Benefit Plans

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Benefit Plans

13. BENEFIT PLANS

The following table summarizes key information related to the Company’s pension plans and retirement agreements (in thousands):

	Six Months Ended June 30, 2020			Year Ended December 31, 2019
Change in Projected Benefit Obligation
Projected benefit obligation, beginning of period	$	37,551		$	32,474
Service cost		627			998
Interest cost		653			1,393
Actuarial gain		—			3,449
Other reclassification [1]		(8,925	)		—
Benefits paid		(375	)		(763	)
Projected benefit obligation, end of period	$	29,531		$	37,551
Change in Plan Assets
Plan assets at fair value, beginning of period	$	—		$	—
Company contributions		375			763
Benefits paid		(375	)		(763	)
Plan assets at fair value, end of period	$	—		$	—
Unfunded Status of the Plan	$	29,531		$	37,551

	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	June 30, 2020		June 30, 2019		June 30, 2020		June 30, 2019
Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Service cost	$	313	$	250	$	627	$	499
Interest cost		326		348		653		696
Net loss		135		53		270		105
Net periodic pension cost	$	774	$	651	$	1,550	$	1,300

[1] The Company has a non-qualified deferred compensation agreement with its CEO. The agreement provides for a lump sum payment upon retirement, no sooner than age 55. As of June 30, 2020, the CEO had reached age 55 and was eligible to receive the payment upon retirement. If the Company’s CEO had retired as of June 30, 2020, the Company would have had to pay him approximately $8.9 million in shares of the Company’s common stock (determined as of February 26, 2020) plus additional shares credited for dividends declared and paid on the shares of the Company’s common stock.

On February 26, 2020 (the "Effective Date"), the Company and its CEO entered into an amended and restated executive retirement agreement that amends the CEO’s executive retirement agreement discussed above.

The amended and restated executive retirement agreement provides that upon the CEO’s retirement from the Company, the Company will pay a lump sum amount equal to $8,925,065 (determined as of February 26, 2020) (the “Grandfathered Payment”) which will be paid in the form of a fixed number of shares of the Company’s common stock. The Grandfathered Payment will be delayed for six months and a day following the effective date of the CEO’s termination of employment in compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

On the Effective Date, an amount equal to the Grandfathered Payment was invested in the Company’s common stock (“GEO Shares”). The number of the Company’s shares of common stock as of the Effective Date was equal to the Grandfathered Payment divided by the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the Effective Date (rounded up to the nearest whole number of shares), which equals 553,665 shares of the Company’s common stock. Additional shares of the Company’s common stock will be credited with a value equal to any dividends declared and paid on the Company’s shares of common stock, calculated by reference to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the payment date for such dividends (rounded up to the nearest whole number of shares).

The Company has established several trusts for the purpose of paying the retirement benefit pursuant to the amended and restated executive retirement agreement. The trusts are revocable “rabbi trusts” and the assets of the trusts are subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors in the event of the Company’s insolvency.

The Company repurchased shares of its outstanding common stock under its stock buyback program and contributed such shares to the trusts in order to fund the retirement benefit under the amended and restated executive retirement agreement. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 710 – Compensation-General, the shares of common stock held in the rabbi trusts are classified as treasury stock.  In addition, the amended and restated executive retirement agreement qualifies for equity accounting under ASC 710 and therefore, the fair value of the Grandfathered Payment has been reclassified to stockholders’ equity.

The long-term portion of the pension liability as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 was $29.2 million and $37.2 million, respectively, and is included in Other Non-Current Liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.