Retirement and Benefit Plans

The following table presents the pension benefit costs:



	Three Months Ended September 30						Nine Months Ended September 30
	2013			2012			2013			2012
	(thousands)
Service cost	$	672		$	1,206		$	2,014		$	3,557
Interest cost	4,667			4,783			13,959			14,450
Expected return on plan assets	(5,025		)	(4,850		)	(14,807		)	(14,541		)
Amortization of actuarial loss	2,333			1,824			6,870			5,808
Amortization of prior service costs	23			41			68			124
Net periodic benefit cost	$	2,670		$	3,004		$	8,104		$	9,398

On August 26, 2013, we contributed company-owned real property to the pension plans from one location in our Building Materials Distribution segment. The pension plans obtained an independent appraisal of the property, and based on the appraisal, the plans recorded the contribution at fair value of approximately $4 million.

We are leasing back the contributed property for an initial term of ten years with two five-year extension options and continue to use the property in our distribution operations. Rent payments are made quarterly, with first-year annual rent of $0.3 million and 2% annual escalation rates thereafter. The lease provides us a right of first refusal on any subsequent sale by the pension plans, as well as repurchase options at the end of the initial term and extension periods. The plans engaged an independent fiduciary who negotiated the lease terms and also manages the property on behalf of the plans.

We determined that the contribution of the property does not meet the accounting definition of a plan asset within the scope of Accounting Standards Codification 715, Compensation — Retirement Benefits. Accordingly, the contributed property is not considered a contribution for accounting purposes and, as a result, is not included in plan assets and has no impact on the net pension liability recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We continue to depreciate the carrying value of the property in our financial statements, and no gain or loss was recognized at the contribution date for accounting purposes. Lease payments are recorded as pension contributions.

In the first nine months of 2013, we contributed $10.4 million in cash to the pension plans. For the remainder of 2013, we expect to make approximately $0.4 million in additional cash contributions to the pension plans.