Employee Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Employee Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

8. Employee Benefit Plans

     A summary of the net periodic expense follows:

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Service cost	$	729		$	511		$	3,742		$	1,322
Interest cost		301			337			952			1,148
Expected return on assets		(742	)		(248	)		(2,370	)		(3,191	)
Prior service costs		158			160			509			535
Settlement loss		2,887			894			2,887			2,486
Curtailment charges		326			—			2,039			1,347
Net periodic expense	$	3,659		$	1,654		$	7,759		$	3,647

     The Company remeasures its plan assets and benefit obligations at each December 31. The Company remeasured the plan assets and benefit obligations as of September 30, 2011 due to settlement and curtailment accounting.

     During the second quarter of 2011, the Company implemented a Health Reimbursement Arrangement whereby the Company would make a discretionary contribution every year on behalf of certain retirees, beneficiaries and surviving spouses. As a result, the retiree medical liability has been reduced by $7.0 million pre-tax with a corresponding reduction in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

     During the third quarter of 2011, the Company discontinued the Health Reimbursement Arrangement. As a result, the retiree medical liability has been reduced by an additional $3.5 million, accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) was reduced by $2.0 million and employee insurance expense was reduced by $5.5 million.