13. RETIREMENT PLANS

Retirement Plans

The Company has five retirement plans which cover its hourly and salaried employees in the United States: three defined benefit plans (one active / two frozen) and two defined contribution plans. Employees are eligible to participate in the appropriate plan based on employment classification. The Company's funding to the defined benefit and defined contribution plans are governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), applicable plan policy and investment guidelines. The Company’s policy is to contribute at least the minimum in accordance with the funding standards of ERISA.

The Company’s subsidiary, L.B. Foster Rail Technologies, Inc. (Rail Technologies), maintains two defined contribution plans for its employees in Canada, as well as a post-retirement benefit plan. In the United Kingdom, Rail Technologies maintains both a defined contribution plan and a defined benefit plan. These plans are discussed in further detail below.

United States Defined Benefit Plans

Net periodic pension costs for the United States defined benefit pension plans for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2013 and 2012 are as follows:



		Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
		September 30,				September 30,
		2013		2012		2013		2012

Service cost	$	8	$	8	$	25	$	24
Interest cost		177		187		530		561
Expected return on plan assets		(214)		(203)		(642)		(607)
Recognized net actuarial loss		53		49		159		146
Net periodic benefit cost	$	24	$	41	$	72	$	124

The Company expects to contribute approximately $555 to its United States defined benefit plans in 2013. For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, the Company contributed approximately $332.

United Kingdom Defined Benefit Plan

Net periodic pension costs for the United Kingdom defined benefit pension plan for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2013 and 2012 are as follows:



		Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
		September 30,				September 30,
		2013		2012		2013		2012

Interest cost	$	85	$	89	$	255	$	252
Expected return on plan assets		(73)		(76)		(219)		(215)
Amortization of transition amount		(12)		(12)		(36)		(36)
Recognized net actuarial loss		57		58		171		165
Net periodic cost	$	57	$	59	$	171	$	166

United Kingdom regulations require trustees to adopt a prudent approach to funding required contributions to defined benefit pension plans. Employer contributions of $264 are anticipated to be made to the United Kingdom L.B. Foster Rail Technologies, Inc. pension plan during 2013. For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, the Company contributed approximately $191 to the plan.

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company has a domestic defined contribution plan that covers all non-union hourly and all salaried employees (Salaried Plan). The Salaried Plan permits both pre-tax and after-tax employee contributions. Participants can contribute, subject to statutory limitations, between 1% and 75% of eligible pre-tax pay and between 1% and 100% of eligible after-tax pay. The Company's employer match is 100% of the first 1% of deferred eligible compensation and up to 50% of the next 6%, based on years of service, of deferred eligible compensation, for a total maximum potential match of 4%. The Company may also make discretionary contributions to the Salaried Plan.

The Company also has a domestic defined contribution plan for union hourly employees with contributions made by both the participants and the Company based on various formulas (Union Plan).

Rail Technologies, maintains a defined contribution plan covering all non-union employees at its Montreal, Quebec, Canada location (Montreal Plan). Under the terms of the Montreal Plan, the employer may contribute 4% of each employee’s compensation as a non-elective contribution and may also contribute 30% of the first 6% of each employee’s compensation contributed to the Montreal Plan.

The subsidiary also maintains a defined contribution plan covering substantially all employees at its United Kingdom locations (U.K. Plan). Benefits under the U.K. Plan are provided under no formal written agreement. Under the terms of the defined contribution U.K. Plan, the employer may make non-elective contributions of between 3% and 10% of each employee’s compensation.

Finally, Rail Technologies maintains a defined contribution plan covering substantially all of the employees of L.B. Foster Rail Technologies, Corp. in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (Burnaby Plan). Under the terms of the Burnaby Plan, the employer may contribute 4% of each employee’s compensation as a non-elective contribution and may also contribute 30% of the first 6% of each employee’s compensation contributed to the Burnaby Plan.

The following table summarizes the expense associated with the contributions made to these plans.



		Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
		September 30,				September 30,
		2013		2012		2013		2012

Salaried Plan	$	478	$	599	$	1,422	$	1,674
Union Plan		18		23		53		59
Montreal Plan		28		30		88		89
U.K. Plan		27		29		95		84
Burnaby Plan		34		34		111		111
	$	585	$	715	$	1,769	$	2,017