Pension and other postretirement benefits (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Defined Benefit Pension Plans and Defined Benefit Postretirement Plans Disclosure [Abstract]

Net Benefit Cost of Pension and Postretirement Benefit Plans

The following table provides information regarding the components of the net benefit expense (income) of the Company's pension and postretirement benefit plans:



	Pension									Other Benefits
	2015			2014			2013			2015		2014			2013
	(Dollars in thousands)
Service cost	$	1,880		$	1,794		$	1,819		$	495	$	424		$	663
Interest cost	17,948			18,000			16,842			1,967		2,169			2,707
Expected return on plan assets	(25,940		)	(25,006		)	(23,122		)	—		—			—
Net amortization and deferral	6,159			4,371			5,847			216		(7		)	1,348
Net benefit expense (income)	$	47		$	(841	)	$	1,386		$	2,678	$	2,586		$	4,718

Pension and Postretirement Benefit Plans

The following table provides summarized information with respect to the Company’s pension and postretirement benefit plans, measured as of December 31, 2015 and 2014:



	Pension						Other Benefits
	2015			2014			2015			2014
	Under Funded						Under Funded
	(Dollars in thousands)
Benefit obligation, beginning of year	$	447,964		$	367,731		$	53,154		$	52,448
Service cost	1,880			1,794			495			424
Interest cost	17,948			18,000			1,967			2,169
Actuarial loss (gain)	(22,880		)	82,922			(3,914		)	1,273
Currency translation	(2,721		)	(2,973		)	—			—
Benefits paid	(18,682		)	(17,988		)	(3,216		)	(3,287		)
Medicare Part D reimbursement	—			—			130			127
Administrative costs	(1,773		)	(1,522		)	—			—
Projected benefit obligation, end of year	421,736			447,964			48,616			53,154
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year	328,830			305,481
Actual return on plan assets	(4,460		)	34,332
Contributions	12,797			9,539
Benefits paid	(18,682		)	(17,988		)
Settlements paid	—			—
Administrative costs	(1,773		)	(1,522		)
Currency translation	(761		)	(1,012		)
Fair value of plan assets, end of year	315,951			328,830
Funded status, end of year	$	(105,785	)	$	(119,134	)	$	(48,616	)	$	(53,154	)

Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheet

The following table sets forth the amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet with respect to the Company's pension and postretirement plans:



	Pension						Other Benefits
	2015			2014			2015			2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Payroll and benefit-related liabilities	$	(1,653	)	$	(1,779	)	$	(3,307	)	$	(3,268	)
Pension and postretirement benefit liabilities	(104,132		)	(117,355		)	(45,309		)	(49,886		)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	213,301			213,117			4,223			8,353
	$	107,516		$	93,983		$	(44,393	)	$	(44,801	)

Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Income) Loss

The following tables set forth the amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) with respect to the plans:



	Pension
	Prior Service Cost (Credit)			Net (Gain) or Loss			Deferred Taxes			Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Income) Loss, Net of Tax
	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance at December 31, 2013	$	182		$	144,684		$	(52,480	)	$	92,386
Reclassification adjustments related to components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost recognized during the period:
Net amortization and deferral	(34		)	(4,337		)	1,539			(2,832		)
Amounts arising during the period:
Actuarial changes in benefit obligation	—			73,596			(26,131		)	47,465
Impact of currency translation	—			(974		)	265			(709		)
Balance at December 31, 2014	148			212,969			(76,807		)	136,310
Reclassification adjustments related to components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost recognized during the period:
Net amortization and deferral	(35		)	(6,124		)	2,164			(3,995		)
Amounts arising during the period:
Actuarial changes in benefit obligation	—			7,520			(2,928		)	4,592
Impact of currency translation	—			(1,177		)	316			(861		)
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	113		$	213,188		$	(77,255	)	$	136,046



