Retirement Benefits

6 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Retirement Benefits

Note 16 – Retirement Benefits

Plan Descriptions

Retirement savings plan

We provide the Harman International Industries, Incorporated Retirement Savings Plan (the "Savings Plan") for certain employees in the United States. Under the Savings Plan, employees may contribute up to 50 percent of their pretax compensation subject to certain limitations. Each business unit will make a safe harbor non-elective contribution in an amount equal to three percent of a participant's eligible contribution. Each business unit may make a matching contribution of up to three percent (50 percent on the first six percent of an employee's tax-deferred contribution) and, upon approval of our Board of Directors, a profit sharing contribution. Matching and profit sharing contributions vest at a rate of 25 percent for each year of service with the employer, beginning with the second year of service. Approval for the profit sharing contribution is requested from our Board of Directors at the end of each fiscal year. Management eliminated the profit sharing contribution as of December 28, 2010. No amount has been accrued for the profit sharing contribution for the three and six months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Pension benefits

We provide defined pension benefits to certain eligible employees. The measurement date used for determining pension benefits is the last day of our fiscal year, June 30^th. We have certain business units in Europe that maintain defined benefit pension plans for a number of our current and former employees. The coverage provided and the extent to which the retirees' share in the cost of the program vary by business unit. Generally, plan benefits are based on age, years of service and average compensation during the final years of service. In the United States, we have a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (the "SERP") that provides retirement, death and termination benefits, as defined in the SERP, to certain key executives designated by our Board of Directors. The majority of our defined benefit pension plans do not have contractual or statutory provisions which specify minimum funding requirements. We are in compliance with all existing contractual obligations and statutory provisions.

The following table presents the components of net periodic benefit cost for the three and six months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010:

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Six Months Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Service cost	$	398		$	634		$	813		$	1,241
Interest cost		1,982			2,040			4,007			4,038
Expected return on plan assets		(58	)		(55	)		(119	)		(109	)
Amortization of prior service cost		351			351			703			703
Amortization of net loss		449			554			897			1,108
Net periodic benefit cost	$	3,122		$	3,524		$	6,301		$	6,981

During the three months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, we made contributions of $2.2 million and $1.9 million, respectively, to the defined benefit pension plans, substantially all of which were paid to participants. During the six months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, we made contributions of $4.3 million and $3.8 million, respectively, to the defined benefit pension plans, substantially all of which were paid to participants. We expect to make approximately $4.4 million in contributions for the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.