DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 29, 2012

DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS

DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS

NOTE 14      DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS

The Company has defined benefit pension plans covering substantially all full-time employees in France, Germany, Israel and Japan. In addition, the Company has certain pension liabilities relating to former employees of the Company in the United Kingdom.  The German plan is unfunded, as permitted under the plan and applicable laws.  For financial reporting purposes, the calculation of net periodic pension costs is based upon a number of actuarial assumptions, including a discount rate for plan obligations, an assumed rate of return on pension plan assets and an assumed rate of compensation increase for employees covered by the plan.  All of these assumptions are based upon management’s judgment, considering all known trends and uncertainties.  Actual results that differ from these assumptions would impact future expense recognition and the cash funding requirements of the Company’s pension plans.

Net periodic benefit costs for the plans in aggregate included the following components:

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 29,			October 1,			September 29,			October 1,
(In thousands)	2012			2011			2012			2011
Service cost	$	713		$	177		$	2,240		$	517
Interest cost on benefit obligations	180			209			548			621
Expected return on plan assets	(57		)	(60		)	(171		)	(177		)
Amortization of net loss	38			10			114			29
	$	874		$	336		$	2,731		$	990