EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Net periodic costs (benefits) were as follows:



	Defined Benefits for the Years Ended September 30,									Supplemental Benefits for the Years Ended September 30,
	2019			2018			2017			2019		2018		2017
Net periodic (benefits) costs:
Interest cost	$	5,778		$	5,084		$	4,892		$	503	$	544	$	715
Expected return on plan assets	(10,331		)	(10,736		)	(10,943		)	—		—		—
Amortization of:
Prior service costs	—			—			1			14		14		15
Actuarial loss	630			755			1,980			258		628		1,347
Total net periodic (benefits) costs	$	(3,923	)	$	(4,897	)	$	(4,070	)	$	775	$	1,186	$	2,077

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,
	2019		2018		2017		2019		2018		2017
Discount rate	2.92	%	4.10	%	3.64	%	2.64	%	3.99	%	3.18	%
Expected return on assets	7.00	%	7.00	%	7.25	%	—	%	—	%	—	%

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,
	2019			2018			2019			2018
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of fiscal year	$	161,328		$	174,337		$	15,718		$	32,627
Interest cost	5,778			5,084			503			544
Benefits paid	(10,790		)	(10,531		)	(1,942		)	(3,001		)
Actuarial (gain) loss	21,481			(7,562		)	1,901			(14,452		)
Benefit obligation at end of fiscal year	177,797			161,328			16,180			15,718
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of fiscal year	150,680			150,822			—			—
Actual return on plan assets	2,606			7,940			—			—
Company contributions	3,114			2,449			1,942			3,001
Benefits paid	(10,790		)	(10,531		)	(1,942		)	(3,001		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of fiscal year	145,610			150,680			—			—
Projected benefit obligation in excess of plan assets	$	(32,187	)	$	(10,648	)	$	(16,180	)	$	(15,718	)
Amounts recognized in the statement of financial position consist of:
Accrued liabilities	$	—		$	—		$	(1,906	)	$	(1,906	)
Other liabilities (long-term)	(32,187		)	(10,648		)	(14,279		)	(13,812		)
Total Liabilities	(32,187		)	(10,648		)	(16,185		)	(15,718		)
Net actuarial losses	47,663			19,088			6,609			4,965
Prior service cost	—			—			14			28
Deferred taxes	(17,098		)	(6,103		)	(2,374		)	(1,597		)
Total Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax	30,565			12,985			4,249			3,396
Net amount recognized at September 30,	$	(1,622	)	$	2,337		$	(11,936	)	$	(12,322	)
Accumulated benefit obligations	$	177,797		$	161,328		$	16,180		$	15,718
Information for plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets:
ABO	$	177,797		$	161,328		$	16,180		$	15,718
PBO	177,797			161,328			16,180			15,718
Fair value of plan assets	145,610			150,680			—			—

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



	Defined Benefits at September 30,				Supplemental Benefits at September 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Weighted average discount rate	2.92	%	4.10	%	2.64	%	3.99	%

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
2020	$	11,017	$	1,900
2021	11,094		1,807
2022	11,026		1,709
2023	10,990		1,608
2024	10,933		1,490
2025 through 2029	53,249		5,741

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



At September 30, 2019	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	$	2,791	$	—	$	—	$	2,791
Government agency securities	27,408		10,008		—		37,416
Debt instruments	182		2,996		—		3,178
Equity securities	72,517		—		—		72,517
Commingled funds	—		—		8,776		8,776
Limited partnerships and hedge fund investments	—		18,569		—		18,569
Other Securities	1,348		724		—		2,072
Total	$	104,246	$	32,297	$	8,776	$	145,319

The following table represents level 3 significant unobservable inputs for the year ended September 30, 2019:




	Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)

As of October 1, 2018	$	—
Purchases, issuances and settlements	7,695
Gains and losses	1,081
As of September 30, 2019	$	8,776



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

The ESOP shares were as follows: