Amounts recognized in regulatory assets for the DB and OPEB Plans that have not yet been
recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost of the following as of December 31,
2016:
(in thousands) DB Plan OPEB Plans
Net actuarial loss $ 7,067 $ 570
Prior service cost - (180)
Regulatory asset $ 7,067 $ 390
Amounts recognized in regulatory assets for the DB and OPEB Plans that have not yet been
recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost of the following as of December 31,
2015:
(in thousands) DB Plan OPEB Plans
Net actuarial loss $ 6,658 $ 433
Prior service cost - (196)
Regulatory asset $ 6,658 $ 237
The key assumptions used to value benefit obligations and calculate net periodic benefit cost
for our DB and OPEB Plans include the following:
2016 2015
Discount rate for net periodic benefit cost, beginning of year 4.21% 3.85%
Discount rate for benefit obligations, end of year @) 4.02% 4.21%
Expected return on plan assets for the period (net of investment expenses) 7.00% 7.50%
Rate of compensation increase, beginning of year 3.00% 2.75%
Healthcare cost trend rate (applicable only to OPEB Plans) 8.00% 8.50%
An increase or decrease in the discount rate of 0.5% would result in a change in the funded status as of December 31, 2016, for
the DB Plan and the OPEB Plans of approximately $2 million and $288,000, respectively.
The estimated net actuarial loss for our DB Plan that will be amortized in 2017 from the
regulatory assets into net periodic benefit costs is $346,000. The estimated net actuarial gain
and prior service cost for our OPEB Plans that will be amortized in 2017 from the regulatory
assets into net periodic benefit costs is $0.
In establishing its investment policy, the Company has considered the fact that the DB Plan is
a major retirement vehicle for its employees and the basic goal underlying the establishment
of the policy is to provide that the assets of the DB Plan are invested in accordance with the
asset allocation range targets to achieve our expected return on DB Plan assets. The
Company’s investment strategy applies to its OPEB Plans as well as the DB Plan. The
expected long-term rate of return on DB Plan and OPEB Plan assets is based on the Plans’
expected asset allocation, expected returns on various classes of Plan assets, as well as
historical returns.
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