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Retirement Plans | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2016
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract] |
Retirement Plans | Retirement Plans SICA's primary pension plan is the Retirement Income Plan for Selective Insurance Company of America (the “Pension Plan”). SICA also sponsors the Supplemental Excess Retirement Plan (the “Excess Plan”) and a life insurance benefit plan. All plans are closed to new entrants and benefits ceased accruing under the Pension Plan and the Excess Plan after March 31, 2016. For more information concerning SICA's retirement plans, refer to Note 14. “Retirement Plans” in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” of our 2015 Annual Report. The following tables provide information regarding the Pension Plan:
|  | Pension Plan Quarter ended March 31,
($ in thousands) |  | 2016 |  | 2015
Net Periodic Benefit Cost: |  |  |  |
Service cost |  | $ | 1,606 |  |  | 1,913 |
Interest cost |  | 3,102 |  |  | 3,408 |
Expected return on plan assets |  | (3,988 | ) |  | (3,990 | )
Amortization of unrecognized net actuarial loss |  | 1,480 |  |  | 1,643 |
Total net periodic cost |  | $ | 2,200 |  |  | 2,974 |
|  | Pension Plan Quarter ended March 31,
|  | 2016 |  | 2015
Weighted-Average Expense Assumptions: |  |  |  |
Discount rate |  | 4.69 | % |  | 4.29
Effective interest rate for calculation of service cost |  | 4.52 |  |  | —
Effective interest rate for calculation of interest cost |  | 4.02 |  |  | —
Expected return on plan assets |  | 6.37 |  |  | 6.27
Rate of compensation increase |  | 4.00 |  |  | 4.00
Effective January 1, 2016, the approach used to calculate the service and interest components of net periodic benefit cost for the Pension Plan was changed to provide a more precise measurement of service and interest costs. Historically, we calculated these service and interest components utilizing a single weighted-average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the benefit obligation at the beginning of the period. On January 1, 2016, we elected to utilize an approach that discounts the individual expected cash flows using the applicable spot rates derived from the yield curve over the projected cash flow period. We accounted for this change prospectively as a change in accounting estimate. We presently anticipate contributing approximately $30 million to the Pension Plan in 2016, $3.2 million of which has been funded as of March 31, 2016.

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