	Other Benefits
	Prior Service Cost (Credit)		Net (Gain) or Loss			Deferred Taxes			Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Income) Loss, Net of Tax
	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance at December 31, 2013	$	17	$	7,056		$	(2,422	)	$	4,651
Reclassification adjustments related to components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost recognized during the period:
Net amortization and deferral	55		(48		)	(4		)	3
Amounts arising during the period:
Actuarial changes in benefit obligation	—		1,273			(493		)	780
Balance at December 31, 2014	72		8,281			(2,919		)	5,434
Reclassification adjustments related to components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost recognized during the period:
Net amortization and deferral	35		(251		)	78			(138		)
Amounts arising during the period:
Actuarial changes in benefit obligation	—		(3,914		)	1,459			(2,455		)
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	107	$	4,116		$	(1,382	)	$	2,841

Weighted Average Assumptions used in Determining Net Periodic Benefit Cost

The following table provides the weighted average assumptions for United States and foreign plans used in determining net benefit cost:



	Pension						Other Benefits
	2015		2014		2013		2015		2014		2013
Discount rate	4.1	%	5.0	%	4.3	%	4.0	%	4.7	%	3.8	%
Rate of return	8.1	%	8.3	%	8.3	%
Initial healthcare trend rate							7.3	%	7.5	%	8.2	%
Ultimate healthcare trend rate							5.0	%	5.0	%	5.0	%

The following table provides the weighted average assumptions for United States and foreign plans used in determining benefit obligations:



	Pension				Other Benefits
	2015		2014		2015		2014
Discount rate	4.5	%	4.1	%	4.3	%	4.0	%
Rate of compensation increase	2.8	%	3.0	%
Initial healthcare trend rate					8.4	%	7.3	%
Ultimate healthcare trend rate					5.0	%	5.0	%

Fair Values of Pension Plan Assets

The following table provides the fair values of the Company’s pension plan assets at December 31, 2015 by asset category:



	Fair Value Measurements
Asset Category (a)	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
	(Dollars in thousands)
Cash	$	664	$	664
Money market funds	184		184
Equity securities:
Managed volatility (b)	80,052		80,052
United States small/mid-cap equity (c)	18,549		18,549
World Equity (excluding United States) (d)	29,632		29,632
Common Equity Securities – Teleflex Incorporated	15,366		15,366
Diversified United Kingdom Equity	845		845
Diversified Global	2,948		2,948
Emerging Markets	1,055		1,055
Fixed income securities:
Long duration bond fund (e)	80,855		80,855
UK corporate bond fund	2,467		2,467
UK Government bond fund	4,838		4,838
High yield bond fund (f)	10,702		10,702
Emerging markets debt fund (g)	10,060				$	10,060
Corporate, government and foreign bonds	75				75
Asset backed – home loans	655				655
Other types of investments:
Structured credit (h)	29,591						$	29,591
Hedge fund of funds (i)	22,599						22,599
UK Property Fund (j)	1,654				1,654
Multi asset fund (k)	3,155		3,155
Other	5						5
Total	$	315,951	$	251,312	$	12,444	$	52,195

The following table provides the fair values of the Company’s pension plan assets at December 31, 2014 by asset category:



	Fair Value Measurements
Asset Category (a)	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
	(Dollars in thousands)
Cash	$	659	$	659
Money market funds	31		31
Equity securities:
Managed volatility (b)	83,068		83,068
United States small/mid-cap equity (c)	20,312		20,312
World Equity (excluding United States) (d)	26,064		26,064
Common Equity Securities – Teleflex Incorporated	13,422		13,422
Diversified United Kingdom Equity	875		875
Diversified Global	2,884		2,884
Emerging Markets	1,266		1,266
Fixed income securities:
Long duration bond fund (e)	92,553		92,553
UK corporate bond fund	2,719		2,719
UK Government bond fund	5,078		5,078
High yield bond fund (f)	11,618		11,618
Emerging markets debt fund (g)	8,531				$	8,531
Corporate, government and foreign bonds	81				81
Asset backed – home loans	782				782
Other types of investments:
Structured credit (h)	31,176						$	31,176
Hedge fund of funds (i)	23,171						23,171
UK Property Fund (j)	1,549				1,549
Multi asset fund (k)	2,986		2,986
Other	5						5
Total	$	328,830	$	263,535	$	10,943	$	54,352


(a)	Information on asset categories described in notes (b)-(k) is derived from prospectuses and other material provided by the respective funds comprising the respective asset categories.


