On January 1, 2017, the Company established a defined contribution plan which covers all eligible U.S. employees. Our plan allows eligible employees to contribute a portion of their cash compensation to the plan on a tax-deferred basis to save for their future retirement needs. The Company matches 50% of the first 8% of contributions for employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement and matches 75% of the first 8% of the employee’s contribution election for all other employees. The plan’s matching contributions vest after three years of service with the Company. The Company may also provide an additional discretionary retirement savings contribution which is at the sole discretion of the Company. The Company made contributions to the defined contribution plan of $5,944, $5,514 and $5,379 for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Prior to the Spin-Off certain of our employees participated in a defined benefit pension plan (the “Shared Plan”) sponsored by Honeywell which includes participants of other Honeywell subsidiaries and operations. We accounted for our participation in the Shared Plan as a multi-employer benefit plan. Accordingly, we did not record an asset or liability to recognize the funded status of the Shared Plan. The related pension expense was allocated based on annual service cost of active participants and reported within Costs of goods sold and Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Statements of Operations.

As of the date of separation from Honeywell, these employees’ entitlement to benefits in Honeywell’s plans was frozen and they will accrue no further benefits in Honeywell’s plans. Honeywell retained the liability for benefits payable to eligible employees, which are based on age, years of service and average pay upon retirement.

Upon consummation of the Spin-Off, AdvanSix employees who were participants in a Honeywell defined benefit pension plan became participants in the AdvanSix defined benefit pension plan (“AdvanSix Retirement Earnings Plan”). The AdvanSix Retirement Earnings Plan has the same benefit formula as the Honeywell defined benefit pension plan. Moreover, vesting service, benefit accrual service and compensation credited under the Honeywell defined benefit pension plan apply to the determination of pension benefits under the AdvanSix Retirement Earnings Plan. Benefits earned under the AdvanSix Retirement Earnings Plan shall be reduced by the value of benefits accrued under the Honeywell plans.


Change in benefit obligation:	2019		2018		2017
Benefit obligation at January 1,	$	48,450	$	51,018	$	33,887
Service Cost	6,855		8,008		7,629
Interest Cost	2,084		1,875		1,333
Actuarial losses (gains)	12,364		(12,324)		8,190
Benefits Paid	(472)		(127)		(21)
Benefit obligation at December 31,	$	69,281	$	48,450	$	51,018

Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at January 1,	$	26,789	$	17,321	$	—
Actual return on plan assets	5,462		(2,205)		592
Benefits paid	(472)		(127)		(21)
Company Contributions	4,200		11,800		16,750
Fair value of plan assets at December 31,	35,979		26,789		17,321

Funded status of plan	$	33,302	$	21,661	$	33,697

Amounts recognized in Balance Sheet consists of:
Accrued pension liabilities-current ⁽¹⁾	$	892	$	581	$	301
Accrued pension liabilities-noncurrent ⁽²⁾	32,410		21,080		33,396
Total pension liabilities recognized	$	33,302	$	21,661	$	33,697


	Years Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Transition obligation	$	—	$	—	$	—
Prior service cost	—		—		—
Net actuarial (gain) loss	4,012		(4,226)		4,743
Pension amounts recognized in other comprehensive loss (income)	$	4,012	$	(4,226)	$	4,743


	Years Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Net periodic pension cost (benefit)
Service cost	$	6,855	$	8,008	$	7,629
Interest cost	2,084		1,875		1,333
Expected return on plan assets	(1,336)		(1,151)		(302)
Recognition of actuarial losses	—		—		—
Net periodic Pension Cost	7,603		8,732		8,660
Other changes in benefits obligations recognized in other comprehensive loss (income)
Actuarial losses (gains)	8,238		(8,969)		7,902
Total recognized in other comprehensive income	8,238		(8,969)		7,902
Total net periodic pension cost (benefit) recognized in Other comprehensive income	$	15,841	$	(237)	$	16,562

The estimated actuarial loss (gain) that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into net periodic benefit cost in 2019 and 2018 is expected to be nil.


Key actuarial assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at December 31,			2019	2018	2017
	Effective discount rate for benefit obligation	3.5%	4.6%	3.9%
	Expected annual rate of compensation increase	2.4%	2.8%	2.8%

Key actuarial assumptions used to determine the net periodic benefit cost for the years ended December 31,			2019	2018	2017
	Effective discount rate for service cost	4.6%	3.9%	4.5%
	Effective discount rate for interest cost	4.3%	3.7%	4.0%
	Expected long-term rate of return	7.0%	7.0%	5.8%
	Expected annual rate of compensation increase	2.8%	2.8%	2.8%

The discount rate for our pension plan reflects the current rate at which the associated liabilities could be settled at the measurement date of December 31 of a given year. To determine discount rates for our pension plan, we use a modeling process that involves matching the expected cash outflows of our benefit plan to a yield curve constructed from a portfolio of high quality, fixed-income debt instruments. We use the single weighted-average yield of this hypothetical portfolio as a discount rate benchmark.

The long-term expected rate of return on funded assets is developed by using forward-looking long-term return assumptions for each asset class. Management incorporates the expected future investment returns on current and planned asset allocations using information from external investment consultants as well as management judgment. A single rate is then calculated as the weighted average of the target asset allocation percentages and the long-term return assumption for each asset class.

Benefit payments, including amounts to be paid from Company assets, and reflecting expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid during the following years:

Our general funding policy for our pension plan is to contribute amounts at least sufficient to satisfy regulatory funding standards. We plan to make estimated payments through such time as the plan is fully funded. The Company made pension plan contributions sufficient to satisfy pension funding requirements under the AdvanSix Retirement Earnings Plan as follows:


	Years Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
1st Quarter	$	—	$	1,950	$	2,150
2nd Quarter	500		6,600		1,600
3rd Quarter	3,700		3,250		11,050
4th Quarter	—		—		1,950
Total	$	4,200	$	11,800	$	16,750

The Company plans to make pension plan contributions during 2020 sufficient to satisfy pension funding requirements of $5.0 to $10.0 million as well as additional contributions in future years sufficient to satisfy pension funding requirements in those periods.

The pension plan assets are invested through a master trust fund. The strategic asset allocation for the trust fund is selected by the Company's Investment Committee reflecting the results of comprehensive asset and liability modeling. The Investment Committee establishes strategic asset allocation percentage targets and appropriate benchmarks for significant asset classes with the aim of achieving a prudent balance between return and risk.


	Years Ended December 31,
	2019	2018
Cash and cash equivalents	2%	2%
US and non-US equity securities	65%	65%
Fixed income / real estate / other securities	33%	33%
Total Pension Assets	100%	100%

Fixed income and other securities include investment grade securities covering the Treasury, agency, asset-backed, mortgage-backed and credit sectors of the U.S. Bond Market, as well as listed real estate companies and real estate investment trusts located in both developed and emerging markets.


	Fair Value at December 31,
Fair Value Measurements	2019		2018		2017
Investments valued using NAV per share
Emerging Markets Region Equities	$	2,264	$	1,538	$	1,090
International Region Equities	6,755		4,535		3,215
United States Equities	15,377		11,071		7,273
United States Bonds	9,477		7,878		4,723
Real Estate	1,767		1,357		872
Cash Fund	339		410		148
Total Pension Plan Assets at Fair Value	$	35,979	$	26,789	$	17,321

The pension plan assets are invested in collective investment trust funds as shown above. These investments are measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient and have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy.