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PENSIONS AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
PENSIONS AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
12. PENSIONS AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
 
Defined Benefit Plan
 
Until June 1, 2004, substantially all Old and New Globalstar employees and retirees who participated and/or met the vesting criteria for the plan were participants in the Retirement Plan of Space Systems/Loral (the "Loral Plan"), a defined benefit pension plan. The accrual of benefits in the Old Globalstar segment of the Loral Plan was curtailed, or frozen, by the administrator of the Loral Plan in 2003. Prior to 2003, benefits for the Loral Plan were generally based upon contributions, length of service with the Company and age of the participant. On June 1, 2004, the assets and frozen pension obligations of the Globalstar Segment of the Loral Plan were transferred into a new Globalstar Retirement Plan (the "Globalstar Plan"). The Globalstar Plan remains frozen and participants are not currently accruing benefits beyond those accrued as of October 23, 2003. The Company's funding policy is to fund the Globalstar Plan in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code and regulations. In January 2022, the Company received consent from its senior lenders to terminate the Globalstar Plan. The Company has not yet initiated the process to terminate the Globalstar Plan, but expects to do so during 2022.
 
Defined Benefit Pension Obligation and Funded Status
 
Below is a reconciliation of projected benefit obligation, plan assets and the funded status of the Company’s defined benefit plan (in thousands):
 Year Ended December 31,
 20212020
Change in projected benefit obligation:  
Projected benefit obligation, beginning of year$9,179 $16,509 
Service cost174 176 
Interest cost225 521 
Actuarial (gain) loss(45)671 
Settlement— (7,669)
Benefits paid(482)(1,029)
Projected benefit obligation, end of year$9,051 $9,179 
Change in fair value of plan assets:  
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year$5,529 $12,381 
Return on plan assets485 1,131 
Employer contributions230 715 
Settlement— (7,669)
Benefits paid(482)(1,029)
Fair value of plan assets, end of year$5,762 $5,529 
Funded status, end of year-net liability$(3,289)$(3,650)
 
In December 2020, the Company settled a portion of the pension liability related to retirees and terminated vested employees in the Globalstar Plan as a de-risking strategy. The total settlement for 2020 was $7.7 million and was paid out
through the assets held in the Globalstar Plan. The settlement resulted in a reduction to the projected benefit obligation and a corresponding decrease to plan assets as of December 31, 2020.

Net Benefit Cost and Amounts Recognized
 
Components of the net periodic benefit cost of the Company’s defined benefit pension plan were as follows (in thousands): 
 Year Ended December 31,
 202120202019
Net periodic benefit cost:   
Service cost$174 $176 $195 
Interest cost225 521 706 
Expected return on plan assets(309)(793)(794)
Amortization of unrecognized net actuarial loss189 300 404 
Settlement— 2,075 455 
Total net periodic benefit cost$279 $2,279 $966 

In December 2020 and 2019, the Company settled a portion of the pension liability. In accordance with ASC 715 Compensation — Retirement Benefits, the Company recognized losses totaling $2.1 million and $0.5 million, respectively, and these losses are included in other income (expense) in its consolidated statement of operations during the twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 associated with these settlements. The losses represent the pro rata portion of actuarial losses that were previously deferred in other comprehensive income. Components of net periodic benefit cost other than the service cost component are recorded in other income (expense) in the consolidated statement of operations.

Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet were as follows (in thousands):
 December 31,
 20212020
Amounts recognized:  
Funded status recognized in other non-current liabilities$(3,289)$(3,650)
Net actuarial loss recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss2,073 2,483 
Net amount recognized in retained deficit$(1,216)$(1,167)

Assumptions
 
The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation and net periodic benefit cost were as follows: 
 For the Year Ended December 31,
 202120202019
Benefit obligation assumptions:   
Discount rate2.84 %2.50 %3.28 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/AN/A
Net periodic benefit cost assumptions:   
Discount rate2.50 %3.28 %4.25 %
Expected rate of return on plan assets5.75 %6.50 %6.50 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/AN/A
  
The assumptions, investment policies and strategies for the Globalstar Plan are determined by the Globalstar Plan Committee. The Globalstar Plan Committee is responsible for ensuring the investments of the plans are managed in a prudent and effective manner. Amounts related to the pension plan are derived from actuarial and other assumptions, including discount rates, mortality, expected rate of return, participant data and termination. The Company reviews assumptions on an annual basis and makes adjustments as considered necessary.
 
The expected long-term rate of return on pension plan assets is selected by taking into account the expected duration of the projected benefit obligation for the plan, the asset mix of the plan and the fact that the plan assets are actively managed to mitigate risk. Discount rates are determined annually based on the Plan administrator’s yield curve index, which considers expected benefit payments and is discounted with rates from the yield curve to determine a single equivalent discount rate.
 
Plan Assets and Investment Policies and Strategies
 
The plan assets are invested in various mutual funds which have quoted prices. The plan has a target allocation. On a weighted-average basis, target allocations for equity securities range from 50% to 60%, for debt securities 25% to 50% and for other investments 0% to 15%. The defined benefit pension plan asset allocations as of the measurement date presented as a percentage of total plan assets were as follows: 
 
 December 31,
 20212020
Equity securities55 %55 %
Debt securities45 45 
Total100 %100 %
 
The fair values of the Company’s pension plan assets by asset category were as follows (in thousands): 
 December 31, 2021
 TotalQuoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
United States equity securities$2,542 $— $2,542 $— 
International equity securities631 — 631 — 
Fixed income securities1,693 — 1,693 — 
Other896 — 896 — 
Total$5,762 $— $5,762 $— 
 
 December 31, 2020
 TotalQuoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
United States equity securities$2,426 $— $2,426 $— 
International equity securities619 — 619 — 
Fixed income securities1,553 — 1,553 — 
Other931 — 931 — 
Total$5,529 $— $5,529 $— 
 
Accumulated Benefit Obligation
 
The accumulated benefit obligation of the defined benefit pension plan was $9.1 million and $9.2 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
  
Benefits Payments and Contributions
 
The benefit payments to retirees over the next ten years are expected to be paid as follows (in thousands): 
2022$522 
2023516 
2024526 
2025542 
2026558 
2027 - 20312,657 
 
For 2021 and 2020, the Company contributed $0.2 million and $0.7 million, respectively, to the Globalstar Plan. For 2022, the Company's expected contributions to the Globalstar Plan will be $0.3 million. During 2021, the Company sought relief under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Company elected to apply all available prefunding balances to the 2021 plan year and deferred payments for the July 15, 2021, October 15, 2021 and January 15, 2022 contributions.
 
401(k) Plan

The Company has a defined contribution employee savings plan, or “401(k),” which provides that the Company may match the contributions of participating employees up to a designated level. Under this plan, the matching contributions were approximately $0.6 million for each of 2021, 2020, and 2019.