80 / Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. Form 10-K 2021 Note 12 - Employee Benefits The Company and certain of its subsidiaries have or contribute to qualified and nonqualified retirement plans. These plans include a defined benefit pension plan, a supplemental executive retirement benefit plan (“SERBP”), multiemployer pension plans, defined contribution plans, and a deferred compensation plan. Defined Benefit Pension Plan and Supplemental Executive Retirement Benefit Plan The Company maintains a qualified defined benefit pension plan for certain nonunion employees. Effective June 30, 2006, the Company froze this plan and ceased accruing further benefits for employee service. The Company reflects the funded status of the defined benefit pension plan as a net asset or liability in its Consolidated Balance Sheets. Changes in its funded status are recognized in comprehensive income. The Company amortizes as a component of net periodic pension benefit cost a portion of the net gain or loss reported within accumulated other comprehensive loss if the beginning-of-year net gain or loss exceeds 5% of the greater of the benefit obligation or the market value of plan assets. Net periodic pension benefit cost was not material for each of the fiscal years presented in this report. The fair value of plan assets was $21 million as of each of August 31, 2021 and 2020, and the projected benefit obligation was $17 million and $18 million as of August 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The plan was fully funded with the plan assets exceeding the projected benefit obligation by $4 million as of each of August 31, 2021 and 2020. Under the fair value hierarchy, plan assets comprised Level 1 and Level 2 investments as of August 31, 2021 and 2020. Level 1 investments are valued based on quoted market prices of identical securities in the principal market. Level 2 investments are corporate bonds valued at the yields currently available on comparable securities of issuers with similar credit ratings. No significant contributions are expected to be made to the defined benefit pension plan in the future; however, changes in the discount rate or actual investment returns that are lower than the long-term expected return on plan assets could result in the need for the Company to make additional contributions. The assumed discount rate used to calculate the projected benefit obligation was 2.46% and 2.38% as of August 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company estimates future annual benefit payments to be between $1 million and $3 million per year. The Company also has a nonqualified SERBP for certain executives. A restricted trust fund has been established with assets invested in life insurance policies that can be used for plan benefits, although the fund is subject to claims of the Company’s general creditors. The trust fund is included in other assets, the current portion of the pension liability is included in other accrued liabilities, and the noncurrent portion of the pension liability is included in other long-term liabilities in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The trust fund was valued at $4 million as of August 31, 2021, and $3 million as of August 31, 2020. The trust fund assets’ gains and losses are included in other income (expense), net in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. The benefit obligation was $5 million as of each of August 31, 2021 and 2020. Net periodic pension benefit cost under the SERBP was not material for each of the fiscal years presented in this report. Because the defined benefit pension plan and the SERBP are not material to the Consolidated Financial Statements, other disclosures required by U.S. GAAP have been omitted. Multiemployer Pension Plans The Company contributes to 14 multiemployer pension plans in accordance with its collective bargaining agreements. Multiemployer pension plans are defined benefit plans sponsored by multiple employers in accordance with one or more collective bargaining agreements. The plans are jointly managed by trustees that include representatives from both management and labor unions. Contributions to the plans are made based upon a fixed rate per hour worked and are agreed to by contributing employers and the unions in collective bargaining. Benefit levels are set by a joint board of trustees based on the advice of an independent actuary regarding the level of benefits that agreed-upon contributions can be expected to support. To the extent that the pension obligation of other participating employers is unfunded, the Company may be required to make additional contributions in the future to fund these obligations.
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