PENSION AND PROFIT SHARING PLANS

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

PENSION AND PROFIT SHARING PLANS

(M) Pension and Profit Sharing Plans

We offer our employees multiple retirement and profit sharing plans.

Pension Plans

We have several defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans that together cover substantially all of our employees. Benefits paid under the defined benefit plans covering certain hourly employees are based on years of service and each employee’s qualifying compensation over the last few years of employment. During fiscal 2020, the last of our pension plans that was still accruing benefits was frozen; therefore, none of our pension plans are accruing additional benefits. Our funding policy is to generally contribute amounts to ensure our pension assets are consistent with our pension liabilities. The annual measurement date is March 31 for the benefit obligations, fair value of plan assets, and the funded status of the defined benefit plans.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the Benefit Obligations and Fair Values of Plan Assets for all defined benefit plans for the years ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, as well as a statement of the funded status for the same periods:

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2024			2023
	(dollars in thousands)
Reconciliation of Benefit Obligations
Benefit Obligation at April 1,	$	29,189		$	33,909
Interest Cost on Projected Benefit Obligation		1,413			1,240
Actuarial Gain		(829	)		(4,509	)
Benefits Paid		(1,643	)		(1,451	)
Benefit Obligation at March 31,	$	28,130		$	29,189
Reconciliation of Fair Value of Plan Assets
Fair Value of Plan Assets at April 1,	$	31,106		$	36,313
Actual Return on Plan Assets		641			(3,756	)
Employer Contributions		20			—
Benefits Paid		(1,643	)		(1,451	)
Fair Value of Plan Assets at March 31,		30,124			31,106
Funded Status
Funded Status at March 31,	$	1,994		$	1,917
Amounts Recognized in the Balance Sheet Include:
Other Assets	$	1,994		$	1,917
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Losses
Net Actuarial Loss		4,454			4,662
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Losses	$	4,454		$	4,662
Tax Impact		(1,081	)		(1,115	)
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Losses, net of tax	$	3,373		$	3,547

Net periodic pension cost for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, included the following components:

	For the Years Ended March 31,
	2024			2023			2022
	(dollars in thousands)
Interest Cost of Projected Benefit Obligation		1,413			1,240			1,167
Expected Return on Plan Assets		(1,512	)		(1,366	)		(1,299	)
Recognized Net Actuarial Loss		250			123			143
Net Periodic Pension Cost	$	151		$	(3	)	$	11

Expected benefit payments over the next five years, and the following five years under the pension plans are expected to be as follows (dollars in thousands):

Fiscal Years	Total
2025	$	1,843
2026	$	1,874
2027	$	1,951
2028	$	1,988
2029	$	1,962
2030-2034	$	9,853

The following tables set forth the assumptions used in the actuarial calculations of the present value of Net Periodic Benefit Costs and Benefit Obligations:

	March 31,
	2024			2023			2022
Net Periodic Benefit Costs
Discount Rate		4.99	%		3.75	%		3.33	%
Expected Return on Plan Assets		5.00	%		3.85	%		3.50	%
Rate of Compensation Increase	n/a			n/a			n/a

	March 31,
		2024			2023
Benefit Obligations
Discount Rate		5.27	%		4.99	%
Rate of Compensation Increase	n/a			n/a

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is an assumption reflecting the anticipated weighted-average rate of earnings on the portfolio over the long term. To determine this rate, we developed estimates of the key components underlying capital asset returns that include: market-based estimates of inflation, real risk-free rates of return, yield curve structure, credit-risk premiums, and equity-risk premiums. Because our pension plans were frozen beginning in fiscal 2021, the rate of compensation increase is not applicable. We used these components as appropriate to develop benchmark estimates for the expected long-term management approach that we employ.

The pension plans’ approximate weighted-average asset allocation at March 31, 2024 and 2023, and the range of target allocation are as follows:

		Percentage of Plan Assets at March 31,
	Range of Target Allocation	2024			2023
Asset Category
Equity Securities	10 – 20%		—			9	%
Debt Securities	60 – 90%		98	%		89	%
Other	0 – 20%		2	%		2	%
Total			100	%		100	%

Our pension investment strategies have been developed as part of a comprehensive management process that considers the interaction between the assets and liabilities within each plan. These strategies consider not only the expected risks and returns on plan assets, but also the detailed actuarial projections of liabilities as well as plan-level objectives, such as projected contributions, expense, and funded status.

The principal pension investment strategies include asset allocation and active asset management. The range of target asset allocations has been determined given the current funded status of the plan. Each asset class is actively managed by one or more external money managers with the objective of generating returns, net of management fees, that exceed market-based benchmarks. None of the plans hold any Company stock.

Based on our current actuarial estimates, we do not anticipate making any contributions to our defined benefit plans for fiscal 2025.

The fair values of our defined benefit plans’ consolidated assets by category as of March 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:

	March 31,
	2024		2023
	(dollars in thousands)
Equity Securities	$	—	$	2,878
Fixed Income Securities		29,541		27,811
Cash Equivalents		583		417
Total	$	30,124	$	31,106

The fair values of our defined benefit plans’ consolidated assets were determined using the fair value hierarchy of inputs described in Footnote (A) to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The fair values by category of inputs as of March 31, 2024, were as follows:

	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Asset Categories	(dollars in thousands)
Equity Securities	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—
Fixed Income Securities		—		29,541		—		29,541
Cash Equivalents		583		—		—		583
	$	583	$	29,541	$	—	$	30,124

The fair values by category of inputs as of March 31, 2023, were as follows:

	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Asset Categories	(dollars in thousands)
Equity Securities	$	—	$	2,878	$	—	$	2,878
Fixed Income Securities		—		27,811		—		27,811
Cash Equivalents		417		—		—		417
	$	417	$	30,689	$	—	$	31,106

Equity securities consist of funds that are not actively traded. These funds are maintained by an investment manager and are primarily invested in indexes. The remaining funds, excluding cash, primarily consist of investments in institutional funds.

Profit Sharing Plans

We also provide profit sharing plans, which cover substantially all salaried and certain hourly employees. The profit sharing plans are defined contribution plans funded by employer discretionary contributions; employees may also contribute a certain percentage of their base annual salary. Employees are fully vested in their own contributions and become fully vested in any Company contributions over a four-year period. Costs relating to the employer discretionary contributions for our plan totaled $9.6 million, $9.1 million, and $8.5 million in fiscal years 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.

We also made matching contributions to the hourly profit sharing plan for certain of our entities totaling $1.8 million, $1.4 million, and $1.3 million for these employees during fiscal years 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.

Approximately 50 of our employees belong to two different multi-employer plans. One of the collective bargaining agreements for the employees who participate in the multi-employer plans expired in February 2024 and is currently being renegotiated, and the other expires in March 2025. Our expense related to these plans was approximately $1.7 million, $1.8 million, and $1.7 million during fiscal years 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively. We anticipate the total expense in fiscal 2025 related to these plans will be approximately $2.0 million.