EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The Company has one qualified non-contributory defined benefit pension plan covering a portion of its employees and an unfunded plan that provides benefits in excess of amounts allowable under current tax law in the qualified plans. The Company closed enrollment in its pension plans to salaried employees hired after December 31, 2005. Employee benefit plan liabilities are calculated using actuarial estimates and management assumptions. These estimates are based on historical information, along with certain assumptions about future events. Changes in assumptions, as well as changes in actual experience, could cause the estimates to change.

In connection with the spin-off of the Performance Fibers business, Rayonier entered into an Employee Matters Agreement with Rayonier Advanced Materials, (see See Note 3 — Discontinued Operations in the 2014 Form 10-K for further details), which provides that employees of Rayonier Advanced Materials will no longer participate in benefit plans sponsored or maintained by Rayonier. Upon separation, the Rayonier Pension and Postretirement Plans transferred assets and obligations to the Rayonier Advanced Materials Pension and Postretirement Plans resulting in a net decrease in sponsored pension and postretirement plan obligations of $100 million. This was based on a revaluation of plan obligations using a 4.0% discount rate versus 4.6% at December 31, 2013. In addition, $78 million of other comprehensive losses were transferred to Rayonier Advanced Materials, net of taxes of $45 million.

The Company sold its Wood Products business in March 2013. As a result of the sale, all employees covered by the Wood Products defined benefit pension plan are considered terminated employees. Amendments to the plan in June 2013 resulted in all such employees automatically vesting in the plan. Additionally, a one-time lump sum distribution was offered to terminated Wood Products plan participants or their beneficiaries. Based upon acceptance of that offer by certain participants, $3.0 million was paid from the plan assets during 2013, with a corresponding decrease of $2.8 million in the benefit obligation. As a result of the lump sum distribution, a settlement loss of $0.5 million, net of tax, was recorded in “Income from Discontinued Operations, net” in the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income as it was directly related to the sale of the Wood Products business. For additional information on the sale of the Wood Products business, see Note 21 — Discontinued Operations.

The following tables set forth the change in the projected benefit obligation and plan assets and reconcile the funded status and the amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets for the pension and postretirement benefit plans for the two years ended December 31:



	Pension						Postretirement
	2015			2014			2015			2014
Change in Projected Benefit Obligation
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year		$87,355			$413,638			$1,226			$21,999
Service cost	1,484			3,923			11			402
Interest cost	3,319			10,707			52			537
Actuarial (gain) loss	(5,332		)	43,093			(123		)	2,250
Employee contributions	—			—			—			484
Benefits paid	(2,821		)	(11,288		)	(7		)	(888		)
Transferred to Rayonier Advanced Materials	—			(372,718		)	—			(23,558		)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year		$84,005			$87,355			$1,159			$1,226



Change in Plan Assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year		$55,546			$341,905		—		—
Actual return on plan assets	(1,241		)	21,399			—		—
Employer contributions	29			1,103			7		404
Employee contributions	—			—			—		484
Benefits paid	(2,821		)	(11,288		)	(7	)	(888	)
Other expense	(543		)	(607		)	—		—
Transferred to Rayonier Advanced Materials	—			(296,966		)	—		—
Fair value of plan assets at end of year		$50,970			$55,546		—		—



Funded Status at End of Year:
Net accrued benefit cost	($33,035	)	($31,809	)	($1,159	)	($1,226	)



Amounts Recognized in the Consolidated
Balance Sheets Consist of:
Noncurrent assets	—			—			—			—
Current liabilities	(32		)	(15		)	(24		)	(25		)
Noncurrent liabilities	(33,003		)	(31,794		)	(1,135		)	(1,201		)
Net amount recognized		($33,035	)		($31,809	)		($1,159	)		($1,226	)

Net gains or losses, prior service costs or credits and plan amendment gains recognized in other comprehensive income for the three years ended December 31 are as follows:



	Pension								Postretirement
	2015			2014			2013		2015		2014			2013
Net (losses) gains		($477	)		($37,559	)		$60,171		$123		($2,250	)		$3,206
Prior service cost	—			—			—		—		—			—
Negative plan amendment	—			—			—		—		—			3,372

Net gains or losses and prior service costs or credits reclassified from other comprehensive income and recognized as a component of pension and postretirement expense for the three years ended December 31 are as follows:



	Pension						Postretirement
	2015		2014		2013		2015		2014			2013
Amortization of losses		$3,733		$6,542		$20,914		$12		$288			$675
Amortization of prior service cost	13		576		1,356		—		8			66
Amortization of negative plan amendment	—		—		—		—		(137		)	(105		)

Net losses and prior service costs or credits that have not yet been included in pension and postretirement expense for the two years ended December 31, which have been recognized as a component of AOCI are as follows:



	Pension						Postretirement
	2015			2014			2015		2014
Prior service cost	—				($13	)	—		—
Net (losses) gains	(27,710		)	(30,965		)	45		(90		)
Negative plan amendment	—			—			—		—
Deferred income tax benefit (expense)	1,927			2,425			6		(22		)
AOCI		($25,783	)		($28,553	)		$51		($112	)

For pension and postretirement plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets, the following table sets forth the projected and accumulated benefit obligations and the fair value of plan assets for the two years ended December 31:



	2015		2014
Projected benefit obligation		$84,005		$87,355
Accumulated benefit obligation	78,779		81,141
Fair value of plan assets	50,970		55,546

The following tables set forth the components of net pension and postretirement benefit cost that have been recognized during the three years ended December 31:



	Pension									Postretirement
	2015			2014			2013			2015		2014			2013
Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
Service cost		$1,484			$3,923			$8,452			$11		$402			$1,056
Interest cost	3,319			10,707			16,682			52		537			937
Expected return on plan assets	(4,027		)	(15,258		)	(25,302		)	—		—			—
Amortization of prior service cost	13			576			1,296			—		8			66
Amortization of losses	3,733			6,542			20,097			12		288			675
Amortization of negative plan amendment	—			—			—			—		(137		)	(105		)
Curtailment expense	—			—			60			—		—			—
Settlement expense	—			—			817			—		—			—
Net periodic benefit cost (a)		$4,522			$6,490			$22,102			$75		$1,098			$2,629


(a)	Net periodic benefit cost for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 included $4.0 million and $14.9 million, respectively, recorded in “Income from discontinued operations, net” on the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income.

The estimated pre-tax amounts that will be amortized from AOCI into net periodic benefit cost in 2016 are as follows:



	Pension		Postretirement
Amortization of loss (gain)		$2,426		($1	)

The following table sets forth the principal assumptions inherent in the determination of benefit obligations and net periodic benefit cost of the pension and postretirement benefit plans as of December 31:



	Pension						Postretirement
	2015		2014		2013		2015		2014		2013
Assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at December 31:
Discount rate	4.20	%	3.80	%	4.60	%	4.34	%	3.96	%	4.60	%
Rate of compensation increase	4.50	%	4.50	%	4.60	%	4.50	%	4.50	%	4.50	%
Assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for years ended December 31:
Discount rate (pre-spin off)	—		4.60	%	3.70	%	—		4.60	%	3.60	%
Discount rate (post-spin off)	3.80	%	4.04	%	—		3.96	%	4.00	%	—
Expected long-term return on plan assets	7.70	%	8.50	%	8.50	%	—		—		—
Rate of compensation increase	4.50	%	4.50	%	4.60	%	4.50	%	4.50	%	4.50	%

At December 31, 2015, the pension plan’s discount rate was 4.2%, which closely approximates interest rates on high quality, long-term obligations. In 2015, the expected return on plan assets decreased to 7.7%, which is based on historical and expected long-term rates of return on broad equity and bond indices and consideration of the actual annualized rate of return. The Company, with the assistance of external consultants, utilizes this information in developing assumptions for returns, and risks and correlation of asset classes, which are then used to establish the asset allocation ranges.

Investment of Plan Assets

The Company’s pension plans’ asset allocation (excluding short-term investments) at December 31, 2015 and 2014, and target allocation ranges by asset category are as follows:



	Percentage of Plan Assets				Target Allocation Range
Asset Category	2015		2014		Target Allocation Range
Domestic equity securities	40	%	42	%	35-45%
International equity securities	25	%	23	%	20-30%
Domestic fixed income securities	27	%	27	%	25-29%
International fixed income securities	5	%	4	%	3-7%
Real estate fund	3	%	4	%	2-4%
Total	100	%	100	%

The Company’s Pension and Savings Plan Committee and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors oversee the pension plans’ investment program which is designed to maximize returns and provide sufficient liquidity to meet plan obligations while maintaining acceptable risk levels. The investment approach emphasizes diversification by allocating the plans’ assets among asset categories and selecting investment managers whose various investment methodologies will be minimally correlative with each other. Investments within the equity categories may include large capitalization, small capitalization and emerging market securities, while the international fixed income portfolio may include emerging markets debt. Pension assets did not include a direct investment in Rayonier common stock at December 31, 2015 or 2014.

Fair Value Measurements

The following table sets forth by level, within the fair value hierarchy (see Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for definition), the assets of the plans as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.



	Fair Value at December 31, 2015						Fair Value at December 31, 2014
Asset Category	Level 1		Level 2		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Total
Domestic equity securities		$3,781		$16,171		$19,952		$4,557		$18,326		$22,883
International equity securities	6,062		6,287		12,349		6,277		6,488		12,765
Domestic fixed income securities	—		13,654		13,654		—		14,643		14,643
International fixed income securities	2,348		—		2,348		2,428		—		2,428
Real estate fund	1,583		—		1,583		1,887		—		1,887
Short-term investments	—		1,084		1,084		—		940		940
Total		$13,774		$37,196		$50,970		$15,149		$40,397		$55,546

The valuation methodology used for measuring the fair value of these asset categories was as follows:

Level 1 — Net asset value in an observable market.

Level 2 — Assets classified as level two are held in collective trust funds. The net asset value of a collective trust is calculated by determining the fair value of the fund’s underlying assets, deducting its liabilities, and dividing by the units outstanding as of the valuation date. These funds are not publicly traded; however, the unit price calculation is based on observable market inputs of the funds’ underlying assets.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

The Company did not have Level 3 assets at December 31, 2015 and there were no changes in the methodology used during the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Cash Flows

Expected benefit payments for the next 10 years are as follows:



	Pension Benefits		Postretirement Benefits
2016		$3,043		$25
2017	3,204		27
2018	3,346		29
2019	3,543		32
2020	3,811		34
2021 - 2025	21,825		211

The Company has no mandatory pension contribution requirements in 2016, but may make discretionary contributions.

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company provides defined contribution plans to all of its hourly and salaried employees. Company contributions charged to expense for these plans were $0.7 million, $1.6 million and $4.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Rayonier Hourly and Salaried Defined Contribution Plans include Rayonier common stock with a fair market value of $11.1 million and $16.3 million at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

As discussed above, the defined benefit pension plan is currently closed to new employees. Employees not eligible for the pension plan are immediately eligible to participate in the Company’s 401(k) plan and receive an enhanced contribution. Company contributions related to this plan enhancement for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $0.4 million, $0.5 million and $1.1 million, respectively.