rate subsidy	—			—		(217		)	(207	)
Plan participants contributions	—			—		85			—
Administrative expenses paid	(10		)	—		—			—
Benefits paid	(7,744		)	(6,552	)	(731		)	(562	)
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	338,240		187,877		$	32,546		17,489
Change in plan assets
Fair value of assets at beginning of year	$	127,610		133,360		$	5,849		6,804
Actual return on plan assets	34,807			(7,700	)	1,972			(262	)
Business combinations	79,382			—		9,314			—
Employer contributions	9,476			8,502		738			629
Plan participants contributions	—			—		85			—
Administrative expenses paid	(10		)	—		(55		)	—
Benefits paid	(7,744		)	(6,552	)	(677		)	(1,322	)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	243,521			127,610		17,226			5,849
Funded status at end of year	$	(94,719	)	(60,267	)	$	(15,320	)	(11,640	)

Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Balance Sheet

The amounts recognized on the balance sheet as of December 31 were as follows:



	Pension Benefits			Other Benefits
	2019		2018	2019		2018
Current liabilities	$	1,899	1,323	$	96	94
Noncurrent liabilities	92,820		58,944	15,224		11,546
	$	94,719	60,267	$	15,320	11,640

Schedule of Regulatory Asset Recorded on the Projected Benefit Obligation of the Postretirement Benefit Plans

SJW Group recorded a regulatory asset on the projected benefit obligation of the postretirement benefit plans as follows:



	2019			2018
Funded status of obligation	$	110,039		71,907
Accrued benefit cost	(36,514		)	(5,674	)
Regulatory asset, amount to be recovered in future rates	$	73,525		66,233

Schedule of Allocation of Plan Assets

Plan assets as of December 31 were as follows:



	Pension Benefits					Other Benefits
	2019			2018		2019			2018
Fair value of assets at end of year:
Debt securities	$	86,288		42,654		$	5,608		2,200
	36		%	33	%	33		%	38	%
Equity securities	146,210			77,053		10,840			3,416
	60		%	60	%	63		%	58	%
Cash and equivalents	11,023			7,903		778			233
	5		%	6	%	5		%	4	%
Total	$	243,521		127,610		$	17,226		5,849

The following tables summarize the fair values of plan assets by major categories as of December 31, 2019 and 2018:



			Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2019
Asset Category	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)	Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)	Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	11,801	11,801	—	—
Equity securities (a)	157,050		149,265	7,785	—
Fixed Income (b)	91,896		31,686	60,210	—
Total	$	260,747	192,752	67,995	—

___________________________________


(a)	Actively managed portfolio of equity securities with the goal to exceed the benchmark performance.


(b)	Actively managed portfolio of fixed income securities with the goal to exceed the benchmark performance



			Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2018
Asset Category	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)	Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)	Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	8,136	8,136	—	—
Equity securities (a)	80,468		74,541	5,927	—
Fixed Income (b)	44,855		—	44,855	—
Total	$	133,459	82,677	50,782	—

___________________________________


(a)	Actively managed portfolio of equity securities with the goal to exceed the benchmark performance.


(b)	Actively managed portfolio of fixed income securities with the goal to exceed the benchmark performance

Schedule of Expected Benefit Payments

Benefits expected to be paid in the next five years and in the aggregate for the five years thereafter are:



	Pension Plan		Other Postretirement Benefit Plan
2020	$	13,930	$	1,336
2021	14,358		1,447
2022	14,626		1,513
2023	15,187		1,600
2024	15,604		1,648
2025 - 2029	86,971		8,908