2015 Pension benefits
(in thousands) Hawaiian Electric consolidated Benefit obligation, January 1
$
Service cost
Other benefits
1,690,777
$
64,262
Interest cost Actuarial losses (gains) Benefits paid and expenses Transfers
2014
211,760
Pension benefits $
3,870
Other benefits
1,320,810
$
47,597
169,579 3,392
70,529
8,700
65,979
8,234
(114,286)
(2,860)
314,210
38,488
(63,037)
(7,598)
(57,819)
(7,933)
1,445
118
—
—
Benefit obligation, December 31
1,649,690
213,990
1,690,777
211,760
Fair value of plan assets, January 1
1,129,005
177,256
1,058,260
176,291
69,242
9,036
Actual (loss) return on plan assets
(10,646)
Employer contributions Benefits paid and expenses
864
(62,584)
Other Fair value of plan assets, December 31 Accrued benefit asset (liability), December 31
(2,712)
85,139
$
Other liabilities (short-term) Defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans liability Accrued benefit asset (liability), December 31
$
AOCI debit/(credit), January 1 (excluding impact of PUC D&Os)
$
Recognized during year – prior service credit (cost)
58,948
(7,598)
(274)
(57,445)
(7,797)
919
120
—
—
1,141,833
167,930
1,129,005
177,256
(507,857) $
(46,060) $
(561,772) $
(425)
(518)
(421)
(460)
(507,432)
(45,542)
(561,351)
(34,044)
(507,857) $ 595,103
$
(40)
(46,060) $ 20,090
$
295,973
$
(34,504) (21,907)
(62)
1,804
Recognized during year – net actuarial losses
(33,371)
(1,754)
(18,459)
—
Occurring during year – net actuarial losses (gains)
(20,574)
11,345
317,651
40,193
AOCI debit/(credit) before cumulative impact of PUC D&Os, December 31
541,118
31,485
595,103
20,090
(35,333)
(592,291)
Cumulative impact of PUC D&Os
1,804
(561,772) $
(34,504)
(538,784)
AOCI debit/(credit), December 31
$
2,334
$
Net actuarial loss (gain)
$
541,071
$
Prior service cost (gain)
47
AOCI debit/(credit) before cumulative impact of PUC D&Os, December 31 Cumulative impact of PUC D&Os AOCI debit/(credit), December 31 AOCI debit/(credit), net of taxes (benefits), December 31
$
(22,975)
2,812
$
595,017
$
86
(2,885) 34,192 (14,102)
541,118
31,485
595,103
20,090
(538,784)
(35,333)
(592,291)
(22,975)
(908) $
43,784 (12,299)
2,334
Income taxes (benefits)
(3,848) $
1,426
$
(3,848)
2,812
1,497
(1,094)
(2,351) $
1,718
(2,885) 1,122 $
(1,763)
The Company does not expect any plan assets to be returned to the Company during the calendar year 2016. The dates used to determine retirement benefit measurements for the defined benefit plans were December 31 of 2015, 2014 and 2013. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Pension Protection Act) signed into law on August 17, 2006, amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Among other things, the Pension Protection Act changed the funding rules for qualified pension plans. On August 8, 2014, President Obama signed the latest change to the Pension Protection Act, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 (HATFA). HATFA resulted in an increase of the Adjusted Funding Target Attainment Percentage (AFTAP) for benefit distribution purposes and eased funding requirements effective with the 2014 plan year (a plan sponsor could have elected to apply the provisions of HATFA to 2013, but the Company did not so elect). As a result, the minimum funding requirements for the HEI Retirement Plan under ERISA are less than the net periodic cost for 2014 and 2015. Nevertheless, to satisfy the requirements of the Utilities pension and OPEB tracking mechanisms, the Utilities contributed the net periodic cost in 2014 and 2015 and expect to contribute the net periodic cost in 2016.
163