7. Retirement Plans

The Company provides benefits under defined contribution plans including a savings plan and an employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”). The savings plan covers substantially all domestic salaried and certain non-union hourly employees and provides for matching contributions up to 4% of each employee’s salary. The ESOP covers substantially all domestic employees and provides for contributions based on a percentage of each employee’s compensation as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors. Total expense for the Company’s defined contribution plans was $5.4 million in 2015, $5.0 million in 2014, and $4.7 million in 2013.

Although the Company intends for these defined contribution plans to be the primary retirement benefit for most employees, the Company also has several defined benefit plans. The funded status of the defined benefit plans was as follows at December 31:

(in thousands)	2015			2014
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	55,396		$	72,582
Service cost		2,692			2,523
Interest cost		1,803			2,390
Foreign currency exchange rate changes		(2,379	)		(1,889	)
Benefits paid		(10,708	)		(23,726	)
Actuarial (gain) loss		(1,173	)		5,858
Curtailment gain		(121	)		(2,342	)
Other		849			-
Benefit obligation at end of year		46,359			55,396
Plan assets at beginning of year		39,520			37,122
Company contributions		10,204			22,402
Foreign currency exchange rate changes		(2,859	)		(2,379	)
Benefits paid		(10,708	)		(23,726	)
Actual gain on plan assets		79			6,101
Plan assets at end of year		36,236			39,520
Funded status	$	(10,123	)	$	(15,876	)
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	45,217		$	54,435

In 2014, two of the Company’s defined benefit plans were frozen resulting in the recognition of a curtailment gain. The changes to these plans will limit the plans to the current participants as well as freeze their respective benefits. In addition, a curtailment loss was recognized for a certain defined benefit plan associated with a closure of a facility. These changes did not have a material impact on the Company’s 2015 or 2014 results, and are not expected to have a material impact on future years’ results. The decrease in benefit payments in 2015 from 2014, was primarily due to the retirement of the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer, who received his defined benefit pension in a lump sum payment during 2014.

Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31:

(in thousands)	2015			2014
Accrued employee and retiree benefits	$	(14,129	)	$	(18,258	)
Other accrued expenses		(5,927	)		(7,263	)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		9,933			9,645
Net liability	$	(10,123	)	$	(15,876	)

Components of annual benefit cost:

(In thousands)	2015			2014			2013

Service cost	$	2,692		$	2,523		$	3,260
Interest cost		1,803			2,390			2,557
Expected return on plan assets		(1,210	)		(1,791	)		(1,689	)
Amortization of prior service cost		—			171			172
Recognized actuarial loss (gain)		228			(305	)		3,203
Settlement expense		1,119			1,467			1,177
Curtailment gain		(104	)		(754	)		—
Defined benefit expense	$	4,528		$	3,701		$	8,680

Weighted average liability assumptions as of December 31:

	2015			2014
Discount rate		3.94	%		3.70	%
Expected return on plan assets		3.40	%		3.32	%
Rate of compensation increase		0.35	%		0.37	%

Weighted average cost assumptions for the year ended December 31:

	2015			2014
Discount rate		3.70	%		3.91	%
Expected return on plan assets		3.32	%		5.12	%
Rate of compensation increase		0.37	%		4.59	%

The aggregate amounts of benefits expected to be paid from defined benefit plans in each of the next five years subsequent to December 31, 2015, which include employees’ expected future service, are as follows: 2016, $7.1 million; 2017, $2.0 million; 2018, $4.2 million; 2019, $1.9 million; 2020, $2.1 million and $15.0 million in total for the years 2021 through 2025.

The Company expects to contribute $6.5 million to defined benefit plans in 2016.

Amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income at December 31 were as follows:

(In thousands)		2015				2014
Unrecognized net actuarial loss		$	5,725			$	7,407

The pension adjustments, net of tax, recognized in OCI, were as follows:

(In thousands)	2015			2014			2013

Net actuarial (loss) gain arising during the period	$	(140	)	$	(387	)	$	3,180
Amortization of actuarial loss, included in defined benefit expense		917			1,252			2,006
Amortization of prior service cost, included in defined benefit expense		—			733			108
Pension adjustment, net of tax	$	777		$	1,598		$	5,294

The estimated actuarial loss for the defined benefit plans that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into periodic benefit cost during 2016 is $0.3 million.

The investment objectives and target allocations for the Company’s pension plans related to the assets of the plans are reviewed on a regular basis. The investment objectives for the pension assets are to maximize the return on assets while maintaining an overall level of risk appropriate for a retirement fund and ensuring the availability of funds for the payment of retirement benefits. The levels of risk assumed by the pension plans are determined by market conditions, the rate of return expectations and the liquidity requirements of each pension plan. The actual asset allocations of each pension plan are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are in line with the target allocations.

The following table presents the Company’s pension plan assets by asset category as of December 31, 2015 and 2014:

	Fair Value as of December 31,		Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2015 Using Fair Value Hierarchy						Fair Value as of December 31,		Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2014 Using Fair Value Hierarchy
(in thousands)	2015		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		2014		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Equity Funds
Domestic	$	6,064	$	6,064	$	—	$	—	$	6,424	$	6,424	$	—	$	—
International		179		3		176		—		242		—		242		—
International Fixed Income Funds		22,374		711		21,663		—		22,710		960		21,750		—
Other investments		7,619		40		7,579		—		10,144		38		10,106		—
Total assets at fair value	$	36,236	$	6,818	$	29,418	$	—	$	39,520	$	7,422	$	32,098	$	—

The Company is required to categorize pension plan assets based on the following fair value hierarchy:

Level 1: Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability through corroboration with observable market data.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions.