Retirement and Other Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Retirement and Other Benefit Plans

Retirement and Other Benefit Plans

11.      Retirement and Other Benefit Plans

Formerly, substantially all our domestic employees were covered by a defined benefit pension plan (the Plan) maintained by the Company. The Plan was frozen in 2003 and no additional benefits have been accrued since that date. On November 14, 2019, our Board of Directors approved a resolution to terminate the Plan effective as of February 29, 2020. In connection with the termination, we contributed $25.7 million of cash to the Plan during 2020, settled approximately $32.4 million of Plan liabilities during 2020 through lump-sum payments from existing plan assets to eligible participants who elected to receive them, and recorded approximately $40.6 million of charges associated with these settlements. During 2020, we settled approximately $69.1 million of Plan liabilities by entering into an agreement to purchase annuities from a third party insurance company . This agreement covered active and former employees and their beneficiaries, with the insurance company assuming the future annuity payments for these individuals.

Substantially all our domestic employees are covered by a defined contribution plan maintained by the Company. In addition, we offer unfunded post-retirement pre-Medicare health insurance benefits to a small number of eligible retirees and employees. We formerly provided unfunded post-retirement life insurance to qualifying retired employees who retired before 2005, but ceased providing this coverage on July 31, 2020. There was no financial impact of this plan in 2021.