Employee Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Employee Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

6. Employee Benefit Plans

Included as charges against income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 are the following amounts for pension and postretirement benefit plans maintained by the Company:

	Pension Benefits
(in thousands)	Three months ended September 30,						Nine months ended September 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Service cost	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	1,614
Interest cost		1,145			1,085			3,434			3,254
Expected return on plan assets		(1,559	)		(1,363	)		(4,677	)		(4,088	)
Recognized net actuarial loss		235			251			705			1,567
Benefit (income) cost	$	(179	)	$	(27	)	$	(538	)	$	2,347

	Postretirement Benefits
(in thousands)	Three months ended September 30,						Nine months ended September 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Service cost	$	139		$	116		$	416		$	349
Interest cost		321			304			964			910
Amortization of prior service cost credit		(136	)		(128	)		(407	)		(383	)
Recognized net actuarial loss		225			173			676			518
Benefit cost	$	549		$	465		$	1,649		$	1,394

In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) was signed into law. One of the provisions of the PPACA eliminates the tax deductibility of retiree health care costs