EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Pension Benefits

We maintained the Pension Plan and Supplemental Pension Plan covering certain employees whose hire date was on or before April 1, 1994. Benefits under each plan were based on credited years of service and the employee’s compensation during the last five years of employment.

On October 31, 2015, our Board of Directors approved amendments to freeze benefits and terminate the Pension Plan. The Pension Plan discontinued accruing benefits on December 31, 2015 and the termination was effective January 31, 2016. On December 2, 2015, our Board of Directors approved amendments to freeze benefits and terminate the Supplemental Pension Plan. The Supplemental Pension Plan discontinued accruing benefits on December 31, 2015 and the termination was effective December 31, 2015. During 2016, we completed the termination proceedings for the Pension Plan, including seeking and receiving a favorable IRS determination letter, conducting a lump sum offering to our active and terminated vested participants, and conducting an insurance placement for the annuity purchasers. Additionally, we funded the Pension Plan and reduced our liability thereunder to zero. In January 2017, we completed the termination proceedings for the Supplemental Pension Plan and paid all accrued balances to participants through lump sum settlements.

In addition, in the fourth quarter of 2015, when we communicated the approved amendments to the participants of the Pension Plan, we informed Pension Plan participants that we would provide for a one-time transition benefit to participants who were actively employed on December 31, 2015. We recorded a charge in selling and administrative expenses for this one-time transition benefit of $7.0 million, which was contributed to participants’ savings plan accounts in 2016.

The components of net periodic pension expense were comprised of the following:



(In thousands)	2016			2015			2014
Service cost - benefits earned in the period	$	—		$	1,923		$	1,951
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation	879			2,444			3,218
Expected investment return on plan assets	(1,536		)	(2,628		)	(3,219		)
Amortization of prior service cost	—			4			(34		)
Amortization of actuarial loss	2,241			1,817			1,497
Curtailment loss	—			191			—
Settlement loss	24,483			1,912			1,868
Net periodic pension cost	$	26,067		$	5,663		$	5,281

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic pension expense were:



	2016		2015		2014
Discount rate	1.2	%	3.3	%	5.0	%
Rate of increase in compensation levels	—	%	2.8	%	3.0	%
Expected long-term rate of return	2.8	%	5.2	%	6.0	%

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations were:



	2015
Discount rate	1.2	%

The following schedule provides a reconciliation of projected benefit obligations, plan assets, funded status, and amounts recognized for the Pension Plan and Supplemental Pension Plan at January 28, 2017 and January 30, 2016:



(In thousands)	January 28, 2017			January 30, 2016
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	75,411		$	78,187
Service cost	—			1,923
Interest cost	879			2,444
Plan curtailments	—			(7,291		)
Benefits and settlements paid	(77,264		)	(7,564		)
Actuarial loss	974			7,712
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	$	—		$	75,411

Change in plan assets:
Fair market value at beginning of year	$	55,636		$	55,292
Actual return on plan assets	2,393			(3,025		)
Employer contributions	19,235			10,933
Benefits and settlements paid	(77,264		)	(7,564		)
Fair market value at end of year	$	—		$	55,636

Under funded and net amount recognized	$	—		$	(19,774	)

Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consist of:
Current liabilities	$	—		$	(19,774	)
Net amount recognized	$	—		$	(19,774	)

In 2015, as a result of executing the plan termination amendments, the pension liability and other comprehensive loss were recalculated to reflect the elimination of future compensation increases, which resulted in a decrease of $7.3 million, before tax.

The following are components of accumulated other comprehensive income and, as such, are not yet reflected in net periodic pension expense:



(In thousands)	2016		2015
Unrecognized actuarial loss	$	—	$	(26,418	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, pretax	$	—	$	(26,418	)

The following table sets forth certain information for the Pension Plan and the Supplemental Pension Plan at January 28, 2017 and January 30, 2016:



	Pension Plan				Supplemental Pension Plan
(In thousands)	January 28, 2017		January 30, 2016		January 28, 2017		January 30, 2016
Projected benefit obligation	$	—	$	70,046	$	—	$	5,365
Accumulated benefit obligation	—		70,046		—		5,365
Fair market value of plan assets	$	—	$	55,636	$	—	$	—

Savings Plans

We have a savings plan with a 401(k) deferral feature and a nonqualified deferred compensation plan with a similar deferral feature for eligible employees. We contribute a matching percentage of employee contributions. Our matching contributions are subject to Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) regulations. For 2016, 2015, and 2014, we expensed $6.6 million, $6.3 million, and $5.9 million, respectively, related to our matching contributions. In connection with our nonqualified deferred compensation plan, we had liabilities of $24.4 million and $17.5 million at January 28, 2017 and January 30, 2016, respectively.