Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 29, 2015

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

Pension

Single-Employer Plans

We sponsor several single-employer defined benefit pension plans, the majority of which have been frozen. We also participate in joint Company and Guild-sponsored plans covering employees of The New York Times Newspaper Guild, including The Newspaper Guild of New York - The New York Times Pension Fund, which was frozen and replaced with a new defined benefit pension plan, The Guild-Times Adjustable Pension Plan.

The components of net periodic pension cost were as follows:

	For the Quarters Ended
	March 29, 2015								March 30, 2014
(In thousands)	Qualified Plans			Non- Qualified Plans		All Plans			Qualified Plans			Non- Qualified Plans		All Plans
Service cost	$	2,988		$	—	$	2,988		$	2,386		$	1	$	2,387
Interest cost	18,938			2,502		21,440			21,112			2,875		23,987
Expected return on plan assets	(28,775		)	—		(28,775		)	(28,460		)	—		(28,460		)
Amortization of actuarial loss	9,397			1,270		10,667			6,598			1,054		7,652
Amortization of prior service (credit)	(486		)	—		(486		)	(486		)	—		(486		)
Effect of settlement	40,329			—		40,329			—			—		—
Net periodic pension cost	$	42,391		$	3,772	$	46,163		$	1,150		$	3,930	$	5,080

During the first quarter of 2015 and 2014, we made pension contributions of $2.1 million and $4.2 million, respectively to certain qualified pension plans. Including the first quarter of contributions, we expect to make total contributions of $8.6 million in 2015 to satisfy minimum funding requirements.

As part of our strategy to reduce the pension obligations and the resulting volatility of our overall financial condition, during 2014 we offered lump-sum payments to certain former employees. The lump-sum payment offers resulted in settlement charges due to the acceleration of the recognition of the accumulated unrecognized actuarial loss. Therefore, we recorded settlement charges of $40.3 million in connection with lump-sum payments made in 2015. Total lump-sum payments were $98.3 million and were made with cash from the qualified pension plans, not with Company cash. The effect of this lump-sum payment offer was to reduce our pension obligations by $142.8 million.

Multiemployer Plans

During the first quarter of 2015, we recorded a $4.7 million charge related to a partial withdrawal obligation under a multiemployer pension plan.

Other Postretirement Benefits

The components of net periodic postretirement benefit (income)/expense were as follows:

	For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)	March 29, 2015			March 30, 2014
Service cost	$	147		$	147
Interest cost	688			1,010
Amortization of actuarial loss	1,303			1,184
Amortization of prior service credit	(2,475		)	(1,600		)
Net periodic postretirement benefit (income)/expense	$	(337	)	$	741