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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS - POSTRETIREMENT
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract]  
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS - POSTRETIREMENT
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS - POSTRETIREMENT
 
The Company has a postretirement healthcare benefits plan that provides coverage for a majority of its U.S. employees (and their dependents) hired prior to January 1, 2013, should they elect to maintain such coverage upon retirement. Covered employees become eligible for participation when they qualify for retirement while working for the Company. Participation in the plan is voluntary and requires participants to make contributions toward the cost of the plan, as determined by the Company.

During the third quarter of 2017, the Company implemented plan design changes effective January 1, 2018 for the post-65 age group. This plan change will move all post-65 Medicare eligible retirees to healthcare exchanges and provide them a subsidy to purchase insurance. The amount of the subsidy will be based on years of service. The plan obligation was re-measured as a result of this plan design change. At re-measurement, the Company decreased the discount rate from 4.00% at December 31, 2016 to 3.55% and updated various actuarial assumptions and the fair value of plan assets. The plan re-measurement as of August 31, 2017 resulted in a decrease in the postretirement benefit obligation of $75.7 million and a corresponding unrecognized gain recorded in Other comprehensive earnings net of tax of $29.2 million. The Company has elected to amortize the amount of net unrecognized gains over a period equal to the average remaining service period for active plan participants expected to retire and receive benefits.
The postretirement benefit obligation was $29.0 million and $101.5 million at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Net accumulated gains recognized in Accumulated other comprehensive losses were $67.5 million and $25.3 million at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.
The net periodic (benefits) costs recorded in Warehousing, marketing and administrative expenses consisted of the following components (in thousands of dollars):
 
Three Months Ended September 30,
 
Nine Months Ended September 30,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2017
 
2016
Service cost
$
1,856

 
$
2,059

 
$
5,649

 
$
6,178

Interest cost
2,026

 
2,464

 
6,323

 
7,391

Expected return on assets
(2,957
)
 
(2,528
)
 
(8,670
)
 
(7,584
)
Amortization of unrecognized (gains) losses
(609
)
 
32

 
(1,919
)
 
96

Amortization of prior service credits
(1,893
)
 
(1,672
)
 
(5,139
)
 
(5,016
)
Net periodic (benefits) costs
$
(1,577
)
 
$
355

 
$
(3,756
)
 
$
1,065



The Company has established a Group Benefit Trust (Trust) to fund postretirement healthcare benefits plan obligations and process benefit payments. The funding of the Trust is an estimated amount which is intended to allow the maximum deductible contribution under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC), as amended. There are no minimum funding requirements and the Company intends to follow its practice of funding the maximum deductible contribution under the IRC. The Company did not make a contribution to the Trust during the nine months ended September 30, 2017.