PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFIT PLANS

The Company sponsors several defined benefit pension plans covering salaried and other year-round employees in the U.S. and certain foreign and other employee groups. These plans provide retirement benefits based primarily on employee compensation and years of service. The Company also sponsors defined benefit plans that provide postretirement health and life insurance benefits for eligible U.S. employees attaining specific age and service levels.

The components of the Company’s net periodic benefit cost were as follows:



	Pension Benefits						Other Postretirement Benefits
	Three Months Ended December 31,						Three Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands of dollars)	2013			2012			2013			2012

Service cost	$	1,115		$	1,229		$	137		$	151
Interest cost	2,883			3,174			521			582
Expected return on plan assets	(3,517		)	(3,544		)	(29		)	(31		)
Settlement costs	—			1,975			—			—
Net amortization and deferral	1,022			2,522			(16		)	56
Net periodic benefit cost	$	1,503		$	5,356		$	613		$	758



	Pension Benefits						Other Postretirement Benefits
	Nine Months Ended December 31,						Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands of dollars)	2013			2012			2013			2012

Service cost	$	3,507		$	3,499		$	406		$	445
Interest cost	8,605			9,493			1,561			1,727
Expected return on plan assets	(10,602		)	(10,238		)	(89		)	(93		)
Settlement costs	—			3,304			—			—
Net amortization and deferral	5,916			7,886			(50		)	156
Net periodic benefit cost	$	7,426		$	13,944		$	1,828		$	2,235

During the nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company made contributions of approximately $10.1 million to its pension plans. Additional contributions of approximately $2.9 million are expected during the remaining three months of fiscal year 2014, including $2.6 million to the Company's ERISA-regulated U.S. plan and $0.3 million to its non-ERISA regulated and other plans.

During the quarter ended September 30, 2013, the Company amended its ERISA-regulated and non-regulated pension plans in the U.S. to change the benefit formula applied to service periods beginning January 1, 2014, to modify early retirement benefit factors, and to cover on a prospective basis certain employees who did not previously participate in the plans. Due to the significance of the amendments on the benefit obligation for the plans, the Company remeasured the plan’s assets and liabilities during the quarter using actuarial assumptions that were updated as of the valuation date. The updated actuarial assumptions included an increase in the discount rate used to calculate the benefit liability, reflecting a general rise in market interest rates since March 31, 2013. The remeasurement resulted in a prior service credit of approximately $19 million. That item, together with other actuarial gains as of the remeasurement date, reduced the aggregate underfunded status of the Company’s pension plans by approximately $40 million, which was recorded through comprehensive income under the applicable accounting guidance.

After the remeasurement, the projected benefit obligation (“PBO”) and the funded status of the Company’s defined benefit pension plans at September 30, 2013, compared to the March 31, 2013 fiscal year end, were as follows:



	Pension Benefits
(in thousands of dollars)	September 30, 2013			March 31, 2013

Projected benefit obligation	$	260,689		$	299,161
Funded status	(52,484		)	(93,219		)

The effect of the plan amendments on net periodic benefit cost for fiscal year 2014 is not expected to be material to the Company's results of operations.