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Employee Benefit Plans
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Employee Benefit Plans  
Employee Benefit Plans

Note 15. Employee Benefit Plans

The Partnership sponsors and maintains the Global Partners LP 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan (the “Global 401(k) Plan”), a qualified defined contribution plan. Eligible employees may elect to contribute up to 100% of their eligible compensation to the Global 401(k) Plan for each payroll period, subject to annual dollar limitations which are periodically adjusted by the IRS. The General Partner makes safe harbor matching contributions to the Global Partners 401(k) Plan equal to 100% of the participant’s elective contributions that do not exceed 3% of the participant’s eligible compensation and 50% of the participant’s elective contributions that exceed 3% but do not exceed 5% of the participant’s eligible compensation. The General Partner also makes discretionary non-matching contributions for certain groups of employees in amounts up to 2% of eligible compensation. Profit-sharing contributions may also be made at the sole discretion of the General Partner’s board of directors.

GMG sponsors and maintains the Global Montello Group Corp. 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan (the “GMG 401(k) Plan”), a qualified defined contribution plan. Eligible employees may elect to contribute up to 100% of their eligible compensation to the GMG 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan for each payroll period, subject to annual dollar limitations which are periodically adjusted by the IRS. GMG makes safe harbor matching contributions to the 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan equal to 100% of the participant’s elective contributions that do not exceed 3% of the participant’s eligible compensation and 50% of the participant’s elective contributions that exceed 3% but do not exceed 5% of the participant’s eligible compensation. Profit-sharing contributions may also be made at the sole discretion of GMG’s board of directors.

The Global 401(k) Plan and the GMG 401(k) Plan collectively had expenses of approximately $3.6 million, $3.0 million and $3.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

In addition, the General Partner sponsors and maintains the Global Partners LP Pension Plan (the “Global Pension Plan),” and GMG sponsors and maintains the Global Montello Group Corp. Pension Plan (the “GMG Pension Plan”), each being a qualified defined benefit pension plan. The Global Pension Plan and the GMG Pension Plan were amended to freeze participation and benefit accruals effective in 2009 and 2012, respectively.

The following table presents each plan’s funded status and the total amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31 (in thousands):

December 31,  2020

 

    

Global

    

GMG

    

 

Pension Plan

Pension Plan

Total

 

Projected benefit obligation

$

18,514

$

5,090

$

23,604

Fair value of plan assets

 

15,638

 

3,857

 

19,495

Net unfunded pension liability

$

2,876

$

1,233

$

4,109

December 31,  2019

 

Global

GMG

    

Pension Plan

    

Pension Plan

    

Total

 

Projected benefit obligation

$

17,030

$

4,459

$

21,489

Fair value of plan assets

 

14,267

 

2,832

 

17,099

Net unfunded pension liability

$

2,763

$

1,627

$

4,390

Total actual return on plan assets was $2.5 million and $3.9 million in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The following presents the components of the net periodic change in benefit obligation for the Pension Plans for the years ended December 31 (in thousands):

    

2020

    

2019

    

2018

 

Benefit obligation at beginning of year

$

21,489

$

20,086

$

22,217

Interest cost

605

767

714

Actuarial loss (gain)

2,183

3,839

(1,347)

Benefits paid

(673)

(3,203)

(1,498)

Benefit obligation at end of year

$

23,604

$

21,489

$

20,086

The following presents the weighted-average actuarial assumptions used in determining each plan’s annual pension expense for the years ended December 31:

Global Pension Plan

GMG Pension Plan

    

2020

    

2019

    

2018

    

2020

    

2019

    

2018

 

Discount rate

2.1%

3.0%

4.1%

3.0%

3.2%

4.2%

Expected return on plan assets

7.0%

7.0%

7.0%

7.0%

7.0%

7.0%

The discount rates were selected by performing a cash flow/bond matching analysis based on the FTSE Above Median Double-A Pension Discount Curve for December 2020. The discount rates for 2020 include updated mortality assumptions to reflect the most recently available mortality improvement scale released by the Society of Actuaries. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is determined by using each plan’s respective target allocation and historical returns for each asset class.

The fundamental investment objective of each of the Pension Plans is to provide a rate of return sufficient to fund the retirement benefits under the applicable Pension Plan at a reasonable cost to the applicable plan sponsor. At a minimum, the rate of return should equal or exceed the discount rate assumed by the Pension Plan’s actuaries in projecting the funding cost of the Pension Plan under the applicable Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) standards. To do so, the General Partner’s Pension Committee may appoint one or more investment managers to invest all or portions of the assets of the Pension Plans in accordance with specific investment guidelines, objectives, standards and benchmarks.

The following presents the Pension Plans’ benefits as of December 31, 2020 expected to be paid in each of the next five fiscal years and in the aggregate for the next five fiscal years thereafter (in thousands):

2021

$

3,331

 

2022

1,271

2023

886

2024

827

2025

1,536

2026—2030

8,057

Total

$

15,908

The cost of annual contributions to the Pension Plans is not significant to the General Partner, the Partnership or its subsidiaries. Total contributions made by the General Partner, the Partnership and its subsidiaries to the Pension Plans were approximately $0.5 million, $0.6 million and $0.4 million in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.