RETIREMENT PLANS AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

Tredegar sponsors a noncontributory defined benefit (pension) plan covering certain current and former U.S. employees. The plans for salaried and hourly employees currently in effect is based on a formula using the participant’s years of service and compensation or using the participant’s years of service and a dollar amount. The plan is closed to new participants and pay for active plan participants for benefit calculations was frozen as of December 31, 2007. As of January 31, 2018, the plan no longer accrued benefits associated with crediting employees for service, thereby freezing all future benefits under the plan.

In addition to providing pension benefits, the Company provides postretirement life insurance and health care benefits for certain groups of employees. Tredegar and retirees share in the cost of postretirement health care benefits, with employees hired on or before January 1, 1993, receiving a fixed subsidy to cover a portion of their health care premiums. The Company eliminated prescription drug coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees as of January 1, 2006. Consequently, Tredegar is not eligible for any federal subsidies.

The following tables reconcile the changes in benefit obligations and plan assets in 2018 and 2017, and reconcile the funded status to prepaid or accrued cost at December 31, 2018 and 2017:



	Pension Benefits						Other Post- Retirement Benefits
(In thousands)	2018			2017			2018			2017
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation, beginning of year	$	318,123		$	303,126		$	7,704		$	7,436
Service cost	17			194			36			33
Interest cost	11,442			12,575			271			301
Effect of actuarial (gains) losses related to the following:
Discount rate change	(23,653		)	21,055			(546		)	471
Retirement rate assumptions and mortality table adjustments	(914		)	(2,145		)	6			15
Other	(2,326		)	(1,921		)	(285		)	(245		)
Plan participant contributions	—			—			656			646
Benefits paid	(15,449		)	(14,761		)	(953		)	(953		)
Benefit obligation, end of year	$	287,240		$	318,123		$	6,889		$	7,704
Change in plan assets:
Plan assets at fair value, beginning of year	$	226,354		$	214,559		$	—		$	—
Actual return on plan assets	(14,148		)	21,034			—			—
Employer contributions	8,610			5,522			297			307
Plan participant contributions	—			—			656			646
Benefits paid	(15,449		)	(14,761		)	(953		)	(953		)
Plan assets at fair value, end of year	$	205,367		$	226,354		$	—		$	—
Funded status of the plans	$	(81,873	)	$	(91,769	)	$	(6,889	)	$	(7,704	)
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets:
Accrued expenses (current)	$	182		$	182		$	456		$	457
Pension and other postretirement benefit obligations, net	81,691			91,587			6,433			7,247
Net amount recognized	$	81,873		$	91,769		$	6,889		$	7,704

Assumptions used for financial reporting purposes to compute net benefit income or cost and benefit obligations for continuing operations, and the components of net periodic benefit income or cost for continuing operations, are as follows:



	Pension Benefits									Other Post- Retirement Benefits
(In thousands, except percentages)	2018			2017			2016			2018			2017			2016
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations:
Discount rate	4.40		%	3.72		%	4.29		%	4.37		%	3.69		%	4.24		%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	6.00		%	6.50		%	6.50		%	n/a			n/a			n/a
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost:
Discount rate	3.72		%	4.29		%	4.55		%	3.69		%	4.24		%	4.49		%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	6.50		%	6.50		%	7.00		%	n/a			n/a			n/a
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	17		$	194		$	231		$	36		$	33		$	38
Interest cost	11,442			12,575			13,323			271			301			337
Expected return on plan assets	(15,011		)	(14,955		)	(15,980		)	—			—			—
Amortization of prior service costs and gains or losses	13,894			12,320			13,312			(243		)	(275		)	(214		)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	10,342		$	10,134		$	10,886		$	64		$	59		$	161

Net benefit income or cost is determined using assumptions at the beginning of each year. Funded status is determined using assumptions at the end of each year. The amount of the accumulated benefit obligation is the same as the projected benefit obligation. At December 31, 2018, the effect of a 1% change in the health care cost trend rate assumptions would not impact the post-retirement obligation.

Expected benefit payments for continuing operations over the next five years and in the aggregate for 2024-2028 are as follows:



(In thousands)	Pension Benefits		Other Post- Retirement Benefits
2019	$	16,826	$	456
2020	17,337		458
2021	17,713		461
2022	18,048		463
2023	18,268		461
2024—2028	92,435		2,236

Amounts recorded in 2018, 2017 and 2016 in accumulated other comprehensive income, before related deferred income taxes, consist of:



	Pension						Other Post-Retirement
(In thousands)	2018		2017		2016		2018			2017			2016
Prior service cost (benefit)	$	—	$	5	$	10	$	—		$	—		$	—
Net actuarial (gain) loss	132,751		144,377		145,782		(1,821		)	(1,238		)	(1,756		)

