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						Nine months ended
	September 24, 2017			September 25, 2016			September 24, 2017			September 25, 2016
Pension and SERPA Benefits
Service cost	$	7,896		$	8,359		$	23,688		$	25,077
Interest cost	21,269			22,707			63,807			68,121
Expected return on plan assets	(35,345		)	(36,445		)	(106,035		)	(109,335		)
Amortization of unrecognized:
Prior service cost	256			255			764			765
Net loss	10,998			11,588			32,994			34,764
Settlement loss	—			300			—			900
Net periodic benefit cost	$	5,074		$	6,764		$	15,218		$	20,292
Postretirement Healthcare Benefits
Service cost	$	1,875		$	1,870		$	5,625		$	5,610
Interest cost	3,412			3,704			10,236			11,112
Expected return on plan assets	(3,156		)	(3,017		)	(9,468		)	(9,051		)
Amortization of unrecognized:
Prior service credit	(543		)	(701		)	(1,629		)	(2,103		)
Net loss	815			884			2,445			2,652
Net periodic benefit cost	$	2,403		$	2,740		$	7,209		$	8,220

During the first nine 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.