15.	Pension Plan and Other Postretirement Benefits

The Company assumed, through its acquisition of nTelos, a qualified pension plan and other postretirement benefit plans. The following tables provide the benefit obligations, fair value of assets and a statement of the funded status as of the acquisition date:

	Defined Benefit Pension Plan			Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
(In thousands)	2016			2016

Benefit obligations, at acquisition	$	37,443		$	4,568
Fair value of plan assets, at acquisition	$	22,813		$	—
Funded status:
Total liability, at acquisition	$	(14,630	)	$	(4,568	)

The accumulated benefit obligation for the defined benefit pension plan at May 6, 2016 was $37.4 million. The accumulated benefit obligation represents the present value of pension benefits based on service and salary earned to date. The defined benefit plan was frozen for future benefit accruals as of December 31, 2012. Accordingly, the accumulated benefit obligation is equal to the projected benefit obligation.

The following table provides the components of net periodic benefit cost for the plans for the period from acquisition date to December 31, 2016:

	Defined Benefit Pension Plan			Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
(In thousands)	2016			2016
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	-		$	18
Interest cost		956			108
Recognized net actuarial loss		-			-
Expected return on plan assets		(1,018	)		-
Net periodic benefit cost	$	(62	)	$	126

Prior service costs assumed by the Company are amortized on a straight-line basis over the average remaining service period of active participants. Gains and losses in excess of 10% of the greater of the benefit obligation and the market-related value of assets are amortized over the average remaining service period of active participants. The net periodic benefit cost from the defined benefit plans was $0.0 million for the period from acquisition through June 30, 2016.

The total amount reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive loss related to actuarial losses from the defined benefit plans was $0.0 million for the period from acquisition through June 30, 2016.

The assumptions used in the measurements of the Company’s benefit obligations at May 6, 2016 for the plans are shown in the following table:

	Defined Benefit Pension Plan			Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	2016			2016
Discount rate		3.85	%		3.85	%

The assumptions used in the measurements of the Company’s net cost for the consolidated statement of operations for the period from acquisition date through December 31, 2016 are:

	Defined Benefit Pension Plan			Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
	2016			2016
Discount rate		3.85	%		3.85	%
Expected return on plan assets		6.75	%		—
Rate of compensation increase		—			—

The Company reviews the assumptions noted in the above table annually or more frequently to reflect anticipated future changes in the underlying economic factors used to determine these assumptions. The discount rates assumed reflect the rate at which the Company could invest in high quality corporate bonds in order to settle future obligations.

The Company uses updated mortality tables published by the Society of Actuaries that predict increasing life expectancies in the United States.

For measurement purposes, an 8.0% annual rate of increase in the per capita cost of covered health care benefits was assumed for 2016 for the obligation as of December 31, 2015. The rate was assumed to decrease one-half percent per year to a rate of 5.0% for 2022 and remain at that level thereafter.

Assumed health care cost trend rates may have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the health care plans. The effect of a 1% change on the medical trend rate per future year, while holding all other assumptions constant, to the service and interest cost components of net periodic postretirement health care benefit costs and accumulated postretirement benefit obligation would be a $0.1 million increase and a $0.6 million increase, respectively, for a 1% increase in medical trend rate and a $0.1 million decrease and a $0.5 million decrease, respectively, for a 1% decrease in medical trend rate.

In developing the expected long-term rate of return assumption for the assets of the Defined Benefit Pension Plan, the Company evaluated input from its third-party pension plan administrator, including its review of asset class return expectations and long-term inflation assumptions.

The average actual asset allocations by asset category and the fair value by asset category as of May 6, 2016 were as follows:

	Actual Allocation as of			Fair Value as of May 6,
Asset Category (dollars in thousands)	May 6, 2016			2016
Large Cap Value		32	%	$	7,244
Mid Cap Blend		9	%		2,026
Small Cap Blend		5	%		1,151
Foreign Stock – Large Cap		30	%		6,867
Bond		20	%		4,611
Cash and cash equivalents		4	%		914
Total		100	%	$	22,813

The actual and target allocation for plan assets is broadly defined and measured as follows:

Asset Category	Actual Allocation			Target Allocation
Equity securities		76	%		65-75	%
Bond securities and cash equivalents		24	%		25-35	%
Total		100	%		100	%

It is the Company’s policy to invest pension plan assets in a diversified portfolio consisting of an array of asset classes. The investment risk of the assets is limited by appropriate diversification both within and between asset classes. The assets are primarily invested in investment funds that invest in a broad mix of publicly traded equities, bonds and cash equivalents (and fair value is based on quoted market prices (“Level 1” input)). The allocation between equity and bonds is reset quarterly to the target allocations. Updates to the allocation are considered in the normal course and changes may be made when appropriate. The bond holdings consist of two bond funds split relatively evenly between these funds at May 6, 2016. The maximum holdings of any one asset within these funds is under 4% of this fund and thus is well under 1% of the total portfolio. At May 6, 2016, the Company believes that there are no material concentrations of risk within the portfolio of plan assets.

The assumed long-term return noted above is the target long-term return. Overall return, risk adjusted return, and management fees are assessed against a peer group and benchmark indices. There are minimum performance standards that must be attained within the investment portfolio. Reporting on asset performance is provided quarterly and review meetings are held semi-annually. In addition to normal rebalancing to maintain an adequate cash reserve, projected cash flow needs of the plan are reviewed at least annually to ensure liquidity is properly managed.

The Company does not expect to contribute to the pension plan in 2016. The Company expects the net periodic benefit cost for the defined benefit pension plan in 2016 to be $0.1 million and expects the periodic benefit cost for the other postretirement benefit plans in 2016 to be $0.1 million.

The following estimated future pension benefit payments and other postretirement benefit plan payments which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid in the years indicated:

(In thousands)	Defined Benefit Pension Plan		Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
2016	$	371	$	96
2017		700		136
2018		720		131
2019		768		134
2020		868		142
Aggregate of next five years		6,219		977