Pension expense is expected to be $9.6 million in 2019. The amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income, before related deferred income taxes, that are expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit or cost during 2019 are as follows:



(In thousands)	Pension		Other Post- Retirement
Prior service cost (benefit)	$	—	$	—
Net actuarial (gain) loss	10,916		(230		)

The percentage composition of assets held by pension plans for continuing operations at December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 are as follows:



	% Composition of Plan Assets at December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Pension plans related to continuing operations:
Fixed income securities	8.6	%	7.7	%	8.0	%
Large/mid-capitalization equity securities	18.2		19.0		14.7
Small-capitalization equity securities	6.8		6.4		5.3
International and emerging market equity securities	16.0		15.1		11.5
Total equity securities	41.0		40.5		31.5
Private equity and hedge funds	42.3		44.6		48.4
Other assets	8.1		7.2		12.1
Total for continuing operations	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%

Tredegar’s targeted allocation percentage for pension plan assets and the expected long-term rate of return on assets used to determine its benefit obligation at December 31, 2018, are as follows:



	Target % Composition of Plan Assets *		Expected Long-term Return %
Pension plans related to continuing operations:
Fixed income securities	12.0	%	3.2	%
Large/mid-capitalization equity securities	19.0		6.1
Small-capitalization equity securities	6.0		6.6
International and emerging market equity securities	18.0		7.3
Total equity securities	43.0		6.7
Private equity and hedge funds	45.0		6.1
Total for continuing operations	100.0	%	6.0	%
* Target percentages for the composition of plan assets represents a neutral position within the approved range of allocations for such assets.

Expected long-term returns are estimated by asset class and generally are based on inflation-adjusted historical returns, volatilities, risk premiums and managed asset premiums. The portfolio of fixed income securities is structured with maturities that generally match estimated benefit payments over the next 1-2 years. The other assets category is primarily comprised of cash and contracts with insurance companies. The Company’s primary investment objective is to maximize total return with a strong emphasis on the preservation of capital, and it believes that over the long-term a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities, equity securities, hedge funds and private equity funds has a better risk-return profile than fixed income securities alone. The average remaining duration of benefit payments for the pension plans is about 11 years. The Company expects its required contributions to be approximately $8.1 million in 2019.

Estimates of the fair value of assets held by the Company’s pension plan are provided by unaffiliated third parties. Investments in private equity and hedge funds and certain fixed income securities by the Company’s pension plan are measured at NAV, which is a practical expedient for measuring fair value. These assets are therefore excluded from the fair value hierarchy for each of the years presented. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, the pension plan assets are categorized by level within the fair value measurement hierarchy as follows:



(In thousands)	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Balances at December 31, 2018
Large/mid-capitalization equity securities	$	37,323	$	37,323	$	—	$	—
Small-capitalization equity securities	13,880		13,880		—		—
International and emerging market equity securities	32,931		13,389		19,542		—
Fixed income securities	17,769		5,886		11,883		—
Other assets	6,779		6,779		—		—
Total plan assets at fair value	$	108,682	$	77,257	$	31,425	$	—
Private equity and hedge funds	86,786
Contracts with insurance companies	9,899
Total plan assets, December 31, 2018	$	205,367
Balances at December 31, 2017
Large/mid-capitalization equity securities	$	42,920	$	42,920	$	—	$	—
Small-capitalization equity securities	14,477		14,477		—		—
International and emerging market equity securities	34,153		16,409		17,744		—
Fixed income securities	17,513		5,374		12,139		—
Other assets	5,822		5,822		—		—
Total plan assets at fair value	$	114,885	$	85,002	$	29,883	$	—
Private equity and hedge funds	100,974
Contracts with insurance companies	10,495
Total plan assets, December 31, 2017	$	226,354

Tredegar also has a non-qualified supplemental pension plan covering certain employees. Effective December 31, 2005, further participation in this plan was terminated and benefit accruals for existing participants were frozen. The plan was designed to restore all or a part of the pension benefits that would have been payable to designated participants from the principal pension plans if it were not for limitations imposed by income tax regulations. The projected benefit obligation relating to this unfunded plan was $2.0 million at December 31, 2018 and $2.2 million at December 31, 2017. Pension expense recognized for this plan was $0.1 million in 2018, $0.1 million in 2017 and $0.1 million in 2016. This information has been included in the preceding pension benefit tables.

Approximately 72 employees at the Company’s film products manufacturing facility in Kerkrade, The Netherlands are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that includes participation in a multi-employer pension plan. Pension expense recognized for participation in this plan, which is equal to required contributions, was $0.4 million in 2018, $0.4 million in 2017 and $0.4 million in 2016. This information has been excluded from the preceding pension benefit tables.