Defined Benefit Pension Plans

We sponsor both funded and unfunded defined benefit pension plans offering death and disability, retirement, and special termination benefits for our international employees, primarily in Germany, France, Italy, Indonesia, Brazil, and Spain. The defined benefit obligation is calculated annually by using the projected unit credit method. The measurement date for the pension plans was December 31, 2016.

Amounts recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets consist of:



	September 30, 2017		December 31, 2016
	(in thousands)
Assets
Plan assets in other long-term assets	$	740	$	654

Liabilities
Current portion of pension benefit obligation in wages and benefits payable	3,497		3,202
Long-term portion of pension benefit obligation	96,849		84,498

Pension benefit obligation, net	$	99,606	$	87,046

Our asset investment strategy focuses on maintaining a portfolio using primarily insurance funds, which are accounted for as investments and measured at fair value, in order to achieve our long-term investment objectives on a risk adjusted basis. Our general funding policy for these qualified pension plans is to contribute amounts sufficient to satisfy regulatory funding standards of the respective countries for each plan.

Net periodic pension benefit costs for our plans include the following components:



	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Service cost	$	994		$	1,003		$	2,846		$	2,930
Interest cost	568			649			1,628			1,932
Expected return on plan assets	(152		)	(139		)	(445		)	(398		)
Settlements and other	—			506			—			499
Amortization of actuarial net loss	431			330			1,225			991
Amortization of unrecognized prior service costs	16			16			46			47
Net periodic benefit cost	$	1,857		$	2,365		$	5,300		$	6,001