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Employee Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefit Plans
Defined Benefit Pension Plan
The Company has a defined benefit pension plan that covers certain of its executive, professional, administrative and clerical employees, subject to certain specified service requirements. The pension plan is noncontributory and benefits are based on an employee’s years of service and “final average earnings,” as defined by the pension plan. The pension plan provides reduced benefits for early retirement and takes into account offsets for social security benefits. The Company also has an unfunded supplemental retirement plan (“Benefit Equalization Plan”) for certain employees whose benefits under the defined benefit pension plan were reduced because of compensation limitations under federal tax laws. Effective June 1, 2004, all benefit accruals under the Company’s pension plan and Benefit Equalization Plan were frozen; however, the current vested benefit was preserved. Pension disclosure as presented below includes aggregated amounts for both of the Company’s plans, except where otherwise indicated.
The Company historically has used the date of its year-end as its measurement date to determine the funded status of the pension plan.
The long-term investment goals of the Company’s pension plan are to manage the assets in accordance with the legal requirements of all applicable laws; produce investment returns which maximize return within reasonable and prudent levels of risks; and achieve a fully funded status with regard to current pension liabilities. Some risk must be assumed in order to achieve the investment goals. Investments with the ability to withstand short and intermediate term variability are considered and some interim fluctuations in market value and rates of return are tolerated in order to achieve the pension plan’s longer-term objectives.
The pension plan’s assets are managed by a third-party investment manager. The Company monitors investment performance and risk on an ongoing basis.
The following table sets forth a summary of net periodic benefit cost for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018:
Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)202020192018
Interest cost$3,032 $3,801 $3,496 
Service cost925 900 875 
Expected return on plan assets(4,022)(4,170)(4,302)
Recognized net actuarial losses2,407 1,933 2,067 
Net periodic benefit cost$2,342 $2,464 $2,136 
Actuarial assumptions used to determine net cost:
Discount rate3.07 %4.12 %3.45 %
Expected return on assets5.75 %5.75 %6.00 %
Rate of increase in compensationN/AN/AN/A
The target asset allocation for the Company’s pension plan by asset category for 2021 and the actual asset allocation as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 by asset category are as follows:
Percentage of Plan Assets as of December 31,
Target
Allocation
2021
Actual Allocation
Asset Category20202019
Cash5 %5 %4 %
Equity funds:
Domestic35 34 47 
International15 17 18 
Fixed income funds45 44 31 
Total100 %100 %100 %
The Company expects to contribute approximately $4.0 million to its defined benefit pension plan in 2021.
Future benefit payments under the plans are estimated as follows:
(in thousands)
Year ended December 31,
2021$6,800 
20226,746 
20236,657 
20246,617 
20256,526 
2026-203030,704 
Total$64,050 
The following tables provide a reconciliation of the changes in the fair value of plan assets and plan benefit obligations during 2020 and 2019, and a summary of the funded status as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:
Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20202019
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets
Balance at beginning of year$73,357 $63,109 
Actual return on plan assets899 12,123 
Company contribution4,408 4,793 
Benefit payments(6,724)(6,668)
Balance at end of year$71,940 $73,357 
Year Ended December 31,
(in thousands)20202019
Change in Benefit Obligations
Balance at beginning of year$102,607 $95,869 
Interest cost3,032 3,801 
Service cost925 900 
Assumption change loss 7,902 8,373 
Actuarial loss81 332 
Benefit payments(6,723)(6,668)
Balance at end of year$107,824 $102,607 
As of December 31,
(in thousands)20202019
Funded status$(35,884)$(29,250)
Net unfunded amounts recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheets consist of:
Current liabilities$(293)$(279)
Long-term liabilities(35,591)(28,971)
Total net unfunded amount recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheets$(35,884)$(29,250)
Amounts not yet recognized in net periodic benefit cost and included in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of net actuarial losses before income taxes of $65.2 million and $56.5 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The discount rate used in determining the accumulated post-retirement benefit obligation was 2.2% as of December 31, 2020 and 3.1% as of December 31, 2019. The discount rate used for the accumulated post-retirement obligation was derived using a blend of U.S. Treasury and high-quality corporate bond discount rates.
The expected long-term rate of return on assets assumption was 5.8% for both 2020 and 2019. The expected long-term rate of return on assets assumption was developed considering forward looking capital market assumptions and historical return expectations for each asset class assuming the plans’ target asset allocation and full availability of invested assets.
Closely held fund strategies seek to capitalize on inefficiencies identified across different asset classes or markets and include long-short equity and long equity, event-driven, multi-strategy and distressed credit.
Plan assets were measured at fair value. Registered investment companies are public investment vehicles valued using the Net Asset Value (“NAV”) of shares held by the pension plan at year-end. Equity and fixed income funds are valued based on quoted market prices in active markets. Closely held funds held by the pension plan, which are only available through private offerings, do not have readily determinable fair values. Estimates of fair value of these funds were determined using the information provided by the fund managers and are generally based on the NAV per share or its equivalent.
