Retirement Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Retirement Plans [Abstract]

RETIREMENT PLANS

13. RETIREMENT PLANS

Retirement Plans

The Company has seven retirement plans which cover its hourly and salaried employees in the United States: three defined benefit plans (one active / two frozen) and four defined contribution plans.  Employees are eligible to participate in the appropriate plan based on employment classification.  The Company's funding contributions 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. 

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, 2015 and 2014 are as follows:

		Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
		September 30,				September 30,
		2015		2014		2015		2014
Service cost	$	10	$	5	$	29	$	17
Interest cost		185		193		555		578
Expected return on plan assets		(203)		(242)		(611)		(726)
Recognized net actuarial loss		69		16		207		49
Net periodic pension cost (income)	$	61	$	(28)	$	180	$	(82)

The Company does not expect to contribute to its United States defined benefit plans in 2015.

United Kingdom Defined Benefit Plans

Net periodic pension costs for the United Kingdom defined benefit pension plan for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 are as follows:

		Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
		September 30,				September 30,
		2015		2014		2015		2014
Interest cost	$	78	$	97	$	231	$	297
Expected return on plan assets		(83)		(92)		(249)		(281)
Amortization of prior service costs and transition amount		5		(7)		15		(21)
Recognized net actuarial loss		60		49		177		149
Net periodic pension cost	$	60	$	47	$	174	$	144

United Kingdom regulations require trustees to adopt a prudent approach to funding required contributions to defined benefit pension plans. Employer contributions of $283 are anticipated to the United Kingdom L.B. Foster Rail Technologies, Inc. pension plan during 2015.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company contributed approximately $211 to the plan. 

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company sponsors seven defined contribution plans for hourly and salaried employees across our domestic and international facilities. The following table summarizes the expense associated with the contributions made to these plans.

		Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
		September 30,				September 30,
		2015		2014		2015		2014
United States	$	413	$	692	$	1,842	$	1,810
Canada		54		52		167		172
United Kingdom		162		32		360		100
	$	629	$	776	$	2,369	$	2,082