Pension and Postretirement Benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Pension and Postretirement Benefits (Thousands of Dollars) [Abstract]

(8) Pension and Postretirement Benefits

The components of the net periodic cost of the Company's defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans for the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and April 1, 2018 are as follows:

	Quarter Ended
	Pension				Postretirement
	March 31,		April 1,		March 31,		April 1,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Service cost	$	1,037		685		178		188
Interest cost		2,205		4,016		316		292
Expected return on assets		(2,038)		(5,205)		-		-
Net amortization and deferrals		1,698		2,977		5		42
Net periodic benefit cost	$	2,902		2,473		499		522

During the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company made cash contributions of $230 to its defined benefit pension plans. During fiscal 2019, the Company expects to make cash contributions to its defined benefit pension plans of approximately $1,600 in the aggregate.

In February 2018, the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors approved a resolution to terminate the Company’s U.S. defined benefit pension plan (“Plan”). During the first quarter of 2018 the Company commenced the plan termination process and expects to complete the transfer of the Plan’s assets to a third-party administrator in the third quarter of 2019. The decision to terminate the Plan follows the 2015 decision to freeze benefits being accrued covering union employees after the sale of the Company’s manufacturing facility in East Longmeadow, MA. Benefits covering non-union employees were frozen in December 2007. Upon settlement of the pension liability, which is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2019, the Company will reclassify the related pension losses currently recorded to accumulated other comprehensive loss, to the consolidated statements of operations. As of March 31, 2019, the Company had unrecognized losses related to the Plan of $141,578. The Company will recognize this loss upon termination of the Plan, adjusted for the total required payout to plan participants which will be determined based on employee elections and market conditions present at the time of termination.

In connection with the decision to terminate the Plan, the Company remeasured the projected benefit obligation in the first quarter of 2018 based on the expected Plan termination costs. This remeasurement utilized a discount rate of 3.2% compared to the discount rate of 3.7% utilized in the December 31, 2017 measurement and resulted in an increase in the projected benefit obligation of $35,192 with offsetting amounts recorded to accumulated other comprehensive losses and deferred taxes.