Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

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



(in thousands)
	2019		2018			2017
Current income tax expense	$	76,535	$	84,454		$	81,689
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)	3,349		(1,358		)	26,912
Other income tax expense	—		—			10,095
Income tax expense	$	79,884	$	83,096		$	118,696

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)
	2019			2018			2017
Income tax at statutory rate	$	83,308		$	77,977		$	110,493
Change in tax rate ⁽¹⁾	—			—			10,095
Tax-exempt interest	(123		)	(1,305		)	(2,278		)
(Decrease) increase in unrecognized tax benefits	(3,088		)	3,088			—
Other, net	(213		)	3,336			386
Income tax expense	$	79,884		$	83,096		$	118,696

(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)
	2019		2018
Deferred tax assets:
Pension and other postretirement benefits	$	25,720	$	20,124
Other employee benefits	11,835		12,237
Deferred revenue	3,755		3,524
Allowance for management fee returned on cancelled policies	3,421		3,292
Unrealized losses on investments	0		2,030
Other	1,663		1,246
Total deferred tax assets	46,394		42,453
Deferred tax liabilities:
Depreciation	19,454		13,015
Prepaid expenses	4,890		1,376
Limited partnerships	2,632		2,534
Unrealized gains on investments	1,549		0
Commissions	545		1,270
Other	138		157
Total deferred tax liabilities	29,208		18,352
Net deferred tax asset	$	17,186	$	24,101

Schedule of Unrecognized Tax Benefits Roll Forward

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



(in thousands)
	2019			2018			2017
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	3,088		$	0		$	—
Additions for current year tax positions	—			7,719			—
Reductions for current year tax positions	—			(4,631		)	—
Additions for prior year tax positions	4,631			—			2,337
Reductions for prior year tax positions	(7,719		)	—			(2,337		)
Balance at the end of the year	$	0		$	3,088		$	0