Retirement Benefits

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Retirement Benefits - General

Retirement Benefits

Note 17. Retirement benefits

Woodward provides various benefits to eligible members of the Company, including contributions to various defined contribution plans, pension benefits associated with defined benefit plans, postretirement medical benefits and postretirement life insurance benefits. Eligibility requirements and benefit levels vary depending on employee location.

Defined contribution plans

Substantially all U.S. employees are eligible to participate in the U.S. defined contribution plan. The U.S. defined contribution plan allows employees to defer part of their annual income for income tax purposes into their personal 401(k) accounts. The Company makes contributions to eligible employee accounts, which are also deferred for employee personal income tax purposes. Certain foreign employees are also eligible to participate in foreign plans.

Most U.S. employees with at least two years of service receive an annual contribution of Woodward stock, equal to 5% of their eligible prior year wages, to their personal Woodward Retirement Savings Plan accounts. In February 2012, Woodward fulfilled the annual Woodward stock contribution obligation using shares held in treasury stock by issuing 209 shares of common stock for a total value of $9,335. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2011, the annual Woodward stock contribution totaling $9,107 was funded by way of a cash contribution to the Woodward Retirement Savings Plan, which then purchased shares of Woodward stock on the open market.

The amount of expense associated with defined contribution plans was as follows:

	Three-Months Ending June 30,				Nine-Months Ending June 30,
	2012		2011		2012		2011
Company costs	$	4,866	$	4,174	$	13,848	$	12,430

Woodward operates one multi-employer plan for certain employees in the Netherlands. The amounts of contributions associated with the multi-employer plan were as follows:

	Three-Months Ending June 30,				Nine-Months Ending June 30,
	2012		2011		2012		2011
Company contributions	$	122	$	121	$	364	$	355

Defined benefit plans

Woodward has defined benefit plans that provide pension benefits for certain retired employees in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Japan, and Switzerland. Woodward also provides other postretirement benefits to its employees including postretirement medical benefits and life insurance benefits. Postretirement medical benefits are provided to certain current and retired employees and their covered dependants and beneficiaries in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Life insurance benefits are provided to certain retirees in the U.S. under frozen plans, which are no longer available to current employees. A September 30 measurement date is utilized to value plan assets and obligations for all of Woodward's defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans.

U.S. GAAP requires that, for obligations outstanding as of September 30, 2011, the funded status reported in interim periods shall be the same asset or liability recognized in the previous year end statement of financial position adjusted for (a) subsequent accruals of net periodic benefit cost that exclude the amortization of amounts previously recognized in other comprehensive income (for example, subsequent accruals of service cost, interest cost, and return on plan assets) and (b) contributions to a funded plan or benefit payments.

The components of the net periodic retirement pension costs recognized are as follows:

	Three-Months Ending June 30,
	United States						Other Countries						Total
	2012			2011			2012			2011			2012			2011
Service cost	$	883		$	858		$	282		$	273		$	1,165		$	1,131
Interest cost		1,454			1,412			571			584			2,025			1,996
Expected return on plan assets		(1,752	)		(1,673	)		(646	)		(649	)		(2,398	)		(2,322	)
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss		131			78			167			227			298			305
Prior service cost (benefit)		19			19			(3	)		(2	)		16			17
Net periodic retirement pension (benefit) cost	$	735		$	694		$	371		$	433		$	1,106		$	1,127
Contributions paid	$	150		$	1,290		$	457		$	502		$	607		$	1,792

	Nine-Months Ending June 30,
	United States						Other Countries						Total
	2012			2011			2012			2011			2012			2011
Service cost	$	2,648		$	2,575		$	854		$	719		$	3,502		$	3,294
Interest cost		4,362			4,235			1,709			1,701			6,071			5,936
Expected return on plan assets		(5,256	)		(5,020	)		(1,936	)		(1,895	)		(7,192	)		(6,915	)
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss		393			234			499			672			892			906
Prior service cost (benefit)		56			56			(7	)		(6	)		49			50
Net periodic retirement pension (benefit) cost	$	2,203		$	2,080		$	1,119		$	1,191		$	3,322		$	3,271
Contributions paid	$	450		$	1,290		$	2,789		$	3,692		$	3,239		$	4,982

The components of the net periodic other postretirement benefit costs recognized are as follows:

	Three-Months  Ending June 30,						Nine-Months Ending June 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Service cost	$	17		$	23		$	52		$	69
Interest cost		449			494			1,348			1,481
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss		22			32			68			96
Prior service cost (benefit)		(137	)		(218	)		(412	)		(653	)
Net periodic other postretirement (benefit) cost	$	351		$	331		$	1,056		$	993
Contributions paid	$	673		$	879		$	1,966		$	2,473

The amount of cash contributions made to these plans in any year is dependent upon a number of factors, including minimum funding requirements in the jurisdictions in which Woodward operates and arrangements made with trustees of certain foreign plans. As a result, the actual funding in fiscal year 2012 may differ from the current estimate. Woodward estimates its remaining cash contributions in fiscal year 2012 will be as follows:

Retirement pension benefits:
United States	$	150
United Kingdom		407
Japan		—
Switzerland		191
Other postretirement benefits		2,744