Pension and postretirement benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Disclosure Text Block

Employee Benefits

Note 29 – Pension and postretirement benefits

The Corporation has a non-contributory defined benefit pension plan and supplementary pension benefit restoration plans for regular employees of certain of its subsidiaries (the “Pension Plans”). The accrual of benefits under the Pension Plans is frozen to all participants. The Corporation also provides certain postretirement health care benefits for retired employees of certain subsidiaries (the “OPEB Plan”)

The components of net periodic cost for the Pension Plans and the OPEB Plan for the periods presented were as follows:

		Pension Plans				OPEB Plan
		Quarters ended March 31,				Quarters ended March 31,
(In thousands)		2020		2019		2020		2019
Personnel Cost:
Service cost	$	-	$	-	$	178	$	190
Other operating expenses:
Interest cost		5,847		7,110		1,228		1,489
Expected return on plan assets		(9,526)		(8,096)		-		-
Amortization of prior service cost/(credit)		-		-		-		-
Amortization of net loss		5,220		5,876		142		-
Total net periodic pension cost	$	1,541	$	4,890	$	1,548	$	1,679

The Corporation paid the following contributions to the plans during the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and expects to pay the following contributions for the year ending December 31, 2020.

	For the quarter ended		For the year ending
(In thousands)	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2020
Pension Plans	$	57	$	229
OPEB Plan	$	1,213	$	6,516