Pension and Postretirement Benefits

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

As a result of the Enterprise News Media LLC (in 2005), Copley Press, Inc. (in 2007), and Times Publishing Company (in 2016) acquisitions, the Company maintains two pension and several postretirement medical and life insurance plans which cover certain employees. The Company uses the accrued benefit actuarial method and best estimate assumptions to determine pension costs, liabilities and other pension information for defined benefit plans. Amounts related to the postretirement benefit plans are immaterial.

The George W. Prescott Company pension plan, assumed in the Enterprise News Media, LLC acquisition, was amended to freeze all future benefit accruals by December 31, 2008, except for a select group of union employees whose benefits were frozen during 2009. The Times Publishing Company pension plan was frozen prior to the acquisition.

The following provides information on the pension plans for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and September 24, 2017:



	Three months ended						Nine months ended
	September 30, 2018			September 24, 2017			September 30, 2018			September 24, 2017
Components of net periodic benefit costs:
Service cost	$	150		$	157		$	450		$	470
Interest cost	700			780			2,099			2,341
Expected return on plan assets	(1,062		)	(1,045		)	(3,186		)	(3,134		)
Amortization of unrecognized loss	67			43			202			131
Net periodic credit cost	$	(145	)	$	(65	)	$	(435	)	$	(192	)

The service cost component of net periodic benefit cost is included within Operating Costs and the other components are included within Other Income in the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company paid $902 and $1,349 into the pension

plans, respectively. The Company is expected to pay an additional $103 in employer contributions to the pension plans during the remainder of 2018.