Retirement Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Retirement Benefit Plans

10. Retirement Benefit Plans

10. Retirement Benefit Plans

The Company has non-contributory defined benefit pension plans covering some U.S. employees. Plan benefits are generally based upon age at retirement, years of service and, for its salaried plan, the level of compensation. The Company also sponsors unfunded non-qualified supplemental retirement plans that provide certain former officers with benefits in excess of limits imposed by federal tax law.

The Company also provides health care and life insurance for retired salaried employees in the United States who meet specific eligibility requirements.

Components of the net periodic benefit cost of the Company’s pension benefit plans for the fiscal year indicated were as follows:

	2022			2021
Service cost	$	1,078,973		$	1,087,333
Interest cost		2,432,756			2,017,015
Expected return on plan assets		(5,842,641	)		(5,794,694	)
Amortization of prior service cost		66,252			99,380
Amortization of the net loss		1,560,299			1,730,150
Net periodic benefit cost	$	(704,361	)	$	(860,816	)

Service costs are reported in the cost of products sold and the other components of net periodic benefit costs are reported in other income in the consolidated statements of income.

Assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s pension benefit plans for the fiscal year indicated were as follows:

	2022		2021
Discount rate
- Pension plans	2.75% - 2.81%		2.40% - 2.48%
- Supplemental pension plans		2.08%		1.49%
Expected return on plan assets		7.5%		7.5%
Rate of compensation increase		0%		0%

Components of the net periodic benefit cost of the Company’s other postretirement benefit plan were as follows:

	2022			2021
Service cost	$	53,291		$	54,505
Interest cost		43,950			39,369
Expected return on plan assets		(17,600	)		(25,681	)
Amortization of prior service cost		-			-
Amortization of the net loss		(8,214	)		(12,374	)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	75,668		$	55,819

Assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s other postretirement plan for the fiscal year indicated were as follows:

	2022			2021
Discount rate		5.28	%		2.66	%
Expected return on plan assets		4.0	%		4.0	%

As of December 31, 2022, and January 1, 2022, the status of the Company’s pension benefit plans and other postretirement benefit plan was as follows:

	Pension Benefit						Other Postretirement Benefit
	2022			2021			2022			2021
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	107,420,338		$	111,549,725		$	1,724,582		$	1,827,169
Change in discount rate		(26,408,548	)		(5,316,621	)		(562,340	)		(96,343	)
Service cost		1,078,973			1,087,333			53,291			54,505
Interest cost		2,432,756			2,017,015			43,950			39,369
Plan Amendment		-			-			-			36,388
Actuarial (gain)/loss		934,211			2,340,743			(73,395	)		110,462
Significant Event		-			-			-			(218,103	)
Benefits paid		(4,756,015	)		(4,257,857	)		(34,962	)		(28,865	)
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	80,701,715		$	107,420,338		$	1,151,126		$	1,724,582

	2022			2021			2022			2021
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	80,814,956		$	78,361,102		$	439,993		$	642,030
Actual return on plan assets		(17,701,556	)		4,369,247			44,911			16,066
Employer contributions		169,865			2,342,462			49,158			45,243
Significant Event		-			-			-			(218,103	)
Benefits paid		(4,756,015	)		(4,257,855	)		(49,158	)		(45,243	)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	58,527,250		$	80,814,956		$	484,904		$	439,993

	Pension Benefit						Other Postretirement Benefit
Funded Status	2022			2021			2022			2021
Net amount recognized in the balance sheet	$	(22,174,465	)	$	(26,605,382	)	$	(666,222	)	$	(1,284,589	)

Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income consist of:
	Pension Benefit						Other Postretirement Benefit
	2022			2021			2022		2021
Net (loss)/gain	$	(36,956,587	)	$	(40,447,026	)	$	900,694	$	241,621
Prior service (cost) credit		-			(66,252	)		-		-
	$	(36,956,587	)	$	(40,513,278	)	$	900,694	$	241,621

Change in the components of accumulated other comprehensive income consist of:

	Pension Benefit						Other Postretirement Benefit
	2022			2021			2022			2021
Balance at beginning of period	$	(40,513,278	)	$	(43,893,239	)	$	241,621		$	349,276
Change due to availability of final actual assets and census data		-			-			-			-
Charged to net periodic benefit cost
Prior service cost		66,252			99,380			4,241			-
Net loss (gain)		1,560,299			1,730,150			(8,214	)		(12,374	)
Liability (gains)/losses
Discount rate		26,408,548			5,316,621			562,340			96,343
Asset (gains)/losses deferred		(22,866,209	)		(771,444	)		27,311			(9,615	)
Plan Amendments		-			-			-			(36,388	)
Significant Event		-			-			-			(35,159	)
Other		(1,612,199	)		(2,994,746	)		73,395			(110,462	)
Balance at end of period	$	(36,956,587	)	$	(40,513,278	)	$	900,694		$	241,621

