Pension Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Pension Plans

Pension Plans

Note 7 — Pension Plans

Beginning in 2012, the Company received periodic notices from the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund (Plan), a multi-employer defined benefit pension plan for certain Company union employees, that the Plan’s actuary certified the Plan to be in “critical status”, as defined by the Pension Protection Act (PPA) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC); and that a plan of rehabilitation was adopted by the trustees of the Plan in 2012. The Plan’s status was changed to “critical and declining status”, as defined by the PPA and PBGC, for the plan year beginning January 1, 2015, and this status has continued. In 2016, the Company received new notices that the Plan’s trustees adopted an updated Rehabilitation Plan effective January 1, 2016, and all annual

notices through 2024 have continued to classify the Plan in the “critical and declining status” category.  That determination is based on certain assumptions including an assumption that all employers that negotiated a rehabilitation plan schedule remain on that schedule.

The Company has been advised that its withdrawal liability would have been $102,200, $96,000 and $104,300 if it had withdrawn from the Plan during 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Should the Company actually withdraw from the Plan at a future date, its withdrawal liability payable under the Plan could be higher than the above discussed amounts.

The Company’s pension expense for this Plan for nine months 2024 and 2023 was $2,579 and $2,785, respectively. The aforementioned expense includes surcharges of $909 and $982 for nine months 2024 and 2023, respectively, as required under the amended plan of rehabilitation. The Company’s twelve months pension expense for this Plan for 2023 and 2022 was $3,516 and $3,510, respectively, which includes surcharges of $1,239 and $1,237, respectively. From 2012 through 2020, the Company’s employer contributions were subject to annual 5% compounded surcharge increases. Beginning in 2021, the Plan ceased additional surcharges, but the prior surcharges remain in effect indefinitely.

In June 2024, the PBGC announced that it has approved the Plan’s application for Special Financial Assistance under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Plan was granted approximately $3.4 billion in Special Financial Assistance funds and received those funds in July 2024. The Company’s actuary believes that it still remains unclear if the Plan can remain solvent through the targeted date of 2051 although as a requirement of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Plan must remain in “critical status” through 2051 regardless of solvency. The regulations under the aforementioned PBGC financial assistance could result in a higher withdrawal liability even with PBGC financial assistance since those regulations require use of settlement interest rates and a phase-in of the Special Financial Assistance in determining the Company’s withdrawal liability. The Company is currently unable to determine the ultimate outcome of the above discussed multi-employer union pension matters and therefore is unable to determine the effects on its consolidated financial statements, but the ultimate outcome could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or cash flows in one or more future periods.