16. Benefit Plans

Huntington sponsors the Plan, a non-contributory defined benefit pension plan covering substantially all employees hired or rehired prior to January 1, 2010. The Plan, which was modified in 2013 and no longer accrues service benefits to participants, provides benefits based upon length of service and compensation levels. The funding policy of Huntington is to contribute an annual amount that is at least equal to the minimum funding requirements but not more than the amount deductible under the Internal Revenue Code. There were no required minimum contributions during 2014. During the 2013 third quarter, the board of directors approved, and management communicated, a curtailment of the Company’s pension plan effective December 31, 2013. 

In addition, Huntington has an unfunded defined benefit post-retirement plan that provides certain healthcare and life insurance benefits to retired employees who have attained the age of 55 and have at least 10 years of vesting service under this plan. For any employee retiring on or after January 1, 1993, post-retirement healthcare benefits are based upon the employee’s number of months of service and are limited to the actual cost of coverage. Life insurance benefits are a percentage of the employee’s base salary at the time of retirement, with a maximum of $50,000 of coverage. The employer paid portion of the post-retirement health and life insurance plan was eliminated for employees retiring on and after March 1, 2010. Eligible employees retiring on and after March 1, 2010, who elect retiree medical coverage, will pay the full cost of this coverage. Huntington will not provide any employer paid life insurance to employees retiring on and after March 1, 2010. Eligible employees will be able to convert or port their existing life insurance at their own expense under the same terms that are available to all terminated employees.

On January 1, 2015, Huntington terminated the company sponsored retiree health care plan for Medicare eligible

retirees and their dependents. Instead, Huntington will partner with a third party to assist the retirees and their dependents in selecting individual policies from a variety of carriers on a private exchange. This plan amendment resulted in a measurement of the liability at

the approval date. The result of the measurement was a $5.2 million reduction of the liability and increase in accumulated other comprehensive income. It will also result in a reduction of expense over the estimated life of plan participants.

The following table shows the weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation at December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the net periodic benefit cost for the years then ended:

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is an assumption reflecting the average rate of earnings expected on the funds invested or to be invested to provide for the benefits included in the projected benefit obligation. The expected long-term rate of return is established at the beginning of the plan year based upon historical returns and projected returns on the underlying mix of invested assets.

The following table reconciles the beginning and ending balances of the benefit obligation of the Plan and the post-retirement benefit plan with the amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31:

Benefits paid for post-retirement are net of retiree contributions collected by Huntington. The actual contributions received in 2014 by Huntington for the retiree medical program were $2.6 million.

The following table reconciles the beginning and ending balances of the fair value of Plan assets at the December 31, 2014 and 2013 measurement dates

Huntington’s accumulated benefit obligation under the Plan was $799.6 million and $685.0 million at December 31, 2014 and 2013. As of December 31, 2014, the accumulated benefit obligation exceeded the fair value of Huntington’s plan assets by $146.6 million and is recorded in accrued expenses and other liabilities. The projected benefit obligation exceeded the fair value of Huntington’s plan assets by $146.6 million.

The following table shows the components of net periodic benefit costs recognized in the three years ended December 31, 2014:

Included in benefit costs are $1.8 million, $1.7 million, and $1.1 million of plan expenses that were recognized in the three years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012. It is Huntington’s policy to recognize settlement gains and losses as incurred. Assuming no cash contributions are made to the Plan during 2015, Management expects net periodic pension benefit, excluding any expense of settlements, to approximate $2.5 million for 2015. The postretirement medical and life subsidy was eliminated for anyone who retires on or after March 1, 2010. As such, there were no incremental net periodic post-retirement benefits costs associated with this plan.

The estimated transition obligation, prior service credit, and net actuarial loss for the plans that will be amortized from OCI into net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year is zero, $2.0 million, and a $8.4 million benefit, respectively.

