Pension And Post-Retirement Health Care Benefit Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Pension And Post-Retirement Health Care Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Pension And Post-Retirement Health Care Benefit Plans

8. Pension and Post-Retirement Health Care Benefit Plans

The Company maintains pension plans covering a majority of its employees. In addition, the Company had a post-retirement health care benefit plan (the "Retiree Medical Plan") covering substantially all retired employees and their dependents, which terminated effective December 31, 2010. For more information on the Company's retirement plans, see Notes 12 and 13 to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. A summary of net periodic benefit cost related to the Company's pension plans and Retiree Medical Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 is as follows (dollars in thousands):

	For the Three Months Ended March 31,
	2012			2011
Service cost—benefit earned during the period	$	241		$	192
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation		2,104			2,120
Expected return on plan assets		(2,501	)		(2,522	)
Amortization of prior service cost		44			34
Amortization of actuarial loss		1,548			485
Net periodic pension cost	$	1,436		$	309

The Company made cash contributions of $13.0 million to its pension plans during the first three months ended March 31, 2012. No contributions were made during the first quarter of 2011. The Company does not expect to make any additional contributions to its pension plans during the remaining nine months of 2012.

Defined Contribution Plan

The Company has defined contribution plans covering certain salaried associates and non-union hourly paid associates (the "Plan"). The Plan permits associates to defer a portion of their pre-tax and after-tax salary as contributions to the Plan. The Plan also provides for discretionary Company contributions and Company contributions matching associates' salary deferral contributions, at the discretion of the Board of Directors. The Company recorded expense of $1.4 million for the Company match of employee contributions to the Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2012. During the same period last year, the Company recorded $1.3 million for the same match.