(5)	EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

U.S. Defined Benefit Pension Plan

The company has a defined benefit pension plan (pension plan) that covers certain U.S. citizen employees and other employees who are permanent residents of the United States. Effective April 1, 1996, the pension plan was closed to new participation. In December 2009, the Board of Directors amended the pension plan to discontinue the accrual of benefits once the plan was frozen on December 31, 2010. This change did not affect benefits earned by participants prior to January 1, 2011. The company contributed $3 million to the pension plan during the quarter and six-month period ended September 30, 2016. The company currently does not expect to contribute to the pension plan during the remaining quarters of fiscal 2017. The company did not contribute to the plan during the quarter and six months ended September 30, 2015.

Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan

The company also maintains a non-contributory, defined benefit supplemental executive retirement plan (supplemental plan) that provides pension benefits to certain employees in excess of those allowed under the company’s tax-qualified pension plan. A Rabbi Trust has been established to fund the obligations of the supplemental plan. The Rabbi Trust assets, which are invested in a variety of marketable securities (but not the company’s stock), are recorded at fair value with unrealized gains or losses included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Effective March 4, 2010, the supplemental plan was closed to new participation. The supplemental plan is a non-qualified plan and, as such, the company is not required to make contributions to the supplemental plan. The company contributed approximately $0.1 million to the supplemental plan during the quarter and six-month period ended September 30, 2016, and expects to contribute less than $0.1 million to the supplemental plan during the remaining quarters of fiscal 2017. The company did not contribute to the supplemental plan during the six-month period ended September 30, 2015.

Investments held in the Rabbi Trust are included in other assets at fair value. The following table summarizes the carrying value of the trust assets, including unrealized gains or losses at September 30, 2016 and March 31, 2016:

	September 30,		March 31,
(In thousands)	2016		2016
Investments held in Rabbi Trust	$	8,896		8,811
Unrealized losses in fair value of trust assets		72		(208	)
Unrealized losses in fair value of trust assets are net of income tax expense of		—		(168	)
Obligations under the supplemental plan		25,739		25,072

To the extent that trust assets are liquidated to fund benefit payments, gains or losses, if any, will be recognized at that time. The company’s obligations under the supplemental plan are included in accrued expenses and other liabilities and deferred credits on the consolidated balance sheet.

Postretirement Benefit Plan

Qualified retired employees currently are covered by a plan which provides limited health care and life insurance benefits. Costs of the plan are based on actuarially determined amounts and are accrued over the period from the date of hire to the full eligibility date of employees who are expected to qualify for these benefits. This plan is funded through payments by the company as benefits are required.

On November 20, 2015, the company eliminated its post-65 medical coverage for all current and future retirees effective January 1, 2017. The plan amendment resulted in a $0.8 million and $1.7 million increase in net periodic postretirement benefit, which reduced pension expense during the quarter and six-month period ended September 30, 2016, respectively, as compared to the same periods during fiscal 2016. The medical coverage remains unchanged for participants under age 65.

Net Periodic Benefit Costs

The net periodic benefit cost for the company’s defined benefit pension plans and supplemental plan (referred to collectively as “Pension Benefits”) and the postretirement health care and life insurance plan (referred to collectively as “Other Benefits”) is comprised of the following components:

	Quarter Ended						Six Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
(In thousands)	2016			2015			2016			2015
Pension Benefits:
Service cost	$	254			234			506			468
Interest cost		941			935			1,882			1,870
Expected return on plan assets		(548	)		(530	)		(1,097	)		(1,060	)
Administrative expenses		2			—			4			—
Amortization of prior service cost		—			9			—			18
Recognized actuarial loss		446			567			892			1,134
Net periodic benefit cost	$	1,095			1,215			2,187			2,430
Other Benefits:
Service cost	$	20			75			40			150
Interest cost		50			211			100			421
Amortization of prior service cost		(1,086	)		(510	)		(2,172	)		(1,021	)
Recognized actuarial benefit		(285	)		(245	)		(570	)		(489	)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	(1,301	)		(469	)		(2,602	)		(939	)