Note 12 – Employee Benefit Plans

The Company has qualified, defined benefit pension plans that were established to provide benefits to certain employees. These plans are frozen and participants are no longer accruing benefits. Generally, contributions to the plans are not less than the minimum amounts required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and not more than the maximum amount that can be deducted for federal income tax purposes. The plans’ assets are held by independent trustees and consist primarily of equity and fixed income securities.

The Company also provides certain postretirement health care benefits for certain of its salaried retired employees. Generally, employees may become eligible for health care benefits if they retire after attaining specified age and service requirements. These benefits are subject to deductibles, co-payment provisions and other limitations.

Additionally, as a result of the cost reduction program initiated in January 2017, certain employees participating in the salaried pension and postretirement benefit plans were impacted, which triggered curtailments of the respective plans during the three months ended March 31, 2017.

The components of net periodic benefit cost (benefit) for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, are as follows:



	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
Pension Benefits	2018		2017
Interest cost	$	427	$	446
Expected return on plan assets		(711)		(642)
Amortization of unrecognized net loss		113		119
Plan curtailment and special termination benefits		-		270
	$	(171)	$	193



	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
Postretirement Benefit Plan	2018		2017
Service cost	$	8	$	12
Interest cost		45		50
Settlement income		-		-
Amortization of prior service cost		4		4
Amortization of unrecognized net (gain) loss		(70)		(80)
Plan curtailment and special termination benefits		-		150
	$	(13)	$	136

The Company made no contributions to the Company’s defined benefit pension plans for each of the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. The Company expects to make no contributions to its pension plans in 2018.

The Company made contributions to the Company’s postretirement benefit plan for salaried retirees of $225 and $128 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The Company expects to make $400 in contributions (including contributions already made) to its postretirement benefit plan in 2018 for salaried retirees.

The Company also maintains qualified defined contribution plans, which provide benefits to employees based on employee contributions, employee earnings or certain subsidiary earnings, with discretionary contributions allowed. Expenses related to these plans were $430 and $620 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.