EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Net periodic costs (benefits) were as follows:



	Defined Benefits for the Years Ended September 30,									Supplemental Benefits for the Years Ended September 30,
	2018			2017			2016			2018		2017		2016
Net periodic (benefits) costs:
Interest cost	$	5,084		$	4,892		$	5,465		$	544	$	715	$	1,243
Expected return on plan assets	(10,736		)	(10,943		)	(10,934		)	—		—		—
Amortization of:
Prior service costs	—			1			1			14		15		19
Actuarial loss	755			1,980			1,131			628		1,347		1,224
Total net periodic (benefits) costs	$	(4,897	)	$	(4,070	)	$	(4,337	)	$	1,186	$	2,077	$	2,486

The weighted-average assumptions used in determining the net periodic (benefits) costs were as follows:



	Defined Benefits for the Years Ended September 30,						Supplemental Benefits for the Years Ended September 30,
	2018		2017		2016		2018		2017		2016
Discount rate	4.10	%	3.64	%	3.42	%	3.99	%	3.18	%	2.86	%
Expected return on assets	7.00	%	7.25	%	7.50	%	—	%	—	%	—	%

Plan assets and benefit obligation of the defined and supplemental benefit plans were as follows:



	Defined Benefits at September 30,						Supplemental Benefits at September 30,
	2018			2017			2018			2017
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of fiscal year	$	174,337		$	189,156		$	32,627		$	35,774
Interest cost	5,084			4,892			544			715
Benefits paid	(10,531		)	(10,393		)	(3,001		)	(4,057		)
Actuarial (gain) loss	(7,562		)	(9,318		)	(14,452		)	195
Benefit obligation at end of fiscal year	161,328			174,337			15,718			32,627
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of fiscal year	150,822			144,316			—			—
Actual return on plan assets	7,940			13,152			—			—
Company contributions	2,449			3,747			3,001			4,057
Benefits paid	(10,531		)	(10,393		)	(3,001		)	(4,057		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of fiscal year	150,680			150,822			—			—
Projected benefit obligation in excess of plan assets	$	(10,648	)	$	(23,515	)	$	(15,718	)	$	(32,627	)
Amounts recognized in the statement of financial position consist of:
Accrued liabilities	$	—		$	—		$	(1,906	)	$	(3,984	)
Other liabilities (long-term)	(10,648		)	(23,515		)	(13,812		)	(28,643		)
Total Liabilities	(10,648		)	(23,515		)	(15,718		)	(32,627		)
Net actuarial losses	19,088			24,608			4,965			20,045
Prior service cost	—			—			28			42
Deferred taxes	(6,103		)	(9,069		)	(1,597		)	(7,486		)
Total Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax	12,985			15,539			3,396			12,601
Net amount recognized at September 30,	$	2,337		$	(7,976	)	$	(12,322	)	$	(20,026	)
Accumulated benefit obligations	$	161,328		$	174,337		$	15,718		$	32,627
Information for plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets:
ABO	$	161,328		$	174,337		$	15,718		$	32,627
PBO	161,328			174,337			15,718			32,627
Fair value of plan assets	150,680			150,822			—			—

The weighted-average assumptions used in determining the benefit obligations were as follows:



	Defined Benefits at September 30,				Supplemental Benefits at September 30,
	2018		2017		2018		2017
Weighted average discount rate	4.10	%	3.64	%	3.99	%	3.18	%

The actual and weighted-average asset allocation for qualified benefit plans were as follows:

Estimated future benefit payments to retirees, which reflect expected future service, are as follows:



For the years ending September 30,	Defined Benefits		Supplemental Benefits
2019	$	10,767	$	1,906
2020	10,892		1,822
2021	10,979		1,734
2022	10,960		1,642
2023	10,950		1,545
2024 through 2028	53,652		6,068

The following table presents the fair values of Griffon’s pension and post-retirement plan assets by asset category:



At September 30, 2018	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Cash and equivalents	$	27,209	$	—	$	—	$	27,209
Debt instruments	14,269		—		—		14,269
Equity securities	41,042		—		—		41,042
Commingled funds	—		62,088		—		62,088
Limited partnerships and hedge fund investments	—		6,026		—		6,026
Total	$	82,520	$	68,114	$	—	$	150,634



At September 30, 2017	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Cash and equivalents	$	27,156	$	—	$	—	$	27,156
Debt instruments	14,520		—		—		14,520
Equity securities	40,423		—		—		40,423
Commingled funds	—		62,907		—		62,907
Limited partnerships and hedge fund investments	—		5,816		—		5,816
Total	$	82,099	$	68,723	$	—	$	150,822

The ESOP shares were as follows: