plan as determined by the Board of Directors. The total expense for the defined contribution plan was $1.5 million, $1.5 million and $1.6 million for 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Certain employees of our Lynchburg manufacturing facility are covered by defined benefit pension plans. The Company’s policy is to contribute at least the minimum amount required under ERISA. The Company may elect to make additional contributions. Benefits are based on years of service and levels of compensation. On December 16, 2014, the decision was made to freeze the benefits under the Company's U.S. qualified defined benefit pension plan with an effective date of March 1, 2015.

The following table summarizes the changes in the U.S. pension plan obligations and plan assets and includes a statement of the plans' funded status as of March 31, 2020 and 2019:


	March 31,
(In thousands)	2020		2019
Change in benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	60,334	$	61,882
Interest cost	2,327		2,380
Actuarial (gain) loss	2,375		(744)
Benefits paid	(3,466)		(3,184)
Projected benefit obligations at end of year	$	61,570	$	60,334

Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period	$	51,115	$	50,508
Actual return on plan assets	3,742		2,416
Employer contribution	1,369		1,375
Benefits paid	(3,466)		(3,184)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	52,760	$	51,115

Funded status at end of year	$	(8,810)	$	(9,219)


	Year Ended March 31,
(In thousands)	2020		2019		2018
Interest cost	$	2,327	$	2,380	$	2,529
Expected return on assets	(2,886)		(3,070)		(2,901)
Net periodic benefit (income)	$	(559)	$	(690)	$	(372)

The accumulated benefit obligation, which represents benefits earned to the measurement date, was $61.6 million at March 31, 2020, and $60.3 million at March 31, 2019 and we had a net periodic benefit (income) of less than $1.0 million for 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The pension benefit amounts stated above include one pension plan that is an unfunded plan. The projected benefit obligation and accumulated benefit obligation for this unfunded plan were $4.6 million as of March 31, 2020 and $4.6 million as of March 31, 2019.

The following table includes amounts that are expected to be contributed to the plans by the Company. It reflects benefit payments that are made from the plans' assets as well as those made directly from the Company's assets. The amounts in the table are actuarially determined and reflect the Company's best estimate given its current knowledge; actual amounts could be materially different.


(In thousands)	Pension Benefits
Employer contributions:
2021 (expectation) to participant benefits	$	1,359

Expected benefit payments year ending March 31,
2021	$	3,476
2022	3,592
2023	3,669
2024	3,743
2025	3,718
2026-2030	18,670

During both 2020 and 2019, we contributed $1.0 million to our qualified defined benefit plan. During 2018, we made no contribution to the qualified plan.

The Company's primary investment objective for its qualified pension plan assets is to provide a source of retirement income for the plans' participants and beneficiaries. The asset allocation for the Company's funded retirement plan as of March 31, 2020 and 2019, and the target allocation by asset category are as follows:


	Percentage of Plan Assets
Asset Category	Target Allocation		March 31, 2020		March 31, 2019
Domestic large cap equities	16	%	16	%	18	%
Domestic small/mid cap equities	6		5		5
International equities	14		15		15
Real estate	5		5		—
Fixed income and cash	59		59		62
Total	100	%	100	%	100	%

The plan assets are invested in a diversified portfolio consisting primarily of domestic fixed income and publicly traded equity securities held within group trust funds at March 31, 2020 and 2019. These assets are fair valued using NAV.

The following tables show the unrecognized actuarial loss (gain) included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at March 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, as well as the prior service cost credit and actuarial loss expected to be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retirement expense during 2021:


(In thousands)
Balances in accumulated other comprehensive loss as of March 31, 2018:
Unrecognized actuarial (gain)	$	(1,407)
Unrecognized prior service credit	—

Balances in accumulated other comprehensive (income) as of March 31, 2019:
Unrecognized actuarial (gain)	$	(1,469)
Unrecognized prior service credit	—

Balances in accumulated other comprehensive loss as of March 31, 2020:
Unrecognized actuarial loss	$	73
Unrecognized prior service credit	—

Amounts expected to be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) during 2021:
Unrecognized actuarial gain (loss)	$	—
Unrecognized prior service credit	—

Assumptions used in determining the actuarial present value of the benefit obligation as of March 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:


	March 31,
	2020	2019
Key assumptions:
Discount rate	3.37% to 3.55%	3.80% to 3.99%
Expected return on plan assets, net of administrative fees	5.00%	5.75%
Rate of compensation increase	—	—