Employee Benefit Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 26, 2017

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

Employee Benefit Plans

The Company has a defined benefit qualified 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
	March 26, 2017			March 27, 2016
Pension and SERPA Benefits
Service cost	$	7,896		$	8,359
Interest cost	21,269			22,707
Expected return on plan assets	(35,345		)	(36,445		)
Amortization of unrecognized:
Prior service cost	254			255
Net loss	10,998			11,587
Settlement loss	—			300
Net periodic benefit cost	$	5,072		$	6,763
Postretirement Healthcare Benefits
Service cost	$	1,875		$	1,870
Interest cost	3,412			3,704
Expected return on plan assets	(3,156		)	(3,017		)
Amortization of unrecognized:
Prior service credit	(543		)	(701		)
Net loss	815			884
Net periodic benefit cost	$	2,403		$	2,740

During the first three months of 2017, the Company voluntarily contributed $25.0 million in cash to further fund its qualified pension plan. There are no required or planned contributions to the qualified pension plan for the remainder of 2017. The Company expects it will continue to make ongoing benefit payments under the SERPA and postretirement healthcare plans.