Employee Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 28, 2014

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

Employee Benefit Plans

The Company has a defined benefit pension plan and postretirement healthcare benefit plans that cover certain employees of the Motorcycles segment. The Company also has unfunded supplemental employee retirement plan agreements (SERPA) with certain employees which were instituted to replace benefits lost under the Tax Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993. Net periodic benefit costs are allocated among selling, administrative and engineering expense, cost of goods sold and inventory. Amounts capitalized in inventory are not significant. Components of net periodic benefit costs were as follows (in thousands):

	Three months ended						Nine months ended
	September 28, 2014			September 29, 2013			September 28, 2014			September 29, 2013
Pension and SERPA Benefits
Service cost	$	7,874		$	8,997		$	23,623		$	26,990
Interest cost	21,731			19,812			65,193			59,436
Expected return on plan assets	(34,184		)	(31,832		)	(102,551		)	(95,496		)
Amortization of unrecognized:
Prior service cost	279			437			838			1,310
Net loss	9,141			14,652			27,422			43,956
Net periodic benefit cost	$	4,841		$	12,066		$	14,525		$	36,196
Postretirement Healthcare Benefits
Service cost	$	1,754		$	1,965		$	5,262		$	5,894
Interest cost	4,220			3,900			12,659			11,699
Expected return on plan assets	(2,607		)	(2,384		)	(7,822		)	(7,153		)
Amortization of unrecognized:
Prior service credit	(963		)	(963		)	(2,890		)	(2,890		)
Net loss	1,182			2,137			3,546			6,412
Net periodic benefit cost	$	3,586		$	4,655		$	10,755		$	13,962

During the first nine months of 2013, the Company voluntarily contributed $175 million in cash to further fund its pension plans. No pension contributions to qualified plans are required in 2014. The Company expects it will continue to make on-going contributions related to current benefit payments for SERPA and postretirement healthcare plans.