Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

The provision for income taxes consists of the following for the years ended December 31:



(in thousands)
	2018			2017		2016
Current income tax expense	$	84,454		$	81,689	$	109,727
Deferred income tax (benefit) expense	(1,358		)	26,912		(2		)
Other income tax expense	—			10,095		—
Income tax expense	$	83,096		$	118,696	$	109,725

Schedule of Reconciliation of the Provision for Income Taxes, with Amounts Determined by Applying the Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate to Pre-Tax Income

A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes, with amounts determined by applying the statutory federal income tax rate to pre-tax income, is as follows for the years ended December 31:



(in thousands)
	2018			2017			2016
Income tax at statutory rate	$	77,977		$	110,493		$	112,032
Change in tax rate ⁽¹⁾	—			10,095			—
Tax-exempt interest	(1,305		)	(2,278		)	(2,270		)
Unrecognized tax benefits	3,088			—			—
Other, net	3,336			386			(37		)
Income tax expense	$	83,096		$	118,696		$	109,725


(1)	The change in tax rate represents the tax effect of the re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities due to the enactment of the TCJA.

Schedule of Temporary Differences and Carry-Forwards, which Give Rise to Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Temporary differences and carry-forwards, which give rise to deferred tax assets and liabilities, are as follows for the years ended December 31:



(in thousands)
	2018		2017
Deferred tax assets:
Other employee benefits	$	12,237	$	14,092
Pension and other postretirement benefits	20,124		22,758
Allowance for management fee returned on cancelled policies	3,292		3,024
Deferred revenue	3,524		0
Unrealized losses on investments	2,030		0
Other	1,246		812
Total deferred tax assets	42,453		40,686
Deferred tax liabilities:
Depreciation	13,015		10,204
Prepaid expenses	1,376		5,568
Commissions	1,270		0
Limited partnerships	2,534		4,509
Unrealized gains on investments	0		856
Other	157		159
Total deferred tax liabilities	18,352		21,296
Net deferred tax asset	$	24,101	$	19,390

Schedule of Unrecognized Tax Benefits Roll Forward

A reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31 is as follows:



(in thousands)
	2018			2017			2016
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	0		$	—		$	—
Additions for current year tax positions	7,719			—			—
Reductions for current year tax positions	(4,631		)	—			—
Additions for prior year tax positions	—			2,337			—
Reductions for prior year tax positions	—			(2,337		)	—
Balance at the end of the year	$	3,088		$	0		$	—