At December 31, 2014 and 2013, The Huntington National Bank, as trustee, held all Plan assets. The Plan assets consisted of investments in a variety of corporate and government fixed income investments, Huntington mutual funds and Huntington common stock as follows:

Investments of the Plan are accounted for at cost on the trade date and are reported at fair value. All of the Plan’s investments at December 31, 2014, are classified as Level 1 within the fair value hierarchy, except for corporate obligations, U.S. government obligations, and U.S. government agencies, which are classified as Level 2, and limited partnerships, which are classified as Level 3. In general, investments of the Plan are exposed to various risks such as interest rate risk, credit risk, and overall market volatility. Due to the level of risk associated with certain investments, it is reasonably possible changes in the values of investments will occur in the near term and such changes could materially affect the amounts reported in the Plan assets.

The investment objective of the Plan is to maximize the return on Plan assets over a long time period, while meeting the Plan obligations. At December 31, 2014, Plan assets were invested 2% in cash and cash equivalents, 49% in equity investments, and 49% in bonds, with an average duration of 12.4 years on bond investments. The estimated life of benefit obligations was 12.8 years. Although it may fluctuate with market conditions, Management has targeted a long-term allocation of Plan assets of 20% to 50% in equity investments and 80% to 50% in bond investments. The allocation of Plan assets between equity investments and fixed income investments will change from time to time with the allocation to fixed income investments increasing as the funding level increases.

The following table shows the number of shares and dividends received on shares of Huntington stock held by the Plan:

At December 31, 2014, the following table shows when benefit payments were expected to be paid:

Although not required, Huntington may choose to make a cash contribution to the Plan up to the maximum deductible limit in the 2014 plan year. Anticipated contributions for 2015 to the post-retirement benefit plan are $1.4 million.

The assumed healthcare cost trend rate has an effect on the amounts reported. A one percentage point increase would increase the accumulated post-retirement benefit obligation by $7.6 thousand and would increase interest costs by $3.5 thousand. A one percentage point decrease would decrease the accumulated post-retirement benefit obligation by $7.1 thousand and would decrease interest costs by $2.9 thousand.

The 2015 and 2014 healthcare cost trend rate was projected to be 7.3% for participants. This rate is assumed to decrease gradually until it reaches 4.5% in the year 2028 and remain at that level thereafter. Huntington updated the immediate healthcare cost trend rate assumption based on current market data and Huntington’s claims experience. This trend rate is expected to decline over time to a trend level consistent with medical inflation and long-term economic assumptions.

Huntington also sponsors other nonqualified retirement plans, the most significant being the SERP and the SRIP. The SERP provides certain former officers and directors, and the SRIP provides certain current and former officers and directors of Huntington and its subsidiaries with defined pension benefits in excess of limits imposed by federal tax law. At December 31, 2014 and 2013, Huntington has an accrued pension liability of $35.0 million and $29.2 million, respectively, associated with these plans. Pension expense for the plans was $1.0 million, $4.2 million, and $2.5 million in 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively. During the 2013 third quarter, the board of directors approved, and management communicated, a curtailment of the Company’s SRIP plan effective December 31, 2013.

The following table presents the amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2014 and 2013 for all of Huntington defined benefit plans:

The following tables present the amounts recognized in OCI as of December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, and the changes in accumulated OCI for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012:

Huntington has a defined contribution plan that is available to eligible employees. Through December 31, 2012, Huntington matched participant contributions, up to the first 3% of base pay contributed to the Plan. Half of the employee contribution was matched on the 4th and 5th percent of base pay contributed to the Plan. Starting January 1, 2013, Huntington matched participant contributions, up to the first 4% of base pay contributed to the Plan. For 2014, a discretionary profit-sharing contribution equal to1% of eligible participants’ 2014 base pay was awarded.

The following table shows the costs of providing the defined contribution plan as of December 31:

The following table shows the number of shares, market value, and dividends received on shares of Huntington stock held by the defined contribution plan: