Employee Benefit Plans

The Company provides certain full-time employees with pension benefits under defined benefit and defined contribution plans. The measurement date for all plans is December 31. The Company's expense for its defined contribution plans amounted to $7.8 million in 2016, $8.7 million in 2015 and $11.2 million in 2014. The Company also provides certain health insurance benefits to employees as well as retirees.

The Company has an unfunded noncontributory defined benefit pension plan. The plan provides defined benefits based on years of service and average monthly compensation using a career average formula. Pension benefits were frozen at July 1, 2010. The Company also had a funded defined benefit plan which was terminated in 2015.

Effective December 2015, the funded defined benefit plan (the "Plan") was amended to include a lump-sum pension benefit payout option for certain plan participants. In addition, in December 2015, the Plan completed the purchase of group annuity contracts that transferred the liability for the remaining retirees and active employees who did not elect a lump sum option to an insurance company. As a result of these changes, we recognized pension settlement charges of $31.9 million after tax ($51.4 million pre-tax) during the twelve months ended December 31, 2015.

The Company also has postretirement health care benefit plans covering substantially all of its full time employees hired prior to January 1, 2003. These plans are generally contributory and include a cap on the Company's share of the related costs.

Obligation and Funded Status

Following are the details of the obligation and funded status of the pension and postretirement benefit plans:



(in thousands)	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
Change in benefit obligation	2016			2015			2016			2015
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	8,677		$	133,984		$	39,152		$	42,300
Service cost	—			236			760			900
Interest cost	194			182			1,549			1,584
Actuarial (gains) losses	(421		)	(6,299		)	(10,823		)	(4,762		)
Participant contributions	—			—			653			535
Retiree drug subsidy received	—			—			5			138
Benefits paid	(1,338		)	(119,426		)	(1,539		)	(1,543		)
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	7,112		$	8,677		$	29,757		$	39,152



(in thousands)	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
Change in plan assets	2016			2015			2016			2015
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	285		$	116,041		$	—		$	—
Actual gains on plan assets	—			517			—			—
Company contributions	1,053			3,153			886			1,008
Participant contributions	—			—			653			535
Benefits paid	(1,338		)	(119,426		)	(1,539		)	(1,543		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	—		$	285		$	—		$	—

Under funded status of plans at end of year	$	(7,112	)	$	(8,392	)	$	(29,757	)	$	(39,152	)

Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2016 and 2015 consist of:



	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
(in thousands)	2016			2015			2016			2015
Accrued expenses	$	(1,295	)	$	(1,051	)	$	(1,148	)	$	(1,247	)
Employee benefit plan obligations	(5,817		)	(7,341		)	(28,609		)	(37,905		)
Net amount recognized	$	(7,112	)	$	(8,392	)	$	(29,757	)	$	(39,152	)

Following are the details of the pre-tax amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss at December 31, 2016:



	Pension Benefits					Postretirement Benefits
(in thousands)	Unamortized Actuarial Net Losses			Unamortized Prior Service Costs		Unamortized Actuarial Net Losses			Unamortized Prior Service Costs
Balance at beginning of year	$	4,811		$	—	$	11,988		$	(355	)
Amounts arising during the period	(421		)	—		(10,823		)	—
Amounts recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost	(146		)	—		(768		)	355
Balance at end of year	$	4,244		$	—	$	397		$	—

The amounts in accumulated other comprehensive loss that are expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost during the next fiscal year, excluding the impact of the pension termination, are as follows:



(in thousands)	Pension		Postretirement			Total
Prior service cost	$	—	$	(355	)	$	(355	)
Net actuarial loss	146		768			914

Amounts applicable to the Company's defined benefit plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets are as follows:



	December 31,
(in thousands)	2016		2015
Projected benefit obligation	$	7,112	$	8,392
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	7,112	$	8,392

The combined benefits expected to be paid for all Company defined benefit plans over the next ten years (in thousands) are as follows:



Year	Expected Pension Benefit Payout		Expected Postretirement Benefit Payout		Medicare Part D Subsidy
2017	$	1,295	$	987	$	(161	)
2018	1,368		1,006		(177		)
2019	1,405		1,020		(194		)
2020	1,289		1,039		(213		)
2021	1,180		1,057		(232		)
2022-2026	1,101		6,203		(1,134		)

Following are components of the net periodic benefit cost for each year:



	Pension Benefits							Postretirement Benefits
	December 31,							December 31,
(in thousands)	2016		2015		2014			2016			2015			2014
Service cost	$	—	$	236	$	180		$	760		$	900		$	687
Interest cost	194		182		4,774			1,549			1,584			1,511
Expected return on plan assets	—		—		(7,615		)	(355		)	(543		)	(543		)
Recognized net actuarial loss	146		1,516		934			768			1,517			812
Benefit cost (income)	$	340	$	1,934	$	(1,727	)	$	2,722		$	3,458		$	2,467

Following are weighted average assumptions of pension and postretirement benefits for each year:



	Pension Benefits					Postretirement Benefits
	2016	2015		2014		2016		2015		2014
Used to Determine Benefit Obligations at Measurement Date
Discount rate (a)	N/A	N/A		0.65	%	4.0	%	4.2	%	3.9	%
Used to Determine Net Periodic Benefit Cost for Years ended December 31
Discount rate (b)	N/A	0.65	%	4.7	%	4.2	%	3.9	%	4.8	%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	N/A	N/A		7	%	—		—		—
Rate of compensation increases	N/A	N/A		N/A		—		—		—


(a)	In 2014, the calculated discount rate for the unfunded pension plan was different than the defined benefit pension plan. The calculated rate for the unfunded employee retirement plan was 2.40%, 2.60% and 2.40% in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Since it was terminated in 2015, the defined benefit pension plan did not have a discount rate in 2015 or 2016.


(b)	In 2015 and 2014, the calculated discount rate for the unfunded pension plan was different than the defined benefit pension plan. The calculated rate for the unfunded employee retirement plan was 2.60%, 2.40% and 2.90% in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Since it was terminated in 2015, the defined benefit pension plan did not have a discount rate in 2015 or 2016.



Assumed Health Care Cost Trend Rates at Beginning of Year
	2016		2015
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year	5.0	%	5.5	%
Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate)	5.0	%	5.0	%
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate	2017		2017

The assumed health care cost trend rate has an effect on the amounts reported for postretirement benefits. A one-percentage-point change in the assumed health care cost trend rate would have the following effects:



	One-Percentage-Point
	Increase			Decrease
Effect on total service and interest cost components in 2016	$	(3,803	)	$	3,182
Effect on postretirement benefit obligation as of December 31, 2016	(130,198		)	113,429