Postretirement Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Postretirement Benefit Plans

Note C—Postretirement Benefit Plans

The following tables present a summary of post-retirement benefit costs by component.

Components of Post-Retirement Benefit Costs

	Three Months ended September 30,
	Pension Benefits						Other Benefits
	2013			2012			2013		2012
Service cost	$	3,746		$	2,928		$	69	$	81
Interest cost		4,260			4,100			258		254
Expected return on assets		(4,357	)		(4,242	)		0		0
Prior service cost		569			516			0		0
Net actuarial (gain)/loss		4,060			3,434			74		0
Net periodic benefit cost	$	8,278		$	6,736		$	401	$	335

	Nine Months ended September 30,
	Pension Benefits						Other Benefits
	2013			2012			2013		2012
Service cost	$	11,238		$	8,309		$	271	$	325
Interest cost		12,783			12,397			775		767
Expected return on assets		(13,072	)		(12,479	)		0		0
Prior service cost		1,707			1,547			0		0
Net actuarial (gain)/loss		12,184			9,392			149		0
Net periodic benefit cost	$	24,840		$	19,166		$	1,195	$	1,092

The following chart presents assets at fair value for the defined-benefit pension plans at September 30, 2013 and the prior-year end.

Pension Assets by Component

		September 30, 2013			December 31, 2012
		Amount	%		Amount	%
Corporate debt	$	159,000	55.9	$	169,817	61.2
Other fixed maturities		275	0.1		327	0.1
Equity securities		104,076	36.6		89,833	32.4
Short-term investments		5,448	1.9		2,218	0.8
Guaranteed annuity contract		13,169	4.6		13,277	4.8
Other		2,567	0.9		2,169	0.7
Total	$	284,535	100.0	$	277,641	100.0

The liability for the funded defined-benefit pension plans was $359 million at September 30, 2013 and $353 million at December 31, 2012. Cash contributions in the amount of $9 million were made to the qualified pension plans during the nine months ended September 30, 2013. Torchmark does not expect to make any additional cash contributions during the remainder of 2013. With respect to the Company’s non-qualified supplemental retirement plan, life insurance policies on the lives of plan participants have been established with an unaffiliated carrier to fund a portion of the Company’s obligations under the plan. These policies, as well as investments deposited with an unaffiliated trustee, were previously placed in a Rabbi Trust to provide for payment of the plan obligations. At September 30, 2013, the combined value of the insurance policies and investments in the Rabbi Trust to support plan liabilities were $63 million, compared with $54 million at year end 2012. This plan is unqualified. Therefore, the value of the insurance policies and investments are recorded as other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are not included in the chart of plan assets above. The liability for the unqualified pension plan was $61 million at September 30, 2013 and $59 million at December 31, 2012.