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 2000. This pension benefit is based on years of service and final pay. The benefits earned by the employees are immediately vested. We fund the future obligations of the Dutch Plan by purchasing an insurance contract from a large multi-national insurance company with a five-year maturity. Each year we make annual premium payments to the insurance company (1) to provide for the benefit obligation of the current year of service based on each employee's age, gender and current salary, and (2) for the changes in the benefit obligation for prior years of service due to changes in participants' salary. 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.

During the year, there was a curtailment of the Dutch Plan for our Dutch employees hired between 2000 and 2007 whose pension benefit was based on years of service and career average pay. These employees have been moved into the Dutch defined contribution plan. However, the unconditional indexation for this group of participants remains as long as they stay in active service for the company. This event resulted in a curtailment gain of $1.2 million as of December 31, 2018.

The following table summarizes the change in the projected benefit obligation and the fair value of plan assets for the Dutch Plan for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Projected Benefit Obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	63,398		$	56,082
Service cost	1,453			1,494
Prior service cost	(157		)	—
Interest cost	1,244			1,121
Amendments/curtailments	(1,219		)	—
Benefits paid	(1,349		)	(1,212		)
Administrative expenses	—			(35		)
Actuarial (gain) loss, net	(383		)	(1,005		)
Unrealized (gain) loss on foreign exchange	(2,316		)	6,953
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	$	60,671		$	63,398

Fair Value of Plan Assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	53,145		$	46,134
Increase in plan asset value	2,251			919
Employer contributions	1,282			1,595
Benefits paid	(1,349		)	(1,212		)
Administrative expenses	(37		)	(35		)
Unrealized gain (loss) on foreign exchange	(2,019		)	5,744
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	53,273		$	53,145

Under-funded status of the plan at end of the year	$	(7,398	)	$	(10,253	)

Accumulated Benefit Obligation	$	55,863		$	56,035

The following actuarial assumptions were used to determine the actuarial present value of our projected benefit obligation and the net periodic pension costs for the Dutch Plan at December 31, 2018 and 2017:



	2018	2017
Weighted average assumed discount rate	1.75%	2.00%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	1.75%	2.00%
Weighted average rate of compensation increase	2.80%	2.90%

The discount rate used to determine our projected benefit obligation at December 31, 2018 was decreased from 2.00% to 1.75%, 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 at December 31, 2018 and 2017 consist of (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Deferred tax asset	$	4,369		$	2,564
Other long-term liabilities	7,398			10,253
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(5,650		)	(8,162		)

The components of net periodic pension cost for the Dutch Plan under this plan for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016 included (in thousands):



	2018			2017			2016
Service cost	$	1,453		$	1,494		$	1,456
Interest cost	1,244			1,121			1,329
Expected return on plan assets	(1,077		)	(950		)	(1,117		)
Administrative charges	37			—			—
Curtailment	(1,219		)	—			—
Prior service cost	(106		)	(77		)	(81		)
Unrecognized net actuarial loss	1,706			440			593
Net periodic pension cost	$	2,038		$	2,028		$	2,180

Plan assets at December 31, 2018 and 2017 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 2019 minimum funding requirements are expected to be $0.8 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 to eligible participants under this plan for the next five years are as follows (in thousands):



2019	$	1,346
2020	$	1,407
2021	$	1,483
2022	$	1,580
2023	$	1,612
Succeeding five years	$	9,728

Defined Contribution Plans

We maintain defined contribution plans for the benefit of eligible employees primarily 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. Our primary obligation under these defined contribution plans is limited to paying the annual contributions. For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, we paid $4.3 million, $4.2 million and $6.1 million, respectively, for our contributions and our additional discretionary contributions to the defined contribution plans.

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.

Deferred Compensation Arrangements

We have entered into deferred compensation contracts for certain key employees to provide additional retirement income to the participants. The benefit is determined by the contract for either a fixed amount or by a calculation using years of service or age at retirement along with the average of their base salary for the five years prior to retirement. We are not required to fund this arrangement; however, we have purchased life insurance policies with cash surrender values to assist us in providing the benefits pursuant to these deferred compensation contracts with the actual benefit payments made by Core Laboratories. The charge to expense for these deferred compensation contracts in 2018, 2017 and 2016 was $1.2 million, $1.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively.

We provide severance compensation to certain current key employees if employment is terminated under certain circumstances, such as following a change in control or for any reason other than upon their death or disability, for “cause” or upon a material breach of a material provision of their employment agreement, as defined in their employment agreements. In addition, there are certain countries where we are legally required to make severance payments to employees when they leave our service. We have accrued for all of these severance payments, but they are not funded.

We have also adopted a non-qualified deferred compensation plan (“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, due to certain limitations imposed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Contributions to the plan are invested in equity and other investment fund assets, and carried on the balance sheet at fair value. The benefits under these contracts are fully vested. Our primary obligation for the Deferred Compensation Plan is limited to our annual contributions. Employer contributions to the Deferred Compensation Plan for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 were $0.1 million, $0.1 million, and $0.2 million, 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.