Pension

The amount of net pension cost is shown in the table below:



	For the Three Months Ended June 30						For the Six Months Ended June 30
(In thousands)	2016			2015			2016			2015
Service cost - benefits earned during the period	$	138		$	126		$	271		$	252
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation	1,005			1,216			1,972			2,432
Expected return on plan assets	(1,439		)	(1,523		)	(2,876		)	(3,046		)
Amortization of prior service cost	(67		)	—			(135		)	—
Amortization of unrecognized net loss	642			654			1,293			1,309
Net periodic pension cost	$	279		$	473		$	525		$	947

Substantially all benefits accrued under the Company’s defined benefit pension plan were frozen effective January 1, 2005, and the remaining benefits were frozen effective January 1, 2011. During the first six months of 2016, the Company made no funding contributions to its defined benefit pension plan and made minimal funding contributions to a supplemental executive retirement plan (the CERP), which carries no segregated assets. The Company has no plans to make any further contributions, other than those related to the CERP, during the remainder of 2016.

Effective January 1, 2016, the Company changed the method used to estimate the interest cost component of net periodic pension cost for its defined benefit pension plan. Prior to the change, the interest cost component was estimated by utilizing a single weighted average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the projected benefit obligation. Under the new method, the interest cost component is estimated by applying the specific annual spot rates along the yield curve used in the determination of the projected benefit obligation to the relevant projected cash flows. This change provides a more precise measurement of the interest cost by improving the correlation between projected benefit cash flows and the corresponding spot yield curve rates. The Company accounted for this change prospectively as a change in accounting estimate. The change resulted in a decrease of approximately $851 thousand in the estimated annual net periodic pension cost for 2016.