EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Pension Plans

The Charles River Laboratories, Inc. Pension Plan (CRL Pension Plan) is a qualified, non-contributory defined benefit plan covering certain U.S. employees. Effective 2002, the plan was amended to exclude new participants from joining and in 2008 the accrual of benefits was frozen.

The Charles River Pension Plan is a defined contribution and defined benefit pension plan covering certain U.K. employees. Benefits are based on participants’ final pensionable salary and years of service. Participants’ rights vest immediately. Effective December 31, 2002, the plan was amended to exclude new participants from joining the defined benefit section of the plan and a defined contribution section was established for new entrants. Contributions under the defined contribution plan are determined as a percentage of gross salary. In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Charles River Pension Plan was amended such that the members of the defined benefit section of the plan ceased to accrue additional benefits; however, their benefits continue to be adjusted for changes in their final pensionable salary or a specified inflation index, as applicable.

In addition, the Company has several defined benefit plans in certain other countries in which it maintains an operating presence, including Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands.

Charles River Laboratories Deferred Compensation Plan and Executive Supplemental Life Insurance Retirement Plan

The Company maintains a non-qualified deferred compensation plan, known as the Charles River Laboratories Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP), which allows a select group of eligible employees to defer a portion of their compensation. At the present time, no contributions are credited to the DCP, except as set forth below. Participants must specify the distribution date for deferred amounts at the time of deferral, in accordance with applicable IRS regulations. Generally, amounts may be paid in lump sum or installments upon retirement or termination of employment, or later if the employee terminates employment after age 55 and before age 65. Amounts may also be distributed during employment, subject to a minimum deferral requirement of three years.

The Company provides certain active employees an annual contribution into their DCP account of 10% of the employee’s base salary plus the lesser of their target annual bonus or actual annual bonus.

In addition to the DCP, certain officers and key employees also participate, or in the past participated, in the Company’s Executive Supplemental Life Insurance Retirement Plan (ESLIRP), which is a non-funded, non-qualified arrangement. Annual benefits under this plan will equal a percentage of the highest five consecutive years of compensation, offset by amounts payable under the CRL Pension Plan and Social Security. In connection with the establishment of the DCP, certain active ESLIRP participants, who agreed to convert their accrued ESLIRP benefit to a comparable deferred compensation benefit, discontinued their direct participation in the ESLIRP. Instead, the present values of the accrued benefits of ESLIRP participants were credited to their DCP accounts, and future accruals are converted to present values and credited to their DCP accounts annually.

The costs associated with these plans, including the ESLIRP, for fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015 totaled $2.3 million, $2.2 million and $2.6 million, respectively.

The Company has invested in several corporate-owned key-person life insurance policies with the intention of using these investments to fund the ESLIRP and the DCP. Participants have no interest in any such investments. As of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the cash surrender value of these life insurance policies were $34.0 million and $29.5 million, respectively.

The following table provides a reconciliation of benefit obligations and plan assets of the Company’s pension, DCP and ESLIRP plans:



	December 30, 2017			December 31, 2016
	(in thousands)
Change in projected benefit obligations:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	379,942		$	345,220
Service cost	3,110			2,453
Interest cost	11,642			12,046
Benefit payments	(9,665		)	(13,383		)
Curtailment	—			(279		)
Settlements	—			(5,499		)
Plan amendments	(1		)	188
Transfer in from acquisition	—			5,271
Actuarial loss (gain)	(15,724		)	71,006
Administrative expenses paid	(698		)	(605		)
Effect of foreign exchange	24,358			(36,476		)
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	392,964		$	379,942
Change in fair value of plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	256,903		$	275,480
Actual return on plan assets	33,558			23,388
Employer contributions	5,165			10,551
Settlements	—			(5,499		)
Transfer in from acquisition	—			508
Benefit payments	(9,665		)	(13,383		)
Administrative expenses paid	(698		)	(605		)
Effect of foreign exchange	19,062			(33,537		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	304,325		$	256,903

Net balance sheet liability	$	88,639		$	123,039

Amounts recognized in balance sheet:
Noncurrent assets	$	1,169		$	—
Current liabilities	1,228			1,120
Noncurrent liabilities	88,580			121,919

Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss related to the Company’s pension, DCP and ESLIRP plans are as follows:



	Fiscal Year
	2017			2016
	(in thousands)
Net actuarial loss	$	94,705		$	123,743
Net prior service cost (credit)	(3,203		)	(3,300		)
Net amount recognized	$	91,502		$	120,443

The accumulated benefit obligation and fair value of plan assets for the Company’s pension, DCP and ESLIRP plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets are as follows:



	December 30, 2017		December 31, 2016
	(in thousands)
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	359,965	$	346,122
Fair value of plan assets	285,609		242,172

The projected benefit obligation and fair value of plan assets for the Company’s pension, DCP and ESLIRP plans with projected benefit obligations in excess of plan assets are as follows:



	December 30, 2017		December 31, 2016
	(in thousands)
Projected benefit obligation	$	381,960	$	379,942
Fair value of plan assets	292,152		256,903

The amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year are as follows:



	December 30, 2017
	(in thousands)
Amortization of net actuarial loss	$	3,007
Amortization of net prior service credit	(521		)

Components of net periodic benefit cost for the Company’s pension, DCP and ESLIRP plans are as follows:



	Fiscal Year
	2017			2016			2015
	(in thousands)
Service cost	$	3,110		$	2,453		$	4,293
Interest cost	11,642			12,046			12,974
Expected return on plan assets	(14,249		)	(14,164		)	(16,987		)
Amortization of prior service cost (credit)	(496		)	(292		)	(581		)
Amortization of net loss (gain)	3,845			2,003			3,198
Curtailment	—			(279		)	—
Settlements	—			788			—
Net periodic cost (benefit)	$	3,852		$	2,555		$	2,897

Assumptions

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine projected benefit obligations are as follows:



	December 30, 2017		December 31, 2016
Discount rate	2.82	%	3.01	%
Rate of compensation increase	3.16	%	3.25	%

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost are as follows:



	December 30, 2017		December 31, 2016		December 26, 2015
Discount rate	3.01	%	3.89	%	3.75	%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	5.41	%	5.83	%	6.24	%
Rate of compensation increase	3.25	%	3.17	%	3.18	%

A 0.5% decrease in the expected rate of return would increase annual pension expense by $1.5 million.

Plan Assets

The Company invests its pension assets with the objective of achieving a total long-term rate of return sufficient to fund future pension obligations and to minimize future pension contributions. The Company is willing to tolerate a commensurate level of risk to achieve this objective. The Company controls its risk by maintaining a diversified portfolio of asset classes. Plan assets did not include any of the Company’s common stock as of December 30, 2017 or December 31, 2016. The weighted-average target asset allocations are approximately 45.0% to equity securities, approximately 17.9% to fixed income securities and approximately 37.1% to other securities.

The fair value of the Company’s pension plan assets by asset category are as follows:



	December 30, 2017								December 31, 2016
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
	(in thousands)
Cash	$	564	$	—	$	—	$	564	$	108	$	—	$	—	$	108
Equity securities⁽¹⁾	88,854		—		—		88,854		63,348		6,252		—		69,600
Debt securities⁽²⁾	18,485		4,117		—		22,602		59,294		3,269		—		62,563
Mutual funds⁽³⁾	74,708		66,656		—		141,364		64,698		56,596		—		121,294
Other ⁽⁴⁾	472		48,713		1,756		50,941		1,318		586		1,434		3,338
Total	$	183,083	$	119,486	$	1,756	$	304,325	$	188,766	$	66,703	$	1,434	$	256,903
⁽¹⁾ This category comprises equity securities held by non-U.S. pension plans valued at the quoted closing price, and translated into U.S. dollars using a foreign currency exchange rate at year end.
⁽²⁾ This category comprises debt securities held by non-U.S. pension plans valued at the quoted closing price, and translated into U.S. dollars using a foreign currency exchange rate at year end.
⁽³⁾ This category comprises mutual funds valued at the net asset value of shares held at year end.
⁽⁴⁾ This category mainly comprises fixed income securities tied to various UK government bond yields held by non-US pension plans valued at the net asset value of shares held at year-end, and translated into U.S. dollars using a foreign currency exchange rate at year end.

The activity within the Level 3 pension plan assets was non-significant during the periods presented.

During fiscal year 2017, the Company contributed $4.1 million to the pension plans and expects to contribute approximately $7.6 million to its pension plans in fiscal year 2018.

Expected benefit payments are estimated using the same assumptions used in determining the Company’s benefit obligation as of December 30, 2017. Benefit payments will depend on future employment and compensation levels, among other factors, and changes in any of these factors could significantly affect these estimated future benefit payments. Estimated future benefit payments during the next five years and in the aggregate for fiscal years thereafter, are as follows:



Fiscal Year	Pension Plans
	(in thousands)
2018	$	8,905
2019	9,181
2020	9,623
2021	33,623
2022	10,243
Thereafter	68,838

Post-Retirement Health and Life Insurance Plans

The Company’s Canadian location offers post-retirement life insurance benefits to its employees and post-retirement medical and dental insurance coverage to certain executives. The plan is non-contributory and unfunded. As of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the accumulated benefit obligation related to the plan was $1.4 million and $1.2 million, respectively. The amounts included in other accumulated comprehensive income as well as expenses related to the plan were non-significant for fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015.

Charles River Laboratories Employee Savings Plan

The Charles River Laboratories Employee Savings Plan is a defined contribution plan in the form of a qualified 401(k) plan in which substantially all U.S. employees are eligible to participate upon employment. The plan contains a provision whereby the Company matches a percentage of employee contributions. During fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015, the costs associated with this defined contribution plan totaled $11.6 million, $6.2 million and $5.3 million, respectively.