Employee Benefit Plans

6 Months Ended

Aug. 01, 2015

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

We maintain a qualified defined benefit pension plan and a nonqualified supplemental defined benefit pension plan covering certain employees whose hire date occurred before April 1, 1994.

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic pension cost for our plans were as follows:

	2015		2014
Discount rate	3.3	%	5.0	%
Rate of increase in compensation levels	2.8	%	3.0	%
Expected long-term rate of return	5.2	%	6.0	%

The components of combined net periodic pension cost were as follows:

	Second Quarter						Year-to-Date
(In thousands)	2015			2014			2015			2014
Service cost - benefits earned in the period	$	512		$	487		$	1,024		$	974
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation	594			807			1,188			1,614
Expected investment return on plan assets	(654		)	(805		)	(1,307		)	(1,610		)
Amortization of actuarial loss	502			371			1,004			743
Amortization of prior service cost	2			(8		)	3			(17		)
Net periodic pension cost	$	956		$	852		$	1,912		$	1,704

From time to time, we consider the financial benefits, such as reduced regulatory fees and income tax deductions, of making a voluntary contribution to the qualified defined benefit pension plan. We currently expect to make a voluntary contribution of $10.7 million to the qualified defined benefit pension plan during 2015. We will contribute to the nonqualified supplemental defined benefit pension plan as benefits are paid to plan participants, if any, because the nonqualified plan is not a funded plan.