Note 13 – Employee Benefit Plans

The Company has a qualified, defined benefit pension plan that was established to provide benefits to certain employees. The plan is frozen and participants are no longer accruing benefits. Generally, contributions to the plan 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 plan assets are held by an independent trustee 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.

The components of net periodic benefit cost (benefit) for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, are as follows:



	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
Pension Benefits	2019		2018
Interest cost	$	466	$	427
Expected return on plan assets		(555)		(711)
Amortization of unrecognized net loss		137		113
	$	48	$	(171)



	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
Postretirement Benefit Plan	2019		2018
Service cost	$	5	$	8
Interest cost		45		45
Amortization of prior service cost		4		4
Amortization of unrecognized net (gain) loss		(97)		(70)
	$	(43)	$	(13)

The Company made no contributions to the Company’s defined benefit pension plan for each of the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018. The Company expects to make no contributions to its pension plan in 2019.

The Company made contributions to the Company’s postretirement benefit plan for salaried retirees of $118 and $225 for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Company expects to make $472 in contributions (including contributions already made) to its postretirement benefit plan in 2019 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 $371 and $430 for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.