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Pension Plan and Employee Benefits (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]  
Schedule of Reconciliation of Benefit Obligations, Plan Assets and Funded Status of Pension Plans
The employee pension plan and Other Benefits plan obligation, plan assets, and funded status at December 31, 2021, and 2020 are presented in the following table:


 PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)2021202020212020
Change in benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of period
$686,384 $610,323 $56,331 $52,722 
Service cost
10,516 9,820 2,425 2,153 
Interest cost
18,668 20,816 1,283 1,651 
Plan participants’ contributions
— — — 1,289 
Actuarial (gain) loss(9,823)71,708 (81)4,221 
Expenses paid
(3,306)(2,661)— — 
Benefits paid(25,292)(23,622)(4,701)(5,705)
Special/contractual termination benefits3,270 — — — 
Benefit obligation at end of period
680,417 686,384 55,257 56,331 
Change in plan assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period
516,120 460,097 — — 
Actual return on plan assets
39,905 66,557 — — 
Employer contributions
— 15,750 — — 
Expenses paid
(3,306)(2,662)— — 
Benefits paid(25,292)(23,622)— — 
Fair value of plan assets at end of period
527,427 516,120 — — 
Unfunded status$(152,990)$(170,264)$(55,257)$(56,331)
SERP’s funded status at December 31, 2021, and 2020 is presented in the following table:

 SERP BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Change in benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of period
$97,225 $89,128 
Service cost232 399 
Interest cost2,538 2,932 
Actuarial (gain) loss(1,932)9,621 
Benefits paid(4,884)(4,590)
Plan amendments— (265)
Benefit obligation at end of period
$93,179 $97,225 
Schedule of Accumulated Benefit Obligation
The employee pension plan accumulated benefit obligation at December 31, 2021, and 2020 is presented in the following table:

 PENSION BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Accumulated benefit obligation$640,490 $636,199 
SERP’s accumulated benefit obligation at December 31, 2021, and 2020 is presented in the following table:

 SERP BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Accumulated benefit obligation$93,179 $97,225 
Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income The following table presents the net actuarial gains/losses and prior service costs/credits included in other comprehensive income for Other Benefits and in regulatory assets for pension related to current year gains and losses as a result of being included in net periodic benefit costs for the employee pension plan and Other Benefits plan for December 31, 2021, and 2020:
PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)2021202020212020
Net actuarial (gain) loss occurring during period$(26,925)$30,126 $(81)$4,221 
Net actuarial loss amortized during period$20,739 $16,292 $1,523 $1,389 
Prior service credit amortized during period$— $(60)$— $— 
The following table presents net actuarial gains/losses and prior service costs/credits included in other comprehensive income or regulatory assets related to current year gains and losses as a result of being amortized as a component of net periodic benefit costs for SERP for December 31, 2021, and 2020:

 SERP BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Net actuarial (gain) loss occurring during year$(1,932)$9,621 
Net actuarial loss amortized during year
$1,228 $3,185 
Prior service credit amortized during year
$(215)$(215)
Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
The following table presents net actuarial gains/losses in accumulated other comprehensive income for Other Benefits and in regulatory assets for pension that have not been recognized as components of net periodic benefit costs for the employee pension plan and Other Benefits plans at December 31, 2021, and 2020:

PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)2021202020212020
Net actuarial loss$117,773 $165,437 $22,785 $21,342 

The following table presents net actuarial losses and prior service credit in accumulated other comprehensive income and regulatory assets that have not been recognized as components of net periodic benefit costs for SERP at December 31, 2021, and 2020:

 SERP BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Net actuarial loss$31,526 $34,825 
Prior service credit$(1,514)$(1,728)
Schedule of Components of Net Periodic Pension and Other Benefit Costs The components of net periodic pension and Other Benefits costs for 2021, 2020, and 2019 are as follows:
PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)202120202019202120202019
Components of periodic benefit costs
Service cost$10,516 $9,820 $8,414 $2,425 $2,153 $1,191 
Interest cost18,668 20,816 22,485 1,283 1,651 1,646 
Expected return on plan assets(22,801)(24,974)(26,502)— — — 
Amortizations
Prior service credit— (60)(71)— — — 
Net loss20,738 16,292 7,849 1,523 1,389 21 
Net periodic benefit cost$27,121 $21,894 $12,175 $5,231 $5,193 $2,858 
Special/contractual termination benefits$3,270 $— $— $— $— $— 
Total benefit cost$30,391 $21,894 $12,175 $5,231 $5,193 $2,858 
The components of the net SERP costs for 2021, 2020, and 2019 are as follows:
 SERP BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)202120202019
Components of periodic benefit costs
Service cost$232 $399 $330 
Interest cost2,538 2,932 3,326 
Amortizations
Prior service credit(215)(215)(160)
Net loss1,228 3,186 1,544 
Net periodic benefit cost$3,783 $6,302 $5,040 
Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Balance Sheet The current and non-current portions of the Other Benefits liability for Cleco and Cleco Power at December 31, 2021, and 2020 are as follows:
Cleco
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Current$5,181 $4,463 
Non-current$50,093 $51,868 
The current and non-current portions of the SERP liability for Cleco and Cleco Power at December 31, 2021, and 2020 are as follows:
Cleco
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Current$4,654 $4,703 
Non-current$88,523 $92,522 
Schedule of Weighted-Average Assumptions Used to Determine Benefit Obligation and Net Periodic Costs The assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation and the periodic costs are as follows:
 PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,AT DEC. 31,
 2021202020212020
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation    
Discount rate2.98 %2.74 %2.82 %2.39 %
Rate of compensation increase
2.73 %2.75 %N/AN/A

 PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
 202120202019202120202019
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net benefit cost
Discount rate2.74 %3.43 %4.35 %2.39 %3.25 %4.16 %
Expected return on plan assets
5.00 %5.91 %6.55 %N/AN/AN/A
Rate of compensation increase
2.71 %2.75 %2.81 %N/AN/AN/A
The assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation and the periodic costs are as follows:
 SERP BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,
 20212020
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation
  
Discount rate2.95 %2.64 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/A
 SERP BENEFITS
 202120202019
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net benefit cost
Discount rate2.64 %3.37 %4.34 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/A5.00 %
Schedule of Fair Value Allocation of Pension Plan The following tables disclose the pension plan’s fair value of financial assets measured on a recurring basis:
(THOUSANDS)AT DEC. 31, 2021QUOTED PRICES
IN ACTIVE
MARKETS FOR
IDENTICAL
ASSETS
(LEVEL 1)		SIGNIFICANT
OTHER
OBSERVABLE
INPUTS
(LEVEL 2)		SIGNIFICANT
UNOBSERVABLE
INPUTS
(LEVEL 3)
Asset Description    
Cash equivalents$7,433 $— $7,433 $— 
Government securities
75,815 — 75,815 — 
Mutual funds
Domestic
106,694 106,694 — — 
International
56,169 56,169 — — 
Real estate funds39,091 — — 39,091 
Corporate debt166,435 — 166,435 — 
Total$451,637 $162,863 $249,683 $39,091 
Investments measured at net asset value*73,771 
Interest accrual2,019 
Total net assets$527,427 
*Investments measured at net asset value consist of Common/collective trust.
(THOUSANDS)AT DEC. 31, 2020QUOTED PRICES
IN ACTIVE
MARKETS FOR
IDENTICAL ASSETS
(LEVEL 1)		SIGNIFICANT
OTHER
OBSERVABLE
INPUTS
(LEVEL 2)		SIGNIFICANT
UNOBSERVABLE
INPUTS
(LEVEL 3)
Asset Description    
Cash equivalents$19,567 $— $19,567 $— 
Government securities
26,863 — 26,863 — 
Mutual funds
Domestic
107,055 107,055 — — 
International
60,104 60,104 — — 
Real estate funds35,962 — — 35,962 
Corporate debt192,261 — 192,261 — 
Total$441,812 $167,159 $238,691 $35,962 
Investments measured at net asset value*72,044 
Interest accrual2,264 
Total net assets$516,120 
*Investments measured at net asset value consist of Common/collective trust.
The following chart shows the dynamic asset allocation based on the funded ratio at December 31, 2021:

 PERCENT OF TOTAL PLAN ASSETS
AT DEC. 31, 2021
 MINIMUMTARGETMAXIMUM
Return-seeking   
Domestic equity19 %
International equity20 %
Multi-asset credit6 %
Real estate5 %
Total return-seeking45 %50 %55 %
Liability hedging*45 %50 %55 %
*Liability hedging has no target subcategories.
Schedule of Pension Plan Unobservable Input Reconciliation
The following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the pension plan’s real estate funds measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) during the years ended December 31, 2021, and 2020:

(THOUSANDS)
Balance, Dec. 31, 2019$18,017 
Realized gains251 
Unrealized losses(1,603)
Purchases20,893 
Sales(1,596)
Balance, Dec. 31, 2020$35,962 
Realized gains503 
Unrealized gains3,524 
Purchases1,865 
Sales(2,763)
Balance, Dec. 31, 2021$39,091 
Schedule of Projected Benefit Payments and Projected Receipts
The projected benefit payments for the employee pension plan and Other Benefits plan for each year through 2026 and the next five years thereafter are listed in the following table:

(THOUSANDS)PENSION BENEFITSOTHER
BENEFITS,
GROSS
For the year ending Dec. 31,
2022$29,239 $5,253 
2023$29,833 $5,079 
2024$30,566 $4,902 
2025$31,578 $4,759 
2026$32,339 $4,682 
Next five years
$170,382 $21,553 
The projected benefit payments for SERP for each year through 2026 and the next five years thereafter are shown in the following table:

(THOUSANDS)20222023202420252026NEXT FIVE
YEARS
SERP$4,722 $4,840 $4,908 $5,054 $5,175 $25,391 
Schedule of 401(k) Plan Expense Cleco’s 401(k) Plan expense for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 was as follows:
 FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)202120202019
401(k) Plan expense
$9,366 $9,685 $7,861 
The expense of the 401(k) Plan related to Cleco’s other subsidiaries for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 was as follows:
 FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)202120202019
401(k) Plan expense
$4,350 $4,424 $3,408 
CLECO POWER  
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]  
Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Balance Sheet
Cleco Power
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Current$4,432 $3,865 
Non-current$39,315 $40,734 
Cleco Power
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20212020
Current$679 $711 
Non-current$12,909 $19,828