PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

Supplemental Pension and Multiemployer Pension Plans

The Company has an unfunded supplemental pension plan which provides defined pension benefits to certain former salaried employees upon retirement. The plan has been frozen, no additional participants will be added to the plan in the future and there are no active employees in the plan.

The Company also has a 401(k) plan which all employees of U.S. subsidiaries are eligible to participate.

The Company contributes to a number of multiemployer defined benefit pension plans under the terms of collective-bargaining agreements that cover union-represented employees.

Total expense for all retirement plans for the years ended December 31 was (in thousands):



	2018		2017		2016
Defined benefit pension plan	$	4	$	28	$	52
401(k) plan	2,262		2,248		1,952
Multiemployer defined benefit plans	234		292		296
Postretirement healthcare plan	$	427	$	476	$	587
Total retirement plan expense	$	2,927	$	3,044	$	2,887

All of the multiemployer plans are underfunded, and each fund has a rehabilitation plan in place. Each plan with a rehabilitation plan requires minimum contributions from the Company. Given the status of these plans, it is reasonably possible that future contributions to the plans will increase although the Company cannot reasonably estimate a possible range of increased contributions as of December 31, 2018.

Other Postretirement Benefits

The Company has an unfunded postretirement healthcare plan which provides health insurance to certain employees and their spouses upon retirement. This plan has been frozen and no additional participants will be added to the plan in the future.

The following table presents the changes in the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation related to the Company’s unfunded postretirement healthcare benefits at December 31 (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Projected benefit obligation at January 1	$	7,020		$	7,202
Service cost	18			17
Interest cost	233			269
Actuarial gain	(819		)	(150		)
Benefits paid, net of contributions	(317		)	(318		)
Projected benefit obligation at December 31	6,135			7,020
Fair value of plan assets	—			—
Under funded status	(6,135		)	(7,020		)
Unamortized prior service cost	382			427
Unrecognized actuarial loss	1,431			2,382
Net amount recognized	$	(4,322	)	$	(4,211	)

Amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements consisted of (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Accrued postretirement benefit liability
Current portion	$	331		$	314
Long term portion	5,805			6,706
Pre-tax accumulated other comprehensive loss – unamortized post-retirement healthcare costs	(1,814		)	(2,809		)
Net amount recognized	$	4,322		$	4,211

The measurement date used to determine postretirement benefit obligation measures was December 31.

Components of net periodic postretirement benefit cost charged to expense for the years ended December 31 were as follows (in thousands):



	2018			2017			2016
Service cost	$	18		$	17		$	22
Interest cost	233			269			272
Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost	44			44			44
Loss amortization (2)	132			146			134
Net periodic benefit cost	$	427		$	476		$	472
Assumptions used to calculate the benefit obligation:
Discount rate	4.1		%	3.4		%	3.8		%
Annual rate of increase in the per capita cost of:
Medical costs before age 65 (1)	7.0		%	7.3		%	7.5		%
Medical costs after age 65 (1)	5.0		%	6.3		%	6.5		%
Prescription drug costs (1)	9.5		%	10.5		%	10.5		%

(1) It was assumed that these rates would gradually decline to 3.8% by 2075.

(2) Actuarial (gains)/losses are amortized utilizing the corridor approach. Differences between actual experience and the actuarial assumptions are reflected in (gain)/loss. If the total net (gain) or loss exceeds 10 percent of the greater of the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation or plan asset, this excess must be amortized over the average remaining service period of the active plan participants. If most of the plan participants are inactive, the amortization period is the expected future lifetime of inactive plan participants.

A 1% change in the annual medical inflation rate issued would have the following impact on the amounts reported at December 31 as follows (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Effect on accumulated postretirement benefit obligation
1% increase	$	831		$	950
1% decrease	$	(702	)	$	(803	)
Effect on annual service and interest costs
1% increase	$	36		$	41
1% decrease	$	(30	)	$	(34	)

Expected benefit payments from the plan for the years ended December 31 are as follows (in thousands):



	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023		Years 2024 - 2028
Expected benefit payments	$	331	$	349	$	364	$	379	$	393	$	2,102