Note 24 - Defined Benefit Plan

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Defined Benefit Plan [Text Block]

24.  Defined Benefit Plan:

As part of the Merger, the Company assumed sponsorship of Weingarten’s noncontributory qualified cash balance retirement plan (“the Benefit Plan”). At the date of the Merger, the Benefit Plan was frozen and as a result no new benefits will be offered to employees who were not already part of the Benefit Plan on the Merger date. The Benefit Plan was terminated as of December 31, 2021. In connection with the termination, the Benefit Plan maintains a separate account for each participant. Annual additions to each participant’s account includes an interest credit of 4.5% as the service credit was suspended upon the freeze. The participant data used in determining the liabilities and costs for the Benefit Plan was determined as of December 31, 2022.

The following table summarizes the measurement changes in the Benefit Plan’s projected benefit obligation, plan assets and funded status, as well as the components of net periodic benefit costs, including key assumptions, from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022 (in thousands):

	2022				2021*
Change in Projected Benefit Obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	36,995		$	73,081
Interest cost		1,052			762
Settlement payments		-			(29,107	)
Actuarial gain		(9,781	)		(6,831	)
Benefit payments		(2,101	)		(910	)
Benefit obligation at end of period	$	26,165		$	36,995
Change in Plan Assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period	$	43,653		$	74,025
Actual return on plan assets		(966	)		642
Settlement payments		-			(30,104	)
Benefit payments		(2,101	)		(910	)
Fair value of plan assets at end of period	$	40,586		$	43,653
Funded status at end of period (included in Accounts and notes receivable)	$	14,421		$	6,658
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	26,165		$	36,995
Net gain recognized in Accumulated other comprehensive income	$	10,581		$	2,216

* For the year ended December 31, 2021, the measurement changes are from the date of Merger.

The components of net periodic benefit income/(cost), included in Other income, net in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 are as follows (in thousands):

	2022			2021
Interest cost	$	(1,052	)	$	(750	)
Expected return on plan assets		413			2,125
Amortization of net gain		37			-
Settlement gain		-			2,216
Total	$	(602	)	$	3,591

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:

	2022			2021
Discount rate		4.88	%		2.43	%
Salary scale increases		N/A			N/A
Interest credit rate for cash balance plan		4.50	%		4.50	%

The selection of the discount rate is made after comparison to yields based on cash investments. The long-term rate of return is a composite rate for the Benefit Plan. It is derived as the sum of the percentages invested in each principal asset class included in the portfolio multiplied by their respective expected rates of return. The Company considered the historical returns and the future expectations for returns for each asset class, as well as the target asset allocation of the Benefit Plan portfolio. This analysis resulted in the selection of 1.00% as the long-term rate of return assumption for the year ended December 31, 2022.

No contributions are anticipated to be made to the Benefit Plan during 2023. The expected benefit payments for the next 10 years for the Benefit Plan is as follows (in millions):

	2023		2024		2025		2026		2027		2028 - 2032
Benefit payments	$	6.4	$	2.0	$	1.9	$	1.9	$	1.8	$	8.2

Since termination of the Benefit Plan as of December 31, 2021, the Benefit Plan’s investment policy has changed to address the short-term capital needs for liquidation of the plan assets, as well as consider the market volatility risks by investing in and holding liquid assets, such as cash and short-term investments on hand, in order to satisfy the projected benefit obligation. The fair value of plan assets was determined based on publicly quoted market prices for identical assets, which are all classified as Level 1 observable inputs. The fair value and allocation of the plan assets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows (in thousands):

	2022					2021
	Fair Value		Asset Allocation			Fair Value		Asset Allocation
Cash and short-term investments	$	40,586		100.0	%	$	26,246		60.1	%
Large company funds		-		-			7,130		16.3	%
Mid company funds		-		-			662		1.5	%
Small company funds		-		-			1,958		4.5	%
International funds		-		-			1,972		4.5	%
Fixed income funds		-		-			4,260		9.8	%
Growth funds		-		-			1,425		3.3	%
Total	$	40,586		100.0	%	$	43,653		100.0	%