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, 2015 and December 31, 2014 (in thousands):

	December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	6,950		$	5,738
Service cost	105			83
Employee contributions	17			12
Interest cost	273			266
Actuarial (gain) loss	(391		)	1,131
Benefits paid	(278		)	(280		)

Projected benefit obligation at end of period	$	6,676		$	6,950


Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period	$	5,095		$	4,847
Actual return on plan assets	(52		)	273
Employee contributions	17			12
Employer contributions	204			243
Benefits and expenses paid	(278		)	(280		)

Fair value of plan assets at end of period	$	4,986		$	5,095

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

	December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
Excess of projected benefit obligation over fair value of plan assets	$	1,690		$	1,855
Unrecognized loss	(1,823		)	(2,028		)

Accrued pension cost prior to pension adjustments	$	(133	)	$	(173	)
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income at Current Measurement Date	1,823			2,028

Accrued pension cost at end of period	$	1,690		$	1,855

The accumulated benefit obligation for the pension plan was $6,473 at December 31, 2015 and $6,697 at December 31, 2014. The amount of accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as a plan expense in 2016 is $170, 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
2016	$	314
2017	324
2018	327
2019	344
2020	360
2021-2025	2,099

Components of net periodic pension expense included in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income for years 2015 and 2014 are as follows (in thousands):

	For the year ended
	December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014			December 31, 2013
Service cost	$	105		$	83		$	103
Interest cost	273			266			241
Amortization of net loss	195			43			172
Expected return on assets	(329		)	(339		)	(288		)

Net periodic pension expense	$	244		$	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, 2015		December 31, 2014		December 31, 2013
Discount rate	4.25	%	4.00	%	4.75	%
Rate of compensation increases	2.00	%	2.00	%	2.00	%

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

	December 31, 2015		December 31, 2014		December 31, 2013
Discount rate	4.00	%	4.75	%	4.00	%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	6.50	%	7.00	%	7.00	%
Rate of compensation increases	2.00	%	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 $0 to the pension plan during 2016.

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, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:

	December 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Cash equivalents	7	%	5	%
Equity securities	62	%	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, 2015 and December 31, 2014 (in thousands):

	December 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
Change in postretirement benefit obligation:
Accumulated post retirement benefit obligation at beginning of period	$	1,288		$	1,408
Service cost	10			9
Interest cost	50			57
Actuarial (gain) loss	(204		)	(138		)
Benefits paid	(49		)	(88		)
Participant contributions	—			40

Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation at end of period	$	1,095		$	1,288

Net periodic postretirement benefit income included in the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 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 2016 is $127, of which $115 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 2016.

The weighted average discount rate used in determining the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation was 4.25%, 4.00% and 4.75% as of December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 respectively. The weighted average discount rate used to determine the net periodic postretirement benefit cost was 4.25%, 4.75% and 4.00% for 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

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
2016	$	56
2017	51
2018	49
2019	59
2020	56
2021 - 2024	341