Pension And Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Defined Benefit Pension Plans and Defined Benefit Postretirement Plans Disclosure [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure

PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFIT PLANS

The Company sponsors several defined benefit pension plans covering U.S. salaried employees 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)	2015			2014			2015			2014
Service cost	$	1,469		$	1,296		$	106		$	108
Interest cost	2,345			2,629			387			458
Expected return on plan assets	(3,574		)	(3,677		)	(15		)	(26		)
Net amortization and deferral	1,201			783			(44		)	(133		)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	1,441		$	1,031		$	434		$	407

	Pension Benefits						Other Postretirement Benefits
	Nine Months Ended December 31,						Nine Months Ended December 31,
(in thousands of dollars)	2015			2014			2015			2014
Service cost	$	4,431		$	3,957		$	320		$	336
Interest cost	7,038			7,954			1,186			1,423
Expected return on plan assets	(10,727		)	(10,904		)	(45		)	(78		)
Curtailment gain	—			—			—			(1,503		)
Net amortization and deferral	3,599			2,343			(132		)	(399		)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	4,341		$	3,350		$	1,329		$	(221	)

The net periodic benefit cost for the Company's pension and other postretirement benefit plans has increased from the prior fiscal year, primarily reflecting actuarial losses from lower market discount rates applicable to the most recent actuarial measurement of benefit liabilities and from lower expected long-term asset returns due to changes made during fiscal year 2015 to move toward a liability-driven investment strategy for the assets in the Company's U.S. ERISA-regulated defined benefit pension plan. The curtailment gain reflected in the above table for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 was attributable to the elimination of postretirement life insurance benefits for active U.S. employees.

During the nine months ended December 31, 2015, the Company made contributions of approximately $10.6 million to its pension plans. Additional contributions of approximately $1.8 million are expected during the remaining three months of fiscal year 2016, including $1.4 million to the Company's ERISA-regulated U.S. plan and $0.4 million to its non-ERISA regulated and other plans.