Note 8 - Accrued Retirement Benefits

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Notes to Financial Statements

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

8 . ACCRUED RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Accrued retirement benefits at

June 30, 2019

and

December 31, 2018

consisted of the following:

	June 30			December 31,
	2019			2018
	(in thousands)
Defined benefit pension plan	$	8,003		$	7,971
Non-qualified retirement plans		2,048			2,065
Total		10,051			10,036
Less current portion		(165	)		(165	)
Non-current portion of accrued retirement benefits	$	9,886		$	9,871

The Company has a defined benefit pension plan which covers substantially all of its former bargaining and non-bargaining full-time, part-time and intermittent employees. In

2011,

pension benefits under the plan 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.

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

three

and

six

months ended

June 30, 2019

and

2018

were as follows:

	Three Months						Six Months
	Ended June 30,						Ended June 30,
	2019			2018			2019			2018
	(in thousands)						(in thousands)
Interest cost	$	527		$	495		$	1,053		$	990
Expected return on plan assets		(482	)		(578	)		(967	)		(1,156	)
Amortization of net loss		211			185			423			370
Pension and other postretirement expenses	$	256		$	102		$	509		$	204