Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFIT PLANS

Defined Benefit Plan

We provide a noncontributory defined benefit pension plan covering substantially all of our Dutch employees ("Dutch Plan") who were hired prior to 2007 based on years of service and final pay or career average pay, depending on when the employee began participating. Employees are immediately vested in the benefits earned. We fund the future obligations of the Dutch Plan by purchasing investment contracts from a large multi-national insurance company. The investment contracts are purchased annually and expire after five years. Each year, as a contract expires, it is replaced with a new contract that is adjusted to include changes in the benefit obligation for the current year and redemption of the expired contract. We determine the fair value of these plan assets with the assistance of an actuary using observable inputs (Level 2). We make annual premium payments, based upon each employee's age and current salary, to the insurance company.

The following table summarizes the change in the projected benefit obligation and the fair value of plan assets for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):

	2011			2010
Projected Benefit Obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	30,888		$	29,699
Service cost	1,352			1,225
Interest cost	1,743			1,424
Benefits paid	(676		)	(503		)
Administrative expenses	(185		)	(269		)
Actuarial loss, net	2,021			1,565
Unrealized (gain) loss on foreign exchange	(839		)	(2,253		)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	$	34,304		$	30,888
Fair Value of Plan Assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	26,022		$	24,640
Increase in plan asset value	8,157			1,998
Employer contributions	1,919			2,026
Benefits paid	(676		)	(503		)
Administrative expenses	(185		)	(269		)
Unrealized gain (loss) on foreign exchange	(647		)	(1,870		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	34,590		$	26,022
Over (under)-funded status of the plan at end of the year	$	286		$	(4,866	)
Accumulated Benefit Obligation	$	28,998		$	25,908

The following actuarial assumptions were used to determine the actuarial present value of our projected benefit obligation at December 31, 2011 and 2010:

	2011	2010
Weighted average assumed discount rate	5.00%	5.40%
Weighted average rate of compensation increase	3.00%	3.00%

The discount rate used to determine our projected benefit obligation at December 31, 2011 was decreased from 5.40% to 5.00%. The decrease in the discount rate was consistent with a general decrease in interest rates in Europe for AAA-rated long-term Euro government bonds.

Amounts recognized for the Dutch Plan in the Consolidated Balance Sheets for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 consist of (in thousands):

	2011			2010
Other assets	$	286		$	—
Deferred tax asset	1,200			1,445
Other long-term liabilities	—			4,866
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	(1,739		)	(6,207		)

Amounts recognized, net of tax, in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 consist of (in thousands):

	2011			2010
Prior service cost	$	(734	)	$	(853	)
Transition asset	259			324
Unrecognized net actuarial (loss) and foreign exchange	(1,264		)	(5,678		)
Total accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	$	(1,739	)	$	(6,207	)

Unrecognized amounts currently recorded to Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income that are expected to be recognized as components of next year's net pension benefit cost are $0.2 million of prior service cost and $0.1 million amortization of transition asset.

The components of net periodic pension cost under this plan for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 included (in thousands):

	2011			2010
Service cost	$	1,352		$	1,225
Interest cost	1,743			1,424
Expected return on plan assets	(752		)	(451		)
Unrecognized pension obligation (asset), net	(87		)	(87		)
Prior service cost	159			159
Unrecognized net actuarial loss	326			378
Net periodic pension cost	$	2,741		$	2,648

This net periodic pension cost was calculated using the following assumptions:

	2011	2010
Weighted average assumed discount rate	5.40%	5.25%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	5.40%	5.25%
Weighted average rate of compensation increase	3.00%	3.00%

Plan assets at December 31, 2011 and 2010 consisted of insurance contracts with returns comparable with governmental debt securities. Our expected long-term rate of return assumptions are based on the average yield on government bonds in The Netherlands. Dutch law dictates the minimum requirements for pension funding. Our goal is to meet these minimum funding requirements, while our insurance carrier invests to minimize risks associated with future benefit payments.

Our 2012 minimum funding requirements are expected to be approximately $1.6 million. Our estimate of future annual contributions is based on current funding requirements, and we believe these contributions will be sufficient to fund the plan. Expected benefit payments under this plan for the next five years are as follows (in thousands):

2012	$	949
2013	$	1,045
2014	$	1,140
2015	$	1,160
2016	$	1,279
Succeeding five years	$	8,116

Defined Contribution Plans

We maintain four defined contribution plans (the "Defined Contribution Plans") for the benefit of eligible employees in Canada, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In accordance with the terms of each plan, we and our participating employees contribute up to specified limits and under certain plans, we may make discretionary contributions in accordance with the Defined Contribution Plans. For the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, we expensed approximately $5.7 million, $4.6 million and $4.9 million, respectively, for our contributions and our additional discretionary contributions to the Defined Contribution Plans.

Deferred Compensation Arrangements

We have entered into deferred compensation contracts for certain key employees and an outside director. The benefits under these contracts are fully vested and benefits are paid when the participants attain 65 years of age. The charge to expense for these deferred compensation contracts in 2011, 2010 and 2009 was approximately $1.3 million, $1.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively. Life insurance policies with cash surrender values have been purchased for the purpose of funding the deferred compensation contracts.

We have adopted a non-qualified deferred compensation plan that allows certain highly compensated employees to defer a portion of their salary, commission and bonus, as well as the amount of any reductions in their deferrals under the deferred compensation plan for employees in the United States (the "Deferred Compensation Plan"), due to certain limitations imposed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"). The Deferred Compensation Plan also provides for employer contributions to be made on behalf of participants equal in amount to certain forfeitures of, and/or reductions in, employer contributions that participants could have received under the 401(k) Plan in the absence of certain limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. Employer contributions to the Deferred Compensation Plan vest ratably over a period of five years. The Company maintains life insurance policies with a cash surrender value that are intended to fund the deferred compensation agreements. A participant's plan benefits include the participant's deferrals, the vested portion of the employer's contributions, and deemed investment gains and losses on such amounts. The benefits under these contracts are fully vested and payment of benefits generally commences as of the last day of the month following the termination of services except that the payment of benefits for select executives generally commences on the first working day following a six month waiting period following the date of termination. Employer contributions to the deferred compensation plan were $0.1 million, $0.2 million and $0.2 million of the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. These employer contributions vest ratably over a period of five years.

Vesting in all employer contributions is accelerated upon the death of the participant or a change in control. Employer contributions under the plans are forfeited upon a participant's termination of employment to the extent they are not vested at that time.

The Company's only financial assets and liabilities which involve fair value measures relate to certain aspects of the Company's benefit plans. On a recurring basis, we use the market approach to value certain assets and liabilities at fair value at quoted prices in an active market (Level 1) and certain assets and liabilities using significant other observable inputs (Level 2). We do not have any assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3). Gains and losses related to the fair value changes in the deferred compensation assets and liabilities are recorded in General and Administrative Expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. The following table summarizes the fair value balances (in thousands):

			Fair Value Measurement at December 31, 2011
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets:
Deferred compensation trust assets (1)	$	9,934	—		$	9,934	—
Liabilities:
Deferred compensation plan	$	15,141	$	3,086	$	12,055	—

			Fair Value Measurement at December 31, 2010
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets:
Deferred compensation trust assets (1)	$	8,802	$	—	$	8,802	$	—
Liabilities:
Deferred compensation plan	$	13,063	$	2,275	$	10,788	$	—
(1) Trust assets consist of the cash surrender value of life insurance policies and are intended to fund the deferred compensation agreements.