Stock-Based Compensation (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Grant Contract Periods and Vesting Periods

Options generally vest in accordance with the following schedule:

		Shares vested by period
	Contract Period	6 Months	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
Directors	7 years	100%	—%	—%	—%	—%	—%
Employees	7 years	—%	—%	50%	50%	—%	—%
Employees	10 years	—%	—%	25%	25%	25%	25%

Analysis of Shares Available for Grant

An analysis of shares available for grant is as follows:

	Available for Grant
	2019	2018	2017
Balance at January 1,	9,422,760	2,964,320	5,088,461
Approval of Torchmark Corporation 2018 Incentive Plan(1)	—	8,984,000	—
Cancellation of available shares from prior plans	—	(184,000)	—
Options expired and forfeited during year(2)	20,800	41,317	26,488
Restricted stock expired and forfeited during year(3)	—	—	46,500
Options granted during year(2)	(1,149,542)	(1,262,037)	(1,328,513)
Restricted stock, restricted stock units, and performance shares granted(3)	(1,126,300)	(1,120,840)	(868,616)
Balance at December 31,	7,167,718	9,422,760	2,964,320

(1)See plan document referenced in Exhibits. Formerly, the Torchmark Corporation 2018 Incentive Plan.

(2)Plan allows for grant of options such that each grant reduces shares available for grant in a range from 0.85 share to 1 share.

(3)Plan allows for grant of restricted stock such that each stock grant reduces shares available for grant in a range from 3.10 shares to 3.88 shares

Summary of Stock Compensation Activity

A summary of stock compensation activity for each of the three years ended December 31, 2019 is presented below:

	2019		2018		2017
Stock-based compensation expense recognized(1)	$	44,843	$	39,792	$	37,034
Tax benefit recognized	21,197		14,806		32,511

(1)No stock-based compensation expense was capitalized in any period.

Schedule of Additional Information of Stock-Based Compensation

Additional stock compensation information is as follows at December 31:

	2019		2018
Unrecognized compensation(1)	$	34,723	$	38,627
Weighted average period of expected recognition (in years)(1)	0.78		0.81

(1)Includes restricted stock and performance shares

Summary of Options Outstanding

Options: The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding at December 31, 2019.

	Options Outstanding				Options Exercisable
Range of Exercise Prices	Number Outstanding	Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Years)	Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Number Exercisable	Weighted- Average Exercise Price
$29.59 - $50.64	1,214,461	4.18	$	48.45	936,250	$	47.81
50.69 - 76.37	1,428,126	2.33	53.12		1,364,239	53.10
77.26	1,397,588	5.16	77.26		640,526	77.26
82.56 - 83.17	1,328,197	6.16	82.56		20,717	82.77
87.60 - 90.21	1,355,986	6.27	87.64		38,056	89.08
$29.59 - $90.21	6,724,358	4.80	$	70.07	2,999,788	$	57.27

Analysis of Option Activity

An analysis of option activity for each of the three years ended December 31, 2019 is as follows:

	2019			2018			2017
	Options	Weighted-Average Exercise Price		Options	Weighted-Average Exercise Price		Options	Weighted-Average Exercise Price
Outstanding—beginning of year	7,203,765	$	61.72	6,753,801	$	53.59	6,973,591	$	44.64
Granted:
7-year term	1,352,402	82.43		845,773	87.63		933,286	77.19
10-year term	—	—		543,130	87.60		535,220	77.26
Exercised	(1,810,559)	45.93		(897,622)	40.21		(1,661,808)	36.84
Expired and forfeited	(21,250)	82.89		(41,317)	70.90		(26,488)	57.94
Outstanding—end of year	6,724,358	$	70.07	7,203,765	$	61.72	6,753,801	$	53.59
Exercisable at end of year	2,999,788	$	57.27	3,393,090	$	48.18	2,928,979	$	43.79

Schedule of Additional Information on Unvested Options

Additional information about Globe Life's stock option activity as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 is as follows:

	2019		2018
Outstanding options:
Weighted-average remaining contractual term (in years)	4.80		4.77
Aggregate intrinsic value	$	236,546	$	114,161
Exercisable options:
Weighted-average remaining contractual term (in years)	3.27		2.89
Aggregate intrinsic value	$	143,935	$	89,817

