11. PENSION AND POSTRETIREMENT WELFARE PLANS

Pension Plan

Motor Products—Owosso has a defined benefit pension plan covering substantially all of its hourly union employees hired prior to April 10, 2002. The benefits are based on years of service, the employee's compensation during the last three years of employment, and accumulated employee contributions.

The following tables provide a reconciliation of the change in benefit obligation, the change in plan assets and the net amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 (in thousands):

	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	5,738		$	6,277
Service cost		83			103
Employee contributions		12			10
Interest cost		266			241
Actuarial (gain) loss		1,131			(638	)
Benefits paid		(280	)		(255	)

Projected benefit obligation at end of period	$	6,950		$	5,738


Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period	$	4,847		$	4,086
Actual return on plan assets		273			691
Employee contributions		12			10
Employer contributions		243			315
Benefits and expenses paid		(280	)		(255	)

Fair value of plan assets at end of period	$	5,095		$	4,847

The following table reconciles the accumulated other comprehensive income from the prior measurement date to the current measurement date:

	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Excess of projected benefit obligation over fair value of plan assets	$	1,855		$	891
Unrecognized loss		(2,028	)		(875	)

Accrued pension cost prior to pension adjustments	$	(173	)	$	16
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income at Current Measurement Date		2,028			875

Accrued pension cost at end of period	$	1,855		$	891

The accumulated benefit obligation for the pension plan was $6,697 at December 31, 2014 and $5,548 at December 31, 2013. The amount of accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as a plan expense in 2015 is $190, which all relates to the amortization of the actuarial loss.

Benefits expected to be paid from the Plan during each of the next five fiscal years, and in aggregate for the five fiscal years thereafter are (in thousands):

Year of payment	Amount of Benefit Payment
2015	$	309
2016		313
2017		323
2018		326
2019		342
2020 - 2024		2,002

Components of net periodic pension expense included in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income for years 2014 and 2013 are as follows (in thousands):

	For the year ended
	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Service cost	$	83		$	103
Interest cost		266			241
Amortization of net loss		43			172
Expected return on assets		(339	)		(288	)

Net periodic pension expense	$	53		$	228

Items subject to deferred recognition are amortized on a straight-line basis over the average remaining service period of active employees expected to receive benefits from the plan. Cumulative gains and losses, including the impact of any actuarial assumption changes, are amortized to the extent that their value exceeds 10% of the greater of the Market Related Value of Assets and the Projected Benefit Obligation.

The weighted average assumptions used to determine the projected benefit obligation were as follows:

	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Discount rate		4.00	%		4.75	%
Rate of compensation increases		2.00	%		2.00	%

The weighted average assumptions used to determine net periodic pension expense are as follows:

	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Discount rate		4.75	%		4.00	%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets		7.00	%		7.00	%
Rate of compensation increases		2.00	%		5.00	%

The expected rate of return on plan assets assumption is based on the long-term expected returns for the investment mix of assets currently in the portfolio. Management uses historic return trends of the asset portfolio combined with anticipated future market conditions to estimate the rate of return. The performance of the financial markets and changes in interest rates impact the funding obligations under our pension plan. Significant changes in market interest rates and decreases in the fair value of plan assets may increase our funding obligations and adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows in future periods.

The Company expects to contribute approximately $166 to the pension plan during 2015.

All plan assets are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis. Fair values are determined using level one input, or quoted prices for identical assets in active markets on the measurement date, as discussed in Note 1.

The pension plan asset allocation at December 31, 2014 and 2013 was as follows:

	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Cash equivalents		5	%		5	%
Equity securities		64	%		64	%
Fixed income securities		31	%		31	%

Total		100	%		100	%

The pension assets are managed by an outside investment manager. The Company's investment policy with respect to pension assets is to make investments solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of the plans and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits accrued and defraying the reasonable expenses of administration. The Company strives to maintain investment diversification to assist in minimizing the risk of large losses.

The pension assets are subject to the following ranges for asset allocation percentages based on the Plan's Investment Policy Guidelines:

Equity securities		55 - 75%
Fixed income securities		25 - 45%
Cash		0 - 20%

Total		100%

Postretirement Welfare Plan

Motor Products—Owosso provides postretirement medical insurance and life insurance benefits to current and former employees hired before January 1, 1994 who retire from Motor Products. Employees who retire after January 1, 2005 must have twenty or more years of continuous service in order to be eligible for retiree medical benefits. Partial contributions from retirees are required for the medical insurance benefits. The Company's portion of the medical insurance premiums is funded from the general assets of the Company. The Company recognizes the expected cost of providing such post-retirement benefits during employees' active service periods.

The following tables provide a reconciliation of the change in the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation and the net amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 (in thousands):

	December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Change in postretirement benefit obligation:
Accumulated post retirement benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	1,408		$	1,621
Service cost		9			16
Interest cost		57			60
Actuarial (gain) loss		(138	)		(243	)
Benefits paid		(88	)		(92	)
Participant contributions		40			46

Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation at end of period	$	1,288		$	1,408

Net periodic postretirement benefit income included in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $24. Net periodic postretirement benefit expense included in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income for the year ended December 31, 2013 was $30.

The amount of accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as income to the plan in 2015 is $84, of which $72 relates to the actuarial gain and $12 to the prior service credit.

Postretirement medical liabilities can be extremely sensitive to changes in the assumed rate of future medical increases, and, therefore the healthcare cost trend rate assumption can have a significant effect on the amounts reported. However, the Company's current contractual obligation requires a per capita fixed Company contribution amount through December 2015.

The weighted average discount rate used in determining the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation was 4.00% and 4.75% as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The weighted average discount rate used to determine the net periodic postretirement benefit cost was 4.75% for 2014 and 4.00% for 2013.

Benefits expected to be paid from the Plan during each of the next five fiscal years, and in aggregate for the five fiscal years thereafter are (in thousands):

Year of payment	Amount of Benefit Payment
2015	$	51
2016		50
2017		51
2018		49
2019		58
2020 - 2024		346