Pension Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Pension Plans

Pension Plans

Note 7 — Pension Plans

Beginning in 2012, the Company received periodic notices from the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund (Plan), a multi-employer defined benefit pension plan for certain Company union employees, that the Plan’s actuary certified the Plan to be in “critical status”, as defined by the Pension Protection Act (PPA) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC); and that a plan of rehabilitation was adopted by the trustees of the Plan in 2012. Beginning in 2015, the Plan was reclassified to “critical and declining status”, as defined by the PPA and PBGC, for the plan year beginning January 1, 2015. A designation of “critical and declining status” implies that the Plan is expected to become insolvent in the next 20 years. In 2016, the Company received new notices that the Plan’s trustees adopted an updated Rehabilitation Plan effective January 1, 2016, and all annual notices through 2021 have continued to classify the Plan in the “critical and declining status” category.

The Company has been advised that its withdrawal liability would have been $104,300, $99,300 and $99,800 if it had withdrawn from the Plan during 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Should the Company actually withdraw from the Plan at a future date, a withdrawal liability, which could be higher than the above discussed amounts, could be payable to the Plan.

The amended rehabilitation plan, which continues, requires that employer contributions include 5% compounded annual surcharge increases each year for an unspecified period of time beginning January 2013 (in addition to the 5% interim surcharge initiated in 2012) as well as certain plan benefit reductions. In fourth quarter 2020, the Plan Trustees advised the Company that the surcharges would no longer increase and therefore be “frozen” at the rates and amounts in effect as of December 31, 2020 provided that the local bargaining union and the Company executed a formal consenting agreement by March 31, 2021. During first quarter 2021, the local bargaining union and the Company executed this agreement which resulted in the “freezing” of such surcharges as of December 31, 2020. The Company’s pension expense for this Plan for first quarter 2022 and 2021 was $763 and $604, respectively ($3,156 and $2,866 for twelve months 2021 and 2020, respectively). The aforementioned expense includes surcharges of $269 and $213 for first quarter 2022 and 2021, respectively ($1,112 and $1,010 for twelve months 2021 and 2020, respectively), as required under the amended plan of rehabilitation.

The Company is currently unable to determine the ultimate outcome of the above discussed matter and therefore is unable to determine the effects on its consolidated financial statements, but the ultimate outcome or the effects of any modifications to the current amended rehabilitation plan could be material to its consolidated results of operations or cash flows in one or more future periods.