Assumptions used to determine the projected benefit obligations for the Company’s pension benefit plans and other postretirement benefit plan for the fiscal year indicated were as follows:

			2022		2021
Discount rate
	-	Pension plans	5.21% - 5.23%		2.75% - 2.81%
	-	Supplemental pension plans		4.98%		2.08%
	-	Other postretirement plan		5.28%		2.93%

On December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2022, the accumulated benefit obligation for all qualified and nonqualified defined benefit pension plans was $80,701,715 and $107,420,338, respectively. During 2022, the pension benefit obligation decreased between 24.1% to 26.1% due to the increase in the discount rates from 2.75%-2.81% to 5.21%-5.23%.

Information for the under-funded pension plans with a projected benefit obligation and an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets:

	2022			2021
Number of plans		5			5
Projected benefit obligation	$	80,701,715		$	107,420,338
Accumulated benefit obligation		80,701,715			107,420,338
Fair value of plan assets		58,527,250			80,814,956
Net amount recognized in accrued benefit liability	$	(22,174,465	)	$	(26,605,382	)

Estimated future benefit payments to participants of the Company’s pension plans are $5.0 million in 2023, $5.1 million in 2024, $5.3 million in 2025, $5.5 million in 2026, $5.6 million in 2027 and a total of $29.0 million from 2028 through 2032.

Estimated future benefit payments to participants of the Company’s other postretirement plan are $46,000 in 2023, $46,000 in 2024, $49,000 in 2025, $52,000 in 2026, $53,000 in 2027 and a total of $302,000 from 2028 through 2032.

The Company expects to make cash contributions to its qualified pension plans of approximately $800,000 and to its other postretirement plan of approximately $50,000 in 2023.

We consider a number of factors in determining and selecting assumptions for the overall expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. We consider the historical long-term return experience of our assets, the current and expected allocation of our plan assets, and expected long-term rates of return. We derive these expected long-term rates of return with the assistance of our investment advisors and generally base these rates on a 10-year horizon for various asset classes and consider the expected positive impact of active investment management. We base our expected allocation of plan assets on a diversified portfolio consisting of domestic and international equity securities and fixed income securities.

We consider a variety of factors in determining and selecting our assumptions for the discount rate at the end of the year. In 2022, as in 2021, we developed each plan’s discount rate with the assistance of our actuaries by matching expected future benefit payments in each year to the corresponding spot rates from the FTSE Pension Liability Yield Curve, comprised of high quality (rated AA or better) corporate bonds.

The fair values of the Company’s pension plans assets on December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2022, utilizing the fair value hierarchy discussed in Note 4 – Accounting Policies – Fair Value of Financial Instruments, follow:

	December 31, 2022
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash and Equivalents:
Common/collective trust funds	$	-	$	391,357	$	-	$	391,357
Equities:
The Eastern Company Common Stock		4,184,107				-		4,184,107
Common/collective trust funds
Russell Multi Asset Core Plus Fund (a)		-		26,244,623		-		26,244,623
Fixed Income:
Common/collective trust funds
Target Duration LDI Fixed Income Funds (b)
• Russell 25 Year LDI Fixed Income Fund		-		4,376,600		-		4,376,600
• Russell 14 Year LDI Fixed Income Fund		-		18,012,813		-		18,012,813
STRIPS Fixed Income Funds (c)
• Russell 15 to 20 Year STRIPS Fixed Income Fund		-		2,151,410		-		2,151,410
• Russell 10 to 15 Year STRIPS Fixed Income Fund		-		3,166,340		-		3,166,340
Total	$	4,184,107	$	54,343,143	$	-	$	58,527,250

	January 1, 2022
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash and Equivalents:
Common/collective trust funds	$	-	$	356,173	$	-	$	356,173
Equities:
The Eastern Company Common Stock		5,460,173				-		5,460,173
Common/collective trust funds
Russell Multi Asset Core Plus Fund (a)		-		36,142,837		-		36,142,837
Fixed Income:
Common/collective trust funds
Target Duration LDI Fixed Income Funds (b)
· Russell 25 Year LDI Fixed Income Fund		-		4,320,207		-		4,320,207
· Russell 14 Year LDI Fixed Income Fund		-		26,430,482		-		26,430,482
STRIPS Fixed Income Funds (c)
· Russell 15 to 20 Year STRIPS Fixed Income Fund		-		3,264,328		-		3,264,328
· Russell 10 to 15 Year STRIPS Fixed Income Fund		-		4,840,756		-		4,840,756
Total	$	5,460,173	$	75,354,783	$	-	$	80,814,956

Equity common funds primarily hold publicly traded common stock of both U.S and international companies selected for purposes of total return and to maintain equity exposure consistent with policy allocations. The Level 1 investment is made up of shares of The Eastern Company Common Stock and is valued at market price. Level 2 investments include commingled funds valued at unit values provided by the investment managers, which are based on the fair value of the underlying publicly traded securities.

