Note 18. Retirement benefits

Woodward provides various retirement benefits to eligible members of the Company, including contributions to various defined contribution plans, pension benefits associated with defined benefit plans, postretirement medical benefits and postretirement life insurance benefits. Eligibility requirements and benefit levels vary depending on employee location.

Defined contribution plans

Most of the Company’s U.S. employees are eligible to participate in the U.S. defined contribution plan. The U.S. defined contribution plan allows employees to defer part of their annual income for income tax purposes into their personal 401(k) accounts. The Company makes matching contributions to eligible employee accounts, which are also deferred for employee personal income tax purposes. Certain foreign employees are also eligible to participate in foreign plans.

Most of Woodward’s U.S. employees with at least two years of service receive an annual contribution of Woodward stock, equal to 5% of their eligible prior year wages, to their personal Woodward Retirement Savings Plan accounts. In the second quarter of fiscal years 2016 and 2015, Woodward fulfilled its annual Woodward stock contribution obligation using shares held in treasury stock by issuing 317 shares of common stock for a total value of $13,999 in fiscal year 2016 and 259 shares of common stock for a total value of $12,574 in fiscal year 2015. The increase in the annual 5% stock contribution is primarily related to a specified group of additional employees becoming eligible for the 5% stock contribution on January 1, 2015 in exchange for freezing one of Woodward’s defined benefit pension plans for that group.

The amount of expense associated with defined contribution plans was as follows:



	Three-Months Ended				Nine-Months Ended
	June 30,				June 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Company costs	$	8,204	$	7,908	$	23,686	$	23,034

Defined benefit plans

Woodward has defined benefit plans that provide pension benefits for certain retired employees in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Woodward also provides other postretirement benefits to its employees including postretirement medical benefits and life insurance benefits. Postretirement medical benefits are provided to certain current and retired employees and their covered dependents and beneficiaries in the United States and the United Kingdom. Life insurance benefits are provided to certain retirees in the United States under frozen plans, which are no longer available to current employees. A September 30 measurement date is utilized to value plan assets and obligations for all of Woodward’s defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans.

U.S. GAAP requires that, for obligations outstanding as of September 30, 2015, the funded status reported in interim periods shall be the same asset or liability recognized in the previous year end statement of financial position adjusted for (a) subsequent accruals of net periodic benefit cost that exclude the amortization of amounts previously recognized in other comprehensive income (for example, subsequent accruals of service cost, interest cost, and return on plan assets) and (b) contributions to a funded plan or benefit payments.

During the third quarter of fiscal year 2016, Woodward opened a lump-sum buy-out window for certain former US employees, and/or their dependents eligible to receive postretirement defined benefit pension payments for past employment services to the Company. Eligible pension plan participants may elect to receive a one-time lump-sum payment or an immediate annuity in lieu of future pension benefit payments. Woodward estimates that pension benefit payments under the lump-sum buy-out option may be up to approximately $7,000 during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016 and up to approximately $7,000 during fiscal year 2017. Such lump-sum payments will be paid from available pension plan assets.

Effective June 30, 2015, the Company terminated the defined benefit pension plan for employees at its Duarte, California manufacturing facility. The plan, which was established in fiscal year 2013 in connection with the December 2012 acquisition of the Duarte business, was amended in fiscal year 2013 to cease all future benefit accruals under the plan and was at that time closed to new entrants. Cash payout of benefits will occur after regulatory approval of the plan termination. In exchange for the freeze and termination of the plan, which were agreed upon through negotiations with the applicable employee union, the employees were provided replacement benefits through full participation in the Woodward U.S. defined contribution plan. In addition to the current liability of $200 plus scheduled expenses of $63 expected to be recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016, Woodward expects to recognize settlement costs of between $100 and $200 during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016 in connection with cash payouts to the beneficiaries of the plan and associated plan termination costs.

The components of the net periodic retirement pension costs recognized are as follows:



	Three-Months Ended June 30,
	United States				Other Countries				Total
	2016		2015		2016		2015		2016		2015
Service cost	$	424	$	504	$	190	$	193	$	614	$	697
Interest cost		1,309		1,489		413		527		1,722		2,016
Expected return on plan assets		(2,535)		(2,662)		(672)		(751)		(3,207)		(3,413)
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss		323		99		62		47		385		146
Prior service cost (benefit)		96		96		-		-		96		96
Net periodic retirement pension (benefit) cost	$	(383)	$	(474)	$	(7)	$	16	$	(390)	$	(458)
Contributions paid	$	84	$	-	$	128	$	143	$	212	$	143


	Nine-Months Ended June 30,
	United States				Other Countries				Total
	2016		2015		2016		2015		2016		2015
Service cost	$	1,522	$	1,513	$	561	$	590	$	2,083	$	2,103
Interest cost		3,935		4,475		1,259		1,595		5,194		6,070
Expected return on plan assets		(7,612)		(7,994)		(2,035)		(2,274)		(9,647)		(10,268)
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss		969		297		190		142		1,159		439
Prior service cost (benefit)		288		288		-		-		288		288
Net periodic retirement pension (benefit) cost	$	(898)	$	(1,421)	$	(25)	$	53	$	(923)	$	(1,368)
Contributions paid	$	84	$	-	$	656	$	1,365	$	740	$	1,365

The components of the net periodic other postretirement benefit costs recognized are as follows:



	Three-Months Ended				Nine-Months Ended
	June 30,				June 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Service cost	$	5	$	7	$	16	$	22
Interest cost		263		308		787		925
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss		39		(18)		117		(54)
Prior service cost (benefit)		(40)		(40)		(119)		(119)
Net periodic other postretirement (benefit) cost	$	267	$	257	$	801	$	774
Contributions paid	$	588	$	570	$	1,809	$	1,471

The amount of cash contributions made to these plans in any year is dependent upon a number of factors, including minimum funding requirements in the jurisdictions in which Woodward operates and arrangements made with trustees of certain foreign plans. As a result, the actual funding in fiscal year 2016 may differ from the current estimate. Woodward estimates its remaining cash contributions in fiscal year 2016 will be as follows:



Retirement pension benefits:
United States	$	100	-	200
United Kingdom			151
Japan			-
Other postretirement benefits			2,294

Multiemployer defined benefit plans

Woodward operates two multiemployer defined benefit plans for certain employees in the Netherlands and Japan. The amounts of contributions associated with the multiemployer plans were as follows:



	Three-Months Ended				Nine-Months Ended
	June 30,				June 30,
	2016		2015		2016		2015
Company contributions	$	110	$	142	$	397	$	452