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Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Other Postretirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS
Supplemental Pension and Multiemployer Pension Plans
The Company has a 401(k) plan which all employees of U.S. subsidiaries are eligible to participate.
The Company contributes to a number of multiemployer defined benefit pension plans under the terms of collective-bargaining agreements that cover union-represented employees.
The Company also has an unfunded supplemental pension plan which provides defined pension benefits to certain former salaried employees upon retirement. The plan has been frozen, no additional participants will be added to the plan in the future and there are no active employees in the plan.
Total expense for all retirement plans for the years ended December 31 was (in thousands):
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
401(k) plan
 
$
2,419

 
$
2,262

 
$
2,248

Multiemployer and other defined benefit and pension plans
 
195

 
238

 
320

Postretirement healthcare plan
 
346

 
427

 
476

Total retirement plan expense
 
$
2,960

 
$
2,927

 
$
3,044


During 2019, the Company withdrew from two of its three mutliemployer plans, the result of restructuring initiatives executed during the year. The resulting obligations of approximately $4.2 million were recorded on the Company's balance sheet as of December 31, 2019. These obligations are expected to be settled during the year ending December 31, 2020. The Company's one remaining multiemployer plan is underfunded and has a rehabilitation plan in place. The rehabilitation plan requires minimum contributions from the Company. Given the status of this plan, it is reasonably possible that future contributions to the plan will increase although the Company cannot reasonably estimate a possible range of increased contributions as of December 31, 2019.

Other Postretirement Benefits
The Company has an unfunded postretirement healthcare plan which provides health insurance to certain employees and their spouses upon retirement. This plan has been frozen and no additional participants will be added to the plan in the future.
The following table presents the changes in the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation related to the Company’s unfunded postretirement healthcare benefits at December 31 (in thousands):
 
2019
 
2018
Projected benefit obligation at January 1
$
6,135

 
$
7,020

Service cost
17

 
18

Interest cost
234

 
233

Actuarial gain
(52
)
 
(819
)
Benefits paid, net of contributions
(310
)
 
(317
)
Projected benefit obligation at December 31
6,024

 
6,135

Fair value of plan assets
—

 
—

Under funded status
(6,024
)
 
(6,135
)
Unamortized prior service cost
338

 
382

Unrecognized actuarial loss
1,328

 
1,431

Net amount recognized
$
(4,358
)
 
$
(4,322
)

Amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements consisted of (in thousands):
 
2019
 
2018
Accrued postretirement benefit liability
 
 
 
Current portion
$
330

 
$
331

Long term portion
5,694

 
5,805

Pre-tax accumulated other comprehensive loss – unamortized post-retirement healthcare costs
(1,666
)
 
(1,814
)
Net amount recognized
$
4,358

 
$
4,322


The measurement date used to determine postretirement benefit obligation measures was December 31.
Components of net periodic postretirement benefit cost charged to expense for the years ended December 31 were as follows (in thousands):
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Service cost
$
17

 
$
18

 
$
17

Interest cost
234

 
233

 
269

Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost
44

 
44

 
44

Loss amortization (2)
51

 
132

 
146

Net periodic benefit cost
$
346

 
$
427

 
$
476

Assumptions used to calculate the benefit obligation:
 
 
 
 
 
Discount rate
2.9
%
 
4.1
%
 
3.4
%
Annual rate of increase in the per capita cost of:
 
 
 
 
 
Medical costs before age 65 (1)
6.8
%
 
7.0
%
 
7.3
%
Medical costs after age 65 (1)
4.5
%
 
5.0
%
 
6.3
%
Prescription drug costs (1)
7.0
%
 
9.5
%
 
10.5
%

(1)    It was assumed that these rates would gradually decline to 3.8% by 2075.
(2)    Actuarial (gains)/losses are amortized utilizing the corridor approach. Differences between actual experience and the actuarial assumptions are reflected in (gain)/loss. If the total net (gain) or loss exceeds 10 percent of the greater of the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation or plan assets, this excess must be amortized over the average remaining service period of the active plan participants. If most of the plan participants are inactive, the amortization period is the expected future lifetime of inactive plan participants.

A 1% change in the annual medical inflation rate issued would have the following impact on the amounts reported at December 31 as follows (in thousands):
 
2019
 
2018
Effect on accumulated postretirement benefit obligation
 
 
 
1% increase
$
716

 
$
831

1% decrease
$
(614
)
 
$
(702
)
Effect on annual service and interest costs
 
 
 
1% increase
$
31

 
$
36

1% decrease
$
(26
)
 
$
(30
)

Expected benefit payments from the plan for the years ended December 31 are as follows (in thousands):
 
 
2020
 
2021
 
2022
 
2023
 
2024
 
Years 2025 - 2029
Expected benefit payments
 
$
330

 
$
335

 
$
346

 
$
357

 
$
364

 
$
1,892