(a)	The investment objective of the RITC (formerly Russell) Multi-Asset Core Plus Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital over a market cycle by offering a diversified portfolio of funds and separate accounts investing in global stock, return seeking fixed income, commodities, global real estate, and opportunistic investments. They hold a dynamic mix of underlying Russell Investments funds and/or separate accounts. Russell Investments is a strong proponent of disciplined strategic asset allocation and rebalancing strategies and believes that unstable movements in the market have the potential to create opportunities. By identifying short-term mispricing and making small tactical adjustments to the Multi-Asset Core Plus Fund, they believe there is potential to enhance returns while continuing to manage risks.
(b)	The Target Duration LDI Fixed Income Funds seek to outperform their respective Barclays-Russell LDI Indexes over a full market cycle. These Funds invest primarily in investment grade corporate bonds that closely match those found in discount curves used to value U.S. pension liabilities. They seek to provide additional incremental return through modest interest rate timing, security selection and tactical use of non-credit sectors. Generally, for use in combination with other bond funds to gain additional credit exposure, with the goal of reducing the mismatch between a plan’s assets and liabilities.
(c)	The STRIPS (Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities) Funds seek to provide duration and Treasury exposure by investing in an optimized subset of the STRIPS universe with a similar duration profile as the Barclays U.S. Treasury STRIPS 10-11 year, 16-16 year or 28-29 year Index. These passively managed funds are generally used with other bond funds to add additional duration to the asset portfolio. This will help reduce the mismatch between a plan’s assets and liabilities.

The investment portfolio contains a diversified blend of common stocks, bonds, cash equivalents, and other investments, which may reflect varying rates of return. The investments are further diversified within each asset classification. The portfolio diversification provides protection against a single security or class of securities having a disproportionate impact on aggregate performance. The Company has elected to change its investment strategy to better match the assets with the underlying plan liabilities. Currently, the long-term target allocations for plan assets are 50% in equities and 50% in fixed income although the actual plan asset allocations may be within a range around these targets. The actual asset allocations are reviewed and rebalanced on a periodic basis to maintain the target allocations. It is expected that, as the funded status of the plans improves, more assets will be invested in long-duration fixed income instruments.

The plans’ assets include 217,018 shares of the common stock of the Company having a market value of $4,184,107 and $5,460,173 on December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2022, respectively. No shares were purchased in 2022 or 2021 nor were any shares sold in either period. Dividends received during 2022 and 2021 on the common stock of the Company were $95,488 and $95,488 respectively.

U.S. salaried and non-union hourly employees and most employees of the Company’s Canadian subsidiaries are covered by defined contribution plans.

The Company has a contributory savings plan under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code covering substantially all U.S. non-union employees. This plan allows participants to make voluntary contributions of up to 100% of their annual compensation on a pretax basis, subject to IRS limitations. The plan provides for contributions by the Company at its discretion.

The Company amended the Eastern Company Savings and Investment Plan (“401(k) Plan Amendment”) effective June 1, 2016. The 401(k) Plan Amendment increased this match to 50% of the first 6% of contributions for the remainder of Fiscal 2016 and going forward. The 401(k) Plan Amendment also provided for an additional non-discretionary contribution (the “transitional credit”) for certain non-union U.S. employees who were eligible to participate in the Salaried Plan. The amount of this non-discretionary contribution ranges from 0% to 4% of wages, based on the age of the individual on June 1, 2016. The 401(k) Plan Amendment increased the non-discretionary safe harbor contribution to 3% and changed the eligibility to all non-union U.S. employees.

The Company made contributions to the plan as follows:

	2022		2021
Regular matching contributions	$	561,357	$	553,619
Transitional credit contributions		123,387		138,604
Non-discretionary contributions		376,861		392,865
Total contributions made for the period	$	1,061,605	$	1,085,088

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had accrued $379,090 for the non-discretionary safe harbor contribution. This amount was expensed in 2022 and was contributed to the plan in January 2023. As of January 1, 2022, the Company had accrued $323,082 for the non-discretionary safe harbor contribution. This amount was contributed to the Plan in January 2022 and was expensed in 2021.