Note 13 - Retirement and Postretirement Plans

Eligible employees, including certain employees in foreign countries, participate in the following Company-sponsored plans: Bargaining Unit Pension Plan ("Bargaining Plan"), Supplemental Pension Plan ("Supplemental Plan"), UK Pension Scheme ("Pension Scheme"), Mexico Pension Plan, and Postretirement Plans made up of the Company's Bargaining Unit Welfare Benefit Plan for Retirees and Welfare Benefit Plan for Retirees. The Retirement Plan ("Salaried Plan") was annuitized with the purchase of a group annuity contract on May 15, 2024.

Bargaining Plan

On February 5, 2026, the United Steelworkers (“USW”) Local 1123 voted to ratify a new four-year contract (the “Contract”). The Contract, which is in effect until September 30, 2029, offers Metallus’ bargaining employees an increase to base wages every year, competitive healthcare and retirement benefits for all members, and has a continued focus on employee wellbeing as well as safe and sustainable operations. The Contract covers approximately 1,200 bargaining employees at the Company’s Canton, Ohio operations.

In the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company contributed a total of $62.0 million in pension contributions, most of which related to the Bargaining Plan. The timing and amount of future required pension contributions is significantly affected by asset returns and actuarial assumptions. Based on the results of the December 31, 2025 pension calculations, the Company estimates total required pension contributions of approximately $27 million in 2026, which primarily relates to the Bargaining Plan. In January 2026, the Company contributed $4.8 million to the Bargaining Plan. Future required pension contribution timing and amounts are subject to significant change based on future investment performance, Company estimates and actuarial assumptions, as well as future funding laws.

Salaried Plan

During the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company's Board of Directors approved the termination of the Salaried Plan and the plan was terminated effective March 31, 2022, subject to regulatory approval which was received in the fourth quarter of 2023. On May 15, 2024, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase a group annuity contract from The Prudential Insurance Company of America ("Prudential") in connection with the annuitization of the Salaried Plan. Following the completion of the annuity contract, there were surplus assets which were used to make a one-time 401(k) contribution to eligible employees. As a result, the Company recognized a loss of $3.6 million in the first quarter of 2025 when the remaining assets were distributed.

The Bargaining Plan, Supplemental Plan, and the recently terminated Salaried Plan have a provision that permits employees to elect to receive their pension benefits in a lump sum upon retirement. The Company's accounting policy is to recognize settlements during the quarter in which it is projected that the costs of all settlements during the year will be greater than the sum of the service cost and interest cost components.

In the first quarter of 2024, the cumulative cost of all lump sum payments was expected to exceed the sum of the service cost and interest cost components of net periodic pension cost for the Salaried Plan. As a result, the Company completed a full remeasurement of its pension obligations and plan assets associated with the Salaried Plan during the first quarter of 2024 and recorded a loss of $0.8 million.

In the second quarter of 2024, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase a group annuity contract from Prudential in connection with the annuitization of the Salaried Plan. The Company remeasured the Salaried Plan upon annuitization on May 15, 2024. A loss of $1.0 million from the remeasurement of the Salaried Plan was recognized for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The loss was primarily due to investment losses on plan assets of $1.8 million, partially offset by a decrease in the liability of $0.7 million due to an increase in the discount rate. In addition, the three months ended June 30, 2024 included a $0.1 million gain as a result of the completion of the Salaried Plan annuitization.

In the first quarter of 2023, in anticipation of receiving the regulatory approval to move forward with the plan termination process, the cumulative costs of all lump sum payments and other settlements were projected to exceed the sum of the service cost and interest cost components of net periodic pension cost during 2023 for the Salaried Plan. Ultimately, these costs did not exceed this threshold for the Salaried Plan during 2023. The Salaried Plan's pension obligations and plan assets were remeasured during each quarter of 2023.

For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the administrative expenses for all plans totaled $2.5 million and $3.3 million, respectively. These expenses are included in benefits paid in the tables above.

The accumulated benefit obligation at December 31, 2025 exceeded the fair value of plan assets for the Bargaining Plan and the unfunded Supplemental Plan. For the Bargaining Plan and Supplemental Plan, the accumulated benefit obligation was $457.6 million and $16.4 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2025.

The accumulated benefit obligation for all pension plans was $526.9 million and $532.5 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

The weighted average assumptions used in determining benefit cost for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were as follows:

The discount rate assumption is based on current rates of high-quality long-term corporate bonds over the same period that benefit payments will be required to be made. The expected rate of return on plan assets assumption is based on the weighted-average expected return on the various asset classes in the plans’ portfolios. The asset class return is based on expected rates of return for various asset classes, as well as historical asset class and fund performance.

For measurement purposes, the weighted-average annual rate of increase in the per capita cost ("health care cost trend rate") was not applicable for the years 2025 and 2024.

Metallus recognizes its overall responsibility to ensure that the assets of its various defined benefit pension plans are managed effectively and prudently and in compliance with its policy guidelines and all applicable laws. Preservation of capital is important; however, Metallus also recognizes that appropriate levels of risk are necessary to allow its investment managers to achieve satisfactory long-term results consistent with the objectives and the fiduciary character of the pension funds. Asset allocations are established in a manner consistent with projected plan liabilities, benefit payments and expected rates of return for various asset classes. The expected rate of return for the investment portfolios is based on expected rates of return for various asset classes, as well as historical asset class and fund performance.

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date ("exit price"). The inputs used to measure fair value are classified into the following hierarchy:

Level 1 - Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 - Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, or unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability.

Level 3 - Require significant judgment due to the absence of quoted market prices, the inherent lack of liquidity, and the long-term nature of such investments. Investments in private debt and real estate are valued at estimated fair value based on quarterly financial information received from the investment advisor and/or general partner. These estimates incorporate factors such as contributions and distributions, market transactions, market comparables, discounted cash flow estimates, third party appraisals or valuations, and performance multiples.