Pension and Postretirement Benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

General Discussion Of Pension And Other Postretirement Benefits [Abstract]

Pension And Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 5 – Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

The components of net periodic benefit cost for the three months endedMarch 31, 2015 and March 31, 2014 are as follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
					Other
					Postretirement
	Pension Benefits				Benefits
		2015		2014		2015		2014
Service cost	$	773	$	734	$	5	$	8
Interest cost and other		1,262		1,542		50		54
Expected return on plan assets		(1,402)		(1,607)		—		—
Actuarial loss amortization		881		789		26		6
Prior service cost amortization		(26)		866		—		—
Net periodic benefit cost	$	1,488	$	2,324	$	81	$	68

During 2013, it was discovered that the Company’s subsidiary in the United Kingdom (“U.K.”) did not appropriately amend a trust for a legacy change in its pension scheme, as it related to a past retirement age equalization law. Given the lack of an official deed to the pension trust, the effective date of the change to the Subsidiary’s pension scheme differed from the Company’s historical beliefs, but the extent of the potential exposure was not estimable. In the first quarter of 2014, the Company recorded costs of $902, or $0.05 per diluted share, related to prior service cost and interest cost, to appropriately reflect the past plan amendment related to the retirement age equalization law.

Employer Contributions:

The Company previously disclosed in its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014, that it expected to make minimum cash contributions of $4,176 to its pension plans and $568 to its other postretirement benefit plan in 2015. As of March 31, 2015, $1,280 and $237 of contributions have been made to the Company’s pension plans and its postretirement benefit plans, respectively.