NOTE 12 – EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT AND PROFIT SHARING PLANS

We sponsor a noncontributory defined benefit pension plan for Monro employees and the former Kimmel Automotive, Inc. employees. In fiscal 2005, the previously separate Monro and Kimmel pension plans were merged. The merged plan provides benefits to certain full-time employees who were employed with Monro and with Kimmel prior to April 2, 1998 and May 15, 2001, respectively.

Effective as of those dates, each company’s Board of Directors approved plan amendments whereby the benefits of each of the defined benefit plans would be frozen and the plans would be closed to new participants. Prior to these amendments, coverage under the plans began after employees completed one year of service and attained age 21. Benefits under both plans, and now the merged plan, are based primarily on years of service and employees’ pay near retirement. The funding policy for Monro’s merged plan is consistent with the funding requirements of Federal law and regulations. The measurement date used to determine the pension plan measurements disclosed herein is March 31 for both 2015 and 2014.

The (underfunded)/overfunded status of Monro’s defined benefit plan is recognized as an other long-term liability/other non-current asset in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, respectively.

The funded status of the plan is set forth below:



	Fiscal March
	2015		2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Change in Plan Assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	19,369	$	18,224
Actual return on plan assets		1,466		1,726
Employee contribution		0		0
Benefits paid		(594)		(581)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year		20,241		19,369
Change in Projected Benefit Obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year		19,048		19,285
Interest cost		832		776
Actuarial loss (gain)		2,874		(432)
Benefits paid		(594)		(581)
Benefit obligation at end of year		22,160		19,048
(Unfunded) funded status of plan	$	(1,919)	$	321

The projected and accumulated benefit obligations were equivalent at March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014.

The mortality assumption is the basis for determining the longevity of Monro’s pension plan participants and the expected period over which those participants will receive pension benefits. A recent study released by the Society of Actuaries in the U.S. indicated that life expectancies have increased over the past several years and are longer than what was assumed by most existing mortality tables. Monro’s projected benefit obligation as of March 28, 2015 reflects a change in the underlying mortality assumption, which reflects improvements in life expectancy consistent with the Society of Actuaries’ study and Monro’s plan specific experience. Monro’s projected benefit obligation also reflects an increase in the expected rate of future longevity improvement taking into consideration data from multiple sources including the Society of Actuaries’ study and plan specific data.

Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of:



	Year Ended
	Fiscal March
	2015		2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Unamortized transition obligation	$	0	$	0
Unamortized prior service cost		0		0
Unamortized net loss		7,393		5,056
Total	$	7,393	$	5,056

Changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income consist of:



	Year Ended
	Fiscal March
	2015		2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Net transition obligation	$	0	$	0
Prior service cost		0		0
Net actuarial (loss) income		(2,337)		1,464
Total	$	(2,337)	$	1,464

Pension (income) expense included the following components:



	Year Ended Fiscal March
	2015		2014		2013
	(Dollars in thousands)
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation	$	832	$	776	$	793
Expected return on plan assets		(1,388)		(1,193)		(1,192)
Amortization of unrecognized actuarial loss		300		658		517
Net pension (income) expense	$	(256)	$	241	$	118

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations are as follows:

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic pension costs are as follows:



	Year Ended Fiscal March
	2015		2014		2013
Discount rate	4.42	%	4.08	%	4.49	%
Expected long-term return on assets	7.00	%	7.00	%	7.00	%

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is established based upon assumptions related to historical returns and the future expectations for returns for each asset class, as well as the target asset allocation of the pension portfolio.

The investment strategy of the plan is to conservatively manage the assets in order to meet the plan’s long-term obligations while maintaining sufficient liquidity to pay current benefits. This is achieved by holding equity investments while investing a portion of

assets in long duration bonds to match the long-term nature of the liabilities. Monro’s general target allocation for the plan is 40% fixed income and 60% equity securities.

Monro’s asset allocations, by asset category, are as follows at the end of each year:



	March 28,		March 29,
	2015		2014
Cash and cash equivalents	2.8	%	2.9	%
Fixed income	36.3	%	29.8	%
Equity securities	60.9	%	67.3	%
Total	100.0	%	100.0	%

A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The following table provides fair value measurement information for Monro’s major categories of defined benefit plan assets at March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, respectively:



	Fair Value Measurements at March 28, 2015 Using
			Quoted Prices
			in Active		Significant
			Markets for		Other		Significant
			Identical		Observable		Unobservable
			Assets		Inputs		Inputs
		Total	(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)
	(Dollars in thousands)
Equity securities:
U.S. companies	$	8,114	$	7,729	$	385
International companies		4,212		4,212
Fixed income:
U.S. corporate bonds		7,354				7,354
Cash equivalents		561				561
Total	$	20,241	$	11,941	$	8,300



	Fair Value Measurements at March 29, 2014 Using
			Quoted Prices
			in Active		Significant
			Markets for		Other		Significant
			Identical		Observable		Unobservable
			Assets		Inputs		Inputs
	Total		(Level 1)		(Level 2)		(Level 3)
	(Dollars in thousands)
Equity securities:
U.S. companies	$	8,804	$	7,966	$	838
International companies		4,241		4,241
Fixed income:
U.S. corporate bonds		5,462				5,462
International bonds		302				302
Cash equivalents		560				560
Total	$	19,369	$	12,207	$	7,162

There are no required or expected contributions in fiscal 2016 to the plan.

The following pension benefit payments are expected to be paid:



	Year Ended
	Fiscal March
	(Dollars in thousands)
2016	$	780
2017		808
2018		835
2019		880
2020		929
2021 - 2025		5,448

We have a 401(k)/Profit Sharing Plan that covers full-time employees who meet the age and service requirements of the plan. The 401(k) salary deferral option was added to the plan during fiscal 2000. The first employee deferral occurred in March 2000. We make matching contributions consistent with the provisions of the plan. Charges to expense for our matching contributions for fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 amounted to approximately $655,000, $612,000 and $615,000, respectively. We may also make annual profit sharing contributions to the plan at the discretion of Monro’s Compensation Committee.

We have a deferred compensation plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”) to provide an opportunity for additional tax-deferred savings to a select group of management or highly compensated employees. The Deferred Compensation Plan permits participants to defer all or any portion of the compensation that would otherwise be payable to them for the calendar year. In addition, Monro will credit to the participants’ accounts such amounts as would have been contributed to Monro’s 401(k)/Profit Sharing Plan but for the limitations that are imposed under the Internal Revenue Code based upon the participants’ status as highly compensated employees. We may also make such additional discretionary allocations as are determined by the Compensation Committee. The Deferred Compensation Plan is an unfunded arrangement and the participants or their beneficiaries have an unsecured claim against the general assets of Monro to the extent of their Deferred Compensation Plan benefits. We maintain accounts to reflect the amounts owed to each participant. At least annually, the accounts are credited with earnings or losses calculated on the basis of an interest rate or other formula as determined by Monro’s Compensation Committee. The total liability recorded in our financial statements at March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014 related to the Deferred Compensation Plan was $1,678,000 and $1,433,000, respectively.

Monro's management bonus plan provides for the payment of annual cash bonus awards to participating employees, as selected by our Board of Directors, based primarily on Monro's attaining pre-tax income targets established by our Board of Directors. During the years ended March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, we recorded charges to expense of $1,092,000 and $1,066,000, respectively. During the year ended March 30, 2013, we recorded a benefit of $66,000 related to the management bonus plan due to an over estimate of expense in fiscal 2012, as well as our failure to meet pre-tax earnings targets.

Year Ended

Fiscal March

Discount rate