Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

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. The benefits earned by the employees are immediately vested. We fund the future obligations of the Dutch Plan by purchasing insurance contracts from a large multi-national insurance company. The insurance contracts are purchased annually and re-new after five years at which time they are replaced with new contracts that are adjusted to include changes in the benefit obligation for the current year and redemption of the expired contracts. We make annual premium payments to the insurance company based on each employee's age and current salary, and the contractual growth rate. We determine the fair value of these plan assets with the assistance of an actuary using observable inputs (Level 2), which approximates the contract value of the investments.

The following table summarizes the change in the projected benefit obligation and the fair value of plan assets for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 (in thousands):

	2012			2011
Projected Benefit Obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	34,304		$	30,888
Service cost	1,127			1,352
Interest cost	1,684			1,743
Benefits paid	(910		)	(676		)
Administrative expenses	(181		)	(185		)
Actuarial loss, net	10,009			2,021
Unrealized (gain) loss on foreign exchange	843			(839		)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	$	46,876		$	34,304
Fair Value of Plan Assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	34,590		$	26,022
Increase in plan asset value	2,267			8,157
Employer contributions	1,619			1,919
Benefits paid	(910		)	(676		)
Administrative expenses	(181		)	(185		)
Unrealized gain (loss) on foreign exchange	708			(647		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	38,093		$	34,590
Over (under)-funded status of the plan at end of the year	$	(8,783	)	$	286
Accumulated Benefit Obligation	$	39,276		$	28,998

The following actuarial assumptions were used to determine the actuarial present value of our projected benefit obligation at December 31, 2012 and 2011:

	2012	2011
Weighted average assumed discount rate	3.60%	5.00%
Weighted average rate of compensation increase	3.00%	3.00%

The discount rate used to determine our projected benefit obligation at December 31, 2012 was decreased from 5.00% to 3.60%, 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, 2012 and 2011 consist of (in thousands):

	2012			2011
Other assets	$	—		$	286
Deferred tax asset	268			1,200
Other long-term liabilities	8,783			—
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(8,413		)	(1,739		)

Amounts recognized, net of tax, in Accumulated other comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 consist of (in thousands):

	2012			2011
Prior service cost	$	(616	)	$	(734	)
Transition asset	195			259
Unrecognized net actuarial loss and foreign exchange	(7,992		)	(1,264		)
Total Accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	(8,413	)	$	(1,739	)

Unrecognized amounts currently recorded to Accumulated other comprehensive loss that are expected to be recognized as components of next year's net pension benefit cost are $0.2 million of prior service cost, $0.1 million for the amortization of the transition asset and $0.5 million of unrecognized net actuarial loss.

The components of net periodic pension cost under this plan for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 included (in thousands):

	2012			2011
Service cost	$	1,127		$	1,352
Interest cost	1,684			1,743
Expected return on plan assets	(1,214		)	(752		)
Unrecognized pension asset, net	(87		)	(87		)
Prior service cost	159			159
Unrecognized net actuarial loss	—			326
Net periodic pension cost	$	1,669		$	2,741

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

	2012	2011
Weighted average assumed discount rate	5.00%	5.40%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	3.40%	5.40%
Weighted average rate of compensation increase	3.00%	3.00%

Plan assets at December 31, 2012 and 2011 consisted of insurance contracts with returns equal to the contractual rate, which are comparable with governmental debt securities. Our expected long-term rate of return assumptions are based on the weighted-average contractual rates for each contract. 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 2013 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):

2013	$	1,066
2014	$	1,164
2015	$	1,182
2016	$	1,301
2017	$	1,504
Succeeding five years	$	8,720

Defined Contribution Plans

We maintain five defined contribution plans (the "Defined Contribution Plans") for the benefit of eligible employees in Canada, The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, 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, 2012, 2011 and 2010, we expensed approximately $6.2 million, $5.7 million and $4.6 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 2012, 2011 and 2010 was approximately $1.3 million, $1.3 million and $1.2 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. Contributions to the plan are invested in equity and other investment fund assets within life insurance policies, and carried on the balance sheet at fair value. 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 $0.3 million, $0.3 million and $0.2 million of the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

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) with the assistance of a third party specialist. 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, 2012
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets:
Deferred compensation trust assets (1)	$	12,654	—		$	12,654	—
Liabilities:
Deferred compensation plan	$	18,579	$	2,667	$	15,912	—

			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	$	—
(1) Trust assets consist of the cash surrender value of life insurance policies and are intended to fund the deferred compensation agreements.