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Employee Benefit Plans
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans

I. Employee Benefit Plans

Retirement Plans

We have defined employee contribution plans for substantially all of our U.S. employees (401(k) plan) and our Canadian employees (Registered Retirement Savings Plan). We recognized expenses under these plans primarily related to matching contributions of $5.3 million, $4.9 million and $4.2 million in Fiscal 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Deferred Compensation

We offer a non-qualified deferred compensation plan to a select group of management and highly compensated individuals. The plan permits the deferral of up to 50% of a participant’s base salary and/or 100% of a participant’s annual incentive bonus. The deferrals are held in a separate trust, an irrevocable rabbi trust (the Rabbi Trust), which has been established to administer the plan. The Rabbi Trust is intended to be used as a source of funds to match respective funding obligations to participants.  The assets of the trust are subject to the claims of our creditors in the event that we become insolvent. Consequently, the Rabbi Trust qualifies as a grantor trust for income tax purposes. We make periodic payments into company-owned life insurance policies held in this Rabbi Trust to fund the expected obligations arising under this plan. The assets and liabilities of the plan are recorded in other assets and deferred compensation, respectively, in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Changes in the deferred compensation balance are charged to compensation expense. The plan is not qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue code. We recorded $0.2 million in compensation expense related to this plan in Fiscal 2014. Total assets held by the trustee and deferred compensation liabilities were $3.5 million and $3.7 million, respectively, at September 30, 2014.  

Certain former executives were provided an executive benefit plan which provides for fixed payments upon normal retirement on or after age 65 and the completion of at least 10 years of continuous employment. The estimated present value of these payments were accrued over the service life of these individuals, and $0.5 million is recorded in deferred compensation related to this executive benefit plan. To assist in funding the deferred compensation liability, we have invested in corporate-owned life insurance policies. The cash surrender value of these policies is presented in other assets and was $4.4 million at September 30, 2014.

Retiree Medical Plan

We have a plan that extends health benefits to retirees that are also available to active employees under our existing health plans. This plan is unfunded. The plan provides coverage for employees with at least 10 years of service who are age 55 or older but less than 65. The retiree is required to pay the COBRA rate less a subsidy provided by us based on years of service at the time of retirement.  The unfunded liability was $0.7 million as of September 30, 2014 and 2013 and our net periodic postretirement benefit costs have been less than $0.1 million for the last three fiscal years. Due to the immateriality of the costs and liabilities of this plan, no further disclosure is being presented.