Note 8 - Accrued Retirement Benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Notes to Financial Statements

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

8 . ACCRUED RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Accrued retirement benefits at

March 31, 2019

and

December 31, 2018

consisted of the following:

	March 31			December 31,
	2019			2018
	(in thousands)
Defined benefit pension plans	$	7,987		$	7,971
Non-qualified retirement plans		2,067			2,065
Total		10,054			10,036
Less current portion		(165	)		(165	)
Non-current portion of accrued retirement benefits	$	9,889		$	9,871

The Company had

two

defined benefit pension plans which cover substantially all of its former bargaining and non-bargaining full-time, part-time and intermittent employees. In

2011,

pension benefits under both plans were frozen. The Company also has unfunded non-qualified retirement plans covering

twelve

of its former executives. The non-qualified retirement plans were frozen in

2009

and future vesting of additional benefits was discontinued. During the

fourth

quarter of

2018,

the Company merged the

two

defined benefit pension plans to streamline the administration of the frozen plan.

The net periodic benefit costs for pension and postretirement benefits for the

three

months ended

March 31, 2019

and

2018

were as follows:

	Three Months
	Ended March 31,
	2019			2018
	(in thousands)
Interest cost	$	527		$	495
Expected return on plan assets		(485	)		(578	)
Amortization of net loss		211			185
Pension and other postretirement expenses	$	253		$	102