Selected stock option activity for the three years ended December 31, 2019 is presented below:

	2019		2018		2017
Weighted-average grant-date fair value of options granted (per share)	$	14.20	$	15.65	$	12.88
Intrinsic value of options exercised	82,022		42,517		70,948
Cash received from options exercised	83,163		36,091		61,215
Actual tax benefit received	17,225		8,929		24,832

Additional information concerning Globe Life's unvested options is as follows at December 31:

	2019		2018
Number of shares outstanding	3,724,570		3,810,675
Weighted-average exercise price (per share)	$	80.39	$	73.78
Weighted-average remaining contractual term (in years)	6.04		6.45
Aggregate intrinsic value	$	92,611	$	24,344

Schedule Of Restricted Stock Units Outstanding And Vested

Following are the restricted stock units outstanding for each of the three years ended December 31, 2019. All restricted stock units were fully vested at the end of each year of grant.

Year of grants	Outstanding as of year end
2017	120,326
2018	102,116
2019	71,006

Schedule of Performance Shares Settled

Below is the final determination of the performance share grants in 2015 to 2017:

Year of grants	Final settlement of shares	Final settlement date
2015	149,898	February 27, 2018
2016	311,399	February 28, 2019
2017	271,843	February 26, 2020

Summary of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units Granted

A summary of restricted stock grants for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2019 is presented in the table below.

	2019			2018			2017
Directors restricted stock:
Shares	8,840			10,805			9,135
Price per share	$	76.37		$	88.19		$	73.92
Aggregate value	$	675		$	953		$	675
Percent vested as of 12/31/2019	100		%	100		%	100		%
Directors restricted stock units (including dividend equivalents):
Shares	6,634			7,688			7,735
Price per share	$	77.50		$	89.15		$	74.45
Aggregate value	$	514		$	685		$	576
Percent vested as of 12/31/2019	100		%	100		%	100		%
Performance shares:
Target shares	156,500			159,000			153,000
Target price per share	$	82.56		$	87.60		$	77.26
Aggregate value	$	12,921		$	13,928		$	11,821
Percent vested as of 12/31/2019	—		%	—		%	—		%

Analysis of Unvested Restricted Stock

An analysis of unvested restricted stock is as follows:

	Executive Restricted Stock	Executive Performance Shares	Directors Restricted Stock	Directors Restricted Stock Units	Total
2017:
Balance at January 1, 2017	57,450	432,424	1,894	—	491,768
Grants	—	153,000	9,135	7,735	169,870
Additional performance shares(1)	—	106,084	—	—	106,084
Restriction lapses	(14,700)	(119,896)	(11,029)	(7,735)	(153,360)
Forfeitures	(7,500)	(7,500)	—	—	(15,000)
Balance at December 31, 2017	35,250	564,112	—	—	599,362
2018:
Grants	—	159,000	10,805	7,688	177,493
Additional performance shares(1)	—	179,415	—	—	179,415
Restriction lapses	(23,250)	(149,898)	(10,805)	(7,688)	(191,641)
Forfeitures	—	—	—	—	—
Balance at December 31, 2018	12,000	752,629	—	—	764,629
2019:
Grants	—	156,500	8,840	6,634	171,974
Additional performance shares(1)	—	118,812	—	—	118,812
Restriction lapses	(12,000)	(311,399)	(8,840)	(6,634)	(338,873)
Forfeitures	—	—	—	—	—
Balance at December 31, 2019	—	716,542	—	—	716,542

(1)Estimated additional (reduced) share grants expected due to achievement of performance criteria.

Schedule of Weighted-Average Grant-Date Fair Values of Unvested Restricted Stock

An analysis of the weighted-average grant-date fair values per share of unvested restricted stock is as follows for the year 2019:

	Executive Restricted Stock		Executive Performance Shares		Directors Restricted Stock		Directors Restricted Stock Units
Grant-date fair value per share at January 1, 2019	$	50.69	$	67.06	$	—	$	—
Grants	—		82.56		76.37		76.37
Estimated additional performance shares	—		60.31		—		—
Restriction lapses	(50.69)		(50.64)		(76.37)		(76.37)
Forfeitures	—		—		—		—
Grant-date fair value per share at December 31, 2019	—		75.05		—		—