EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract]

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS - POSTRETIREMENT

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS - POSTRETIREMENT

The Company has a postretirement healthcare benefits plan that provides coverage for a majority of its United States employees hired prior to January 1, 2013, and their dependents should they elect to maintain such coverage upon retirement. Covered employees become eligible for participation when they qualify for retirement while working for the Company. Participation in the plan is voluntary and requires participants to make contributions toward the cost of the plan, as determined by the Company.

The net periodic benefit costs charged to operating expenses, which are valued at the measurement date of January 1 and recognized evenly throughout the year, consisted of the following components (in thousands of dollars):

	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2015			2014			2015			2014
Service cost	$	2,532		$	2,252		$	5,064		$	4,503
Interest cost	2,412			2,637			4,824			5,274
Expected return on assets	(2,594		)	(2,060		)	(5,188		)	(4,119		)
Amortization of transition asset	—			(35		)	—			(71		)
Amortization of unrecognized losses	378			195			756			390
Amortization of prior service credits	(1,700		)	(1,814		)	(3,400		)	(3,627		)
Net periodic benefit costs	$	1,028		$	1,175		$	2,056		$	2,350

The Company has established a Group Benefit Trust to fund the plan and process benefit payments. The funding of the trust is an estimated amount which is intended to allow the maximum deductible contribution under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC), as amended.  There are no minimum funding requirements and the Company intends to follow its practice of funding the maximum deductible contribution under the IRC. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, the Company contributed $1.7 million and $2.1 million, respectively, to the trust.