The following table sets forth the pension plan assets at fair value in accordance with the fair value hierarchy described in Note 12:
As of December 31, 2020As of December 31, 2019
Fair Value HierarchyFair Value Hierarchy
(in thousands)Level 1Level 2Level 3TotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3Total
Cash and cash equivalents$1,582 $— $— $1,582 $2,867 $— $— $2,867 
Fixed income funds2,000 3,086 — 5,086 — 2,861 — 2,861 
Mutual funds54,671 — — 54,671 54,085 — — 54,085 
$58,253 $3,086 $— $61,339 $56,952 $2,861 $— $59,813 
Closely held funds(a)
Equity partnerships3,700 3,660 
Hedge fund investments6,901 9,884 
Total closely held funds(a)
10,601 13,544 
Total$58,253 $3,086 $— $71,940 $56,952 $2,861 $— $73,357 
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(a)Closely held funds in private investment were comprised of a combination of Level 1, 2 and 3 investments, but were not categorized in the fair value hierarchy because they were measured at NAV using the practical expedient under ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”).
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, pension plan assets included approximately $10.6 million and $13.5 million, respectively, of investments in hedge funds and equity partnerships which do not have readily determinable fair values. The underlying holdings of the funds were comprised of a combination of assets for which the estimate of fair value is determined using information provided by fund managers.
The plans have benefit obligations in excess of the fair value of each plan’s assets as follows:
As of December 31, 2020As of December 31, 2019
(in thousands)Pension
Plan		Benefit
Equalization
Plan		TotalPension
Plan		Benefit
Equalization
Plan		Total
Projected benefit obligation$104,657 $3,167 $107,824 $99,515 $3,092 $102,607 
Accumulated benefit obligation$104,657 $3,167 $107,824 $99,515 $3,092 $102,607 
Fair value of plans' assets71,940 — 71,940 73,357 — 73,357 
Projected benefit obligation greater than fair value of plans' assets$32,717 $3,167 $35,884 $26,158 $3,092 $29,250 
Accumulated benefit obligation greater than fair value of plans' assets$32,717 $3,167 $35,884 $26,158 $3,092 $29,250 
Section 401(k) Plan
The Company has a contributory Section 401(k) plan which covers its executive, professional, administrative and clerical employees, subject to certain specified service requirements. The cost recognized by the Company for its 401(k) plan was $4.3 million in 2020, $4.1 million in 2019 and $4.2 million in 2018. The Company’s contribution is based on a non-discretionary match of employees’ contributions, as defined by the plan.
Multiemployer Plans
In addition to the Company’s defined benefit pension and contribution plans discussed above, the Company participates in multiemployer pension plans for its union construction employees. Contributions are based on the hours worked by employees covered under various collective bargaining agreements. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a contributor to a multiemployer plan is only liable for its proportionate share of a plan’s unfunded vested liability upon termination, or withdrawal from a plan. The Company currently has no intention of withdrawing from any of the multiemployer pension plans in which it participates and, therefore, has not recognized a liability for its proportionate share of any unfunded vested liabilities associated with these plans.
The following table summarizes key information for the plans that the Company made significant contributions to during the three years ended December 31, 2020:
Pension Protections Act
Zone Status		FIP/RP
Status
Pending Or
Implemented		Company Contributions
(amounts in millions) 		Expiration
Date of
Collective
Bargaining
Agreement
Pension FundEIN/Pension
Plan Number
2020
2019
2020(b)
2019(b)
2018
Surcharge
Imposed
The Pension, Hospitalization and Benefit Plan of the Electrical Industry - Pension Trust Fund13-6123601/001GreenGreenN/A$10.1 $9.3 
(a)
$12.2 
(a)
No4/13/2022
Excavators Union Local 731 Pension Fund13-1809825/002GreenGreenN/A4.8 5.1 4.1 No4/30/2022
Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California94-6050970RedRedImplemented4.6 4.0 4.9 No6/30/2023
Northern California Electrical Workers Pension Plan94-6062674GreenGreenN/A3.5 3.0 4.1 No5/31/2022
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(a)These amounts exceeded 5% of the respective total plan contributions.
(b)The Company's contributions as a percentage of total plan contributions were not available for the 2020 and 2019 plan years for any of the above pension funds, excluding The Pension, Hospitalization and Benefit Plan of the Electrical Industry - Pension Trust Fund, Excavators Union Local 731 Pension Fund and Northern California Electrical Workers Pension Plan for the 2019 plan year.
In addition to the individually significant plans described above, the Company also contributed approximately $46.8 million in 2020, $36.5 million in 2019 and $36.6 million in 2018 to other multiemployer pension plans. Funding for these payments is principally provided for in the contracts with our customers.