(b)	This category comprises mutual funds that invest in securities of United States and non-United States companies of all capitalization ranges that exhibit relatively low volatility.


(c)	This category comprises a mutual fund that invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of small and mid-sized companies. The fund invests in common stocks or exchange traded funds holding common stock of United States companies with market capitalizations in the range of companies in the Russell 2500 Index.

(d)

This category comprises a mutual fund that invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of foreign companies. These securities may include common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants, exchange traded funds based on an international equity index, derivative instruments whose value is based on an international equity index and derivative instruments whose value is based on an underlying equity security or a basket of equity securities. The fund invests in securities of foreign issuers located in developed and emerging market countries. However, the fund will not invest more than35% of its assets in the common stocks or other equity securities of issuers located in emerging market countries.

(e)

This category comprises a mutual fund that invests in instruments or derivatives having economic characteristics similar to fixed income securities. The fund invests in investment grade fixed income instruments, including securities issued or guaranteed by the United States Government and its agencies and instrumentalities, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, exchange traded funds, mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage-backed securities. The fund invests primarily in long duration government and corporate fixed income securities, and uses derivative instruments, including interest rate swap agreements and Treasury futures contracts, for the purpose of managing the overall duration and yield curve exposure of the Fund’s portfolio of fixed income securities.


(f)	This category comprises a mutual fund that invests at least 80% of its net assets in higher-yielding fixed income securities, including corporate bonds and debentures, convertible and preferred securities and zero coupon obligations.


(g)	This category comprises a mutual fund that invests at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income securities of emerging market issuers, primarily in United States dollar-denominated debt of foreign governments, government-related and corporate issuers in emerging market countries and entities organized to restructure the debt of those issuers.


(h)	This category comprises a fund that invests primarily in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”) and other structured credit vehicles. The fund investments may include fixed income securities, loan participants, credit-linked notes, medium-term notes, pooled investment vehicles and derivative instruments.


(i)	This category comprises a hedge fund that invests in various other hedge funds. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014:


•	approximately 41% and 33%, respectively, of the assets of the hedge fund were invested in equity hedge based funds, including equity long/short and equity market neutral strategies;


•	approximately 12% and 10%, respectively, of the assets were held in tactical/directional based funds, including global macro, long/short equity, commodity and systematic quantitative strategies;


•	approximately 19% and 24%, respectively, of the assets were held in relative value based funds, including convertible and fixed income arbitrage, credit long/short and volatility arbitrage strategies; and


•	approximately 28% and 33%, respectively, of the assets were held in funds with an event driven strategy.


(j)	This category comprises a fund that invests primarily in UK freehold and leasehold property. The fund does not invest in higher risk activities such as developments. The fund may invest in indirect vehicles and property derivatives.


(k)	This category comprises a mutual fund that invests primarily in equities and bonds.

Reconciliation of Changes in Level 3 Pension Assets Measured at Fair Value on Recurring Basis

The following table provides a reconciliation of changes in pension assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis, using Level 3 inputs, from December 31, 2013 through December 31, 2015:



	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance at December 31, 2013	$	51,654
Unrealized gain on assets	2,698
Balance at December 31, 2014	54,352
Unrealized gain on assets	(2,157		)
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	52,195

Expected Benefit Payments

The following table provides information about the Company’s expected benefit payments under its U.S. and foreign plans for each of the five succeeding years and the aggregate of the five years thereafter, net of the annual average Medicare Part D subsidy of approximately $0.2 million:



	Pension		Other Benefits
	(Dollars in thousands)
2016	$	18,580	$	3,307
2017	19,394		3,349
2018	20,139		3,323
2019	20,957		3,387
2020	21,602		3,456
Years 2021 — 2025	119,017		17,882