The Company maintains defined benefit plans for certain employees primarily in the U.S. and Switzerland. In accordance with authoritative guidance for defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans, an asset for a plan’s overfunded status or a liability for a plan’s underfunded status is recognized in the consolidated balance sheets; plan assets and obligations that determine the plan’s funded status are measured as of the end of the Company’s fiscal year; and changes in the funded status of defined benefit postretirement plans are recognized in the year in which they occur. Such changes are reported in other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of stockholders’ equity.

The Company’s pension obligations and related costs are calculated using actuarial concepts, within the authoritative guidance framework, and are considered Level 3 inputs as defined in Note 20. The Company uses the corridor approach to amortize unrecognized actuarial gains or losses over the average remaining service life of active participants. The life expectancy, estimated retirement age, discount rate, estimated future compensation and expected return on plan assets are important elements of expense and/or liability measurement. These critical assumptions are evaluated annually which enables expected future payments for benefits to be stated at present value on the measurement date. If actual results are not consistent with actuarial assumptions, the amounts recognized for the defined benefit plans could change significantly.

Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan

On August 23, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SERP”) which became effective January 1, 2006. The SERP provides select employees who satisfy certain eligibility requirements with certain benefits upon retirement, termination of employment, death, disability or a change in control of the Company, in certain prescribed circumstances.

As a non-qualified pension plan, no dedicated funding of the SERP is required; however, the Company has made periodic payments into insurance policies held in a rabbi trust to fund the expected obligations arising under the non-qualified SERP. The amount of any future payments into the insurance policies, if any, may vary depending on investment performance of the trust. The cash surrender values of the insurance policies were $61.7 million and $64.5 million as of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, respectively, and were included in other assets in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. As a result of changes in the value of the insurance policy investments, the Company recorded unrealized gains (losses) of $(1.1) million, $7.7 million and $6.9 million in other income and expense during fiscal 2019, fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017, respectively.

The Company assumed a discount rate of approximately 3.8% and 3.5% for the years ended February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, respectively, as part of the actuarial valuation performed to calculate the projected benefit obligation, based on the timing of cash flows expected to be made in the future to the participants, applied to high quality yield curves. The Company also considers recent updates to the mortality tables and mortality improvement scale published by the Society of Actuaries in developing its best estimate of the expected mortality rates for its plan participants.

As of February 2, 2019, accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) included actuarial losses of $0.1 million that are expected to be amortized and recognized as a component of net periodic defined benefit pension cost in fiscal 2020. Aggregate benefits projected to be paid in the next five fiscal years are approximately $1.7 million in fiscal 2020, $2.9 million in fiscal 2021, $3.9 million for each year from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2024. Aggregate benefits projected to be paid in the five fiscal years following fiscal 2024 amount to $18.3 million.

Foreign Pension Plans

In certain foreign jurisdictions, primarily in Switzerland, the Company is required to guarantee the returns on Company sponsored defined contribution plans in accordance with local regulations. These plans are typically government-mandated defined contribution plans that provide employees with a minimum investment return, and as such, are treated under pension accounting in accordance with authoritative guidance. The minimum investment return for our Swiss pension plan was 1.00% during calendar 2018 and calendar 2017. Under the Swiss pension plan, both the Company and certain of its employees with annual earnings in excess of government determined amounts are required to make contributions into a fund managed by an independent investment fiduciary. The Company’s contributions must be made in an amount at least equal to the employee’s contribution. Minimum employee contributions are based on the respective employee’s age, salary and gender.

As of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, actuarial assumptions used by the Company to calculate the projected benefit obligation and the fair value of the plans assets related to its Swiss pension plan included discount rates of 0.70% and 0.60%, respectively, and expected returns on plan assets of 1.20% and 1.40%, respectively.

As of February 2, 2019, accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) included actuarial losses of $0.4 million that are expected to be amortized and recognized as a component of net periodic defined benefit pension cost in fiscal 2020.

The components of net periodic defined benefit pension cost to accumulated comprehensive income (loss) for fiscal 2019 related to the Company’s defined benefit plans are as follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended February 2, 2019
	SERP			Foreign Pension Plans			Total
Service cost	$	—		$	3,039		$	3,039
Interest cost	1,887			225			2,112
Expected return on plan assets	—			(303		)	(303		)
Net amortization of unrecognized prior service credit	—			(28		)	(28		)
Net amortization of actuarial losses	187			413			600
Net periodic defined benefit pension cost	$	2,074		$	3,346		$	5,420

Unrecognized prior service credit charged to comprehensive income (loss)	$	—		$	(28	)	$	(28	)
Unrecognized net actuarial loss charged to comprehensive income (loss)	187			413			600
Net actuarial gain (losses)	2,787			(1,054		)	1,733
Foreign currency and other adjustments	—			311			311
Related tax impact	(686		)	82			(604		)
Total periodic defined benefit pension cost and other charges to other comprehensive income (loss) and accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	$	2,288		$	(276	)	$	2,012

The components of net periodic defined benefit pension cost to accumulated comprehensive income (loss) for fiscal 2018 related to the Company’s defined benefit plans are as follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended February 3, 2018
	SERP			Foreign Pension Plans			Total
Service cost	$	—		$	2,500		$	2,500
Interest cost	1,844			147			1,991
Expected return on plan assets	—			(244		)	(244		)
Net amortization of unrecognized prior service credit	—			(27		)	(27		)
Net amortization of actuarial losses	151			311			462
Net periodic defined benefit pension cost	$	1,995		$	2,687		$	4,682

Unrecognized prior service credit charged to comprehensive income (loss)	$	—		$	(27	)	$	(27	)
Unrecognized net actuarial loss charged to comprehensive income (loss)	151			311			462
Net actuarial losses	(1,092		)	(1,156		)	(2,248		)
Foreign currency and other adjustments	—			(269		)	(269		)
Related tax impact	360			75			435
Total periodic defined benefit pension cost and other charges to other comprehensive income (loss)	(581		)	(1,066		)	(1,647		)
Cumulative adjustment reclassified to retained earnings from adoption of new accounting guidance ¹	(1,435		)	—			(1,435		)
Total periodic defined benefit pension cost and other charges to accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	$	(2,016	)	$	(1,066	)	$	(3,082	)

______________________________________________________________________

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company early adopted authoritative guidance which addresses certain stranded income tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive loss resulting from the Tax Reform enacted in December 2017. As a result, the Company recorded a cumulative adjustment to increase retained earnings by $1.4 million with a corresponding reduction to accumulated other comprehensive loss related to the Company’s SERP.

The components of net periodic defined benefit pension cost to accumulated comprehensive income (loss) for fiscal 2017 related to the Company’s defined benefit plans are as follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended January 28, 2017
	SERP			Foreign Pension Plans			Total
Service cost	$	—		$	1,544		$	1,544
Interest cost	1,839			87			1,926
Expected return on plan assets	—			(185		)	(185		)
Net amortization of unrecognized prior service credit	—			(28		)	(28		)
Net amortization of actuarial losses	155			186			341
Net periodic defined benefit pension cost	$	1,994		$	1,604		$	3,598

Unrecognized prior service credit charged to comprehensive income (loss)	$	—		$	(28	)	$	(28	)
Unrecognized net actuarial loss charged to comprehensive income (loss)	155			186			341
Net actuarial gains (losses)	63			(1,248		)	(1,185		)
Foreign currency and other adjustments	—			(72		)	(72		)
Related tax impact	(84		)	105			21
Total periodic defined benefit pension cost and other charges to other comprehensive income (loss) and accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	$	134		$	(1,057	)	$	(923	)

Included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), before tax, as of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018 are the following amounts that have not yet been recognized in net periodic defined benefit pension cost (in thousands):



	Feb 2, 2019								Feb 3, 2018
	SERP		Foreign Pension Plans			Total			SERP		Foreign Pension Plans			Total
Unrecognized prior service credit	$	—	$	(159	)	$	(159	)	$	—	$	(113	)	$	(113	)
Unrecognized net actuarial loss	6,480		5,293			11,773			9,454		4,889			14,343
Total included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	6,480	$	5,134		$	11,614		$	9,454	$	4,776		$	14,230

The following table summarizes the funded status of the Company’s defined benefit plans and the amounts recognized in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets (in thousands):



	Feb 2, 2019									Feb 3, 2018
	SERP			Foreign Pension Plans			Total			SERP			Foreign Pension Plans			Total
Projected benefit obligation	$	(52,162	)	$	(31,105	)	$	(83,267	)	$	(54,760	)	$	(26,409	)	$	(81,169	)
Plan assets at fair value ¹	—			25,358			25,358			—			21,437			21,437
Net liability ²	$	(52,162	)	$	(5,747	)	$	(57,909	)	$	(54,760	)	$	(4,972	)	$	(59,732	)

______________________________________________________________________


¹	The SERP is a non-qualified pension plan and hence the insurance policies are not considered to be plan assets. Accordingly, the table above does not include the insurance policies with cash surrender values of $61.7 million and $64.5 million as of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, respectively.


²	The net liability was included in accrued expenses and other long-term liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets depending on the expected timing of payments.

A reconciliation of the changes in the projected benefit obligation for fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2018 is as follows (in thousands):



	Projected Benefit Obligation
	SERP			Foreign Pension Plans			Total
Balance at January 28, 2017	$	53,521		$	19,986		$	73,507
Service cost	—			2,500			2,500
Interest cost	1,844			147			1,991
Actuarial (gains) losses	1,092			1,156			2,248
Contributions by plan participants	—			2,315			2,315
Payments	(1,697		)	(1,373		)	(3,070		)
Foreign currency and other adjustments	—			1,678			1,678
Balance at February 3, 2018	$	54,760		$	26,409		$	81,169
Service cost	—			3,039			3,039
Interest cost	1,887			225			2,112
Actuarial (gains) losses	(2,787		)	1,054			(1,733		)
Contributions by plan participants	—			2,310			2,310
Payments	(1,698		)	(1,824		)	(3,522		)
Acquisition	—			1,539			1,539
Foreign currency and other adjustments	—			(1,647		)	(1,647		)
Balance at February 2, 2019	$	52,162		$	31,105		$	83,267

The SERP is a non-qualified pension plan and hence the insurance policies are not considered to be plan assets. Accordingly, the table below does not include the insurance policies with cash surrender values of $61.7 million and $64.5 million as of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, respectively. A reconciliation of the changes in plan assets for the Foreign Pension Plans for fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2018 is as follows (in thousands):



	Plan Assets
Balance at January 28, 2017	$	16,305
Actual return on plan assets	244
Contributions by employer	2,575
Contributions by plan participants	2,315
Payments	(1,373		)
Foreign currency and other adjustments	1,371
Balance at February 3, 2018	$	21,437
Actual return on plan assets	252
Contributions by employer	3,308
Contributions by plan participants	2,310
Payments	(1,824		)
Acquisition	1,186
Foreign currency and other adjustments	(1,311		)
Balance at February 2, 2019	$	25,358