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Employee Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefit Plans
We sponsor a noncontributory defined benefit pension plan and non-qualified Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans ("SERPs"). Both the defined benefit plan and the SERPs have frozen the accrual of future benefits.
We sponsor a defined contribution plan covering substantially all non-union and certain union employees. We match a portion of employees' voluntary contributions to this plan.
Other union-represented employees are covered by defined benefit pension plans jointly sponsored by us and the union, or by union-sponsored multi-employer plans.
We use a December 31 measurement date for our retirement plans. Retirement plans expense is based on valuations as of the beginning of each year.
The components of the expense consisted of the following:
 For the years ended December 31,
(in thousands)202320222021
Interest cost$23,579 $17,332 $16,465 
Expected return on plan assets, net of expenses(25,221)(24,900)(23,235)
Amortization of actuarial loss and prior service cost18 4,034 6,210 
Total for defined benefit plans(1,624)(3,534)(560)
SERPs974 921 903 
Defined contribution plan15,998 15,257 14,394 
Net periodic benefit cost$15,348 $12,644 $14,737 

Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) were as follows:
 For the years ended December 31,
(in thousands)202320222021
Actuarial gain/(loss)$3,091 $(12,703)$27,318 
Amortization of actuarial loss and prior service cost18 4,034 6,210 
Total$3,109 $(8,669)$33,528 

In addition to the amounts summarized above, amortization of actuarial losses related to our SERPs recognized through other comprehensive income was $0.1 million in 2023 and $0.3 million in 2022 and 2021. We recognized an actuarial loss for our SERPs of $0.5 million in 2023 and actuarial gains of $3.6 million and $0.3 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Assumptions used in determining the annual retirement plans expense were as follows:
202320222021
Discount rate5.47 %2.95 %2.64 %
Long-term rate of return on plan assets5.50 %5.50 %5.50 %
The discount rate used to determine our future pension obligations is based on a dedicated bond portfolio approach that includes securities rated Aa or better with maturities matching our expected benefit payments from the plans.
The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based upon the weighted-average expected rate of return and capital market forecasts for each asset class employed.
Changes in other key actuarial assumptions affect the determination of the benefit obligations as of the measurement date and the calculation of net periodic benefit costs in subsequent periods.
Obligations and Funded Status — The defined benefit pension plan obligations and funded status are actuarially valued as of the end of each year. The following table presents information about our employee benefit plan assets and obligations:
 Defined Benefit PlanSERPs
 For the years ended December 31,
(in thousands)2023202220232022
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year$450,022 $603,309 $13,393 $18,023 
Interest cost23,579 17,332 708 509 
Benefits paid(33,750)(33,521)(1,161)(1,541)
Actuarial (gains)/losses9,142 (137,098)497 (3,598)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year448,993 450,022 13,437 13,393 
Plan assets:
Fair value at beginning of year383,725 517,148 — — 
Actual return on plan assets37,454 (124,901)— — 
Company contributions— 24,999 1,161 1,541 
Benefits paid(33,750)(33,521)(1,161)(1,541)
Fair value at end of year387,429 383,725 — — 
Funded status$(61,564)$(66,297)$(13,437)$(13,393)
Amounts recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheets:
Current liabilities$— $— $(1,350)$(1,411)
Noncurrent liabilities(61,564)(66,297)(12,087)(11,982)
Total$(61,564)$(66,297)$(13,437)$(13,393)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of:
  Net actuarial loss$95,793 $98,884 $3,838 $3,467 
  Prior service cost334 352 — — 

During 2023, a net actuarial loss increased our benefit obligation primarily due to a year-over-year decrease in the discount rate assumption. During 2022, a net actuarial gain decreased our benefit obligation primarily due to a year-over-year increase in the discount rate assumption. The recognized actuarial gains/losses are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and are reflected in the table above.

Information for plans with an accumulated benefit obligation and projected benefit obligation in excess of plan assets was as follows:
 Defined Benefit PlanSERPs
 As of December 31,
(in thousands)2023202220232022
Accumulated benefit obligation$448,993 $450,022 $13,437 $13,393 
Projected benefit obligation448,993 450,022 13,437 13,393 
Fair value of plan assets387,429 383,725 — — 

Assumptions used to determine the defined benefit pension plan benefit obligation were as follows:
202320222021
Weighted average discount rate5.18 %5.47 %2.95 %

In 2024, we expect to contribute $1.4 million to fund our SERPs. We have met regulatory funding requirements for our qualified defined benefit pension plan and do not have a mandatory contribution in 2024.
Estimated future benefit payments expected to be paid from the plans for the next ten years are $34.1 million in 2024, $34.4 million in 2025, $34.6 million in 2026, $34.8 million in 2027, $35.1 million in 2028 and a total of $173.1 million for the five years ending 2033.
Plan Assets and Investment Strategy
Our long-term investment strategy for pension assets is to earn a rate of return over time that minimizes future contributions to the plan while reducing the volatility of pension assets relative to pension liabilities. The strategy reflects the fact that we have frozen the accrual of service credits under our plans which cover the majority of employees. We evaluate our asset allocation target ranges for equity, fixed income and other investments annually. We monitor actual asset allocations quarterly and adjust as necessary. We control risk through diversification among multiple asset classes, managers and styles. Risk is further monitored at the manager and asset class level by evaluating performance against appropriate benchmarks.
Information related to our pension plan asset allocations by asset category were as follows:
Target
allocation		Percentage of plan assets
as of December 31,
 202420232022
US equity securities13 %13 %13 %
Non-US equity securities27 %31 %31 %
Fixed-income securities55 %55 %55 %
Other5 %1 %1 %
Total100 %100 %100 %

U.S. equity securities include common stocks of large, medium and small capitalization companies, which are predominantly U.S. based. Non-U.S. equity securities include companies domiciled outside of the U.S. and American depository receipts. Fixed-income securities include securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, mortgage backed securities and corporate debt obligations. Other investments include real estate funds and cash equivalents.
Under our asset allocation strategy, approximately 55% of plan assets are invested in a portfolio of fixed income securities with a duration approximately that of the projected payment of benefit obligations. The remaining 45% of plan assets are invested in equity securities and other return-seeking assets. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based primarily upon the target asset allocation for plan assets and capital markets forecasts for each asset class employed.

The following table presents our plan assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:
As of December 31,
(in thousands)20232022
Equity securities
Common/collective trust funds$172,635 $170,867 
Fixed income
Common/collective trust funds212,012 210,226 
Cash equivalents2,782 2,632 
Fair value of plan assets$387,429 $383,725 

Our investments are valued using net asset value as a practical expedient as allowed under U.S. GAAP and therefore are not valued using the fair value hierarchy.
Equity securities-common/collective trust funds and fixed income-common/collective trust funds are comprised of shares or units in commingled funds that are not publicly traded. The underlying assets in these funds (equity securities and fixed income securities) are publicly traded on exchanges and price quotes for the assets held by these funds are readily available. Common/collective trust funds are typically valued at their net asset values that are calculated by the investment manager or sponsor of the fund and have daily or monthly liquidity.