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 $7.3 million in 2017, $7.8 million in 2016 and $8.7 million in 2015. The Company also provides health insurance benefits to certain employees and 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	2017			2016			2017			2016
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	7,112		$	8,677		$	29,757		$	39,152
Service cost	—			—			391			760
Interest cost	155			194			985			1,549
Actuarial (gains) losses	(245		)	(421		)	(7,903		)	(10,823		)
Participant contributions	—			—			463			653
Retiree drug subsidy received	—			—			184			5
Benefits paid	(1,190		)	(1,338		)	(1,275		)	(1,539		)
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	5,832		$	7,112		$	22,602		$	29,757



(in thousands)	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
Change in plan assets	2017			2016			2017			2016
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	—		$	285		$	—		$	—
Actual gains on plan assets	—			—			—			—
Company contributions	1,190			1,053			812			886
Participant contributions	—			—			463			653
Benefits paid	(1,190		)	(1,338		)	(1,275		)	(1,539		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—

Under funded status of plans at end of year	$	(5,832	)	$	(7,112	)	$	(22,602	)	$	(29,757	)

Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2017 and 2016 consist of:



	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
(in thousands)	2017			2016			2017			2016
Accrued expenses	$	(1,232	)	$	(1,295	)	$	(1,098	)	$	(1,148	)
Employee benefit plan obligations	(4,600		)	(5,817		)	(21,504		)	(28,609		)
Net amount recognized	$	(5,832	)	$	(7,112	)	$	(22,602	)	$	(29,757	)

Following are the details of the pre-tax amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss at December 31, 2017:



	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	$	4,244		$	—	$	397		$	—
Amounts arising during the period	(245		)	—		(7,903		)	—
Amounts recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost	(252		)	—		—			455
Balance at end of year	$	3,747		$	—	$	(7,506	)	$	455

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	$	—	$	(455	)	$	(455	)
Net actuarial loss	252		—			252

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)	2017		2016
Projected benefit obligation	$	5,832	$	7,112
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	5,832	$	7,112

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
2018	$	1,232	$	1,098
2019	1,316		1,125
2020	1,255		1,146
2021	1,168		1,173
2022	311		1,204
2023-2027	957		6,262

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



	Pension Benefits						Postretirement Benefits
	December 31,						December 31,
(in thousands)	2017		2016		2015		2017			2016			2015
Service cost	$	—	$	—	$	236	$	391		$	760		$	900
Interest cost	155		194		182		985			1,549			1,584
Expected return on plan assets	—		—		—		(455		)	(355		)	(543		)
Recognized net actuarial loss	252		146		1,516		—			768			1,517
Benefit cost (income)	$	407	$	340	$	1,934	$	921		$	2,722		$	3,458

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



	Pension Benefits				Postretirement Benefits
	2017	2016	2015		2017		2016		2015
Used to Determine Benefit Obligations at Measurement Date
Discount rate (a)	N/A	N/A	N/A		3.4	%	4.0	%	4.2	%
Used to Determine Net Periodic Benefit Cost for Years ended December 31
Discount rate (b)	N/A	N/A	0.65	%	3.7	%	4.2	%	3.9	%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	N/A	N/A	N/A		—		—		—
Rate of compensation increases	N/A	N/A	N/A		—		—		—


(a)	The calculated rate for the unfunded employee retirement plan was 2.50%, 2.40% and 2.60% in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Since it was terminated in 2015, the defined benefit pension plan did not have a discount rate in 2015, 2016 or 2017.


(b)	The calculated rate for the unfunded employee retirement plan was 2.40%, 2.60% and 2.40% in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Since it was terminated in 2015, the defined benefit pension plan did not have a discount rate in 2015, 2016 or 2017.



Assumed Health Care Cost Trend Rates at Beginning of Year
	2017		2016
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year	3.0	%	5.0	%
Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate) (a)	N/A		5.0	%
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate (a)	N/A		2017


(a)	In 2017, the Company's remaining uncapped participants were converted to a Medicare Exchange Health Reimbursement Arrangement, which put a 2% cap on the Company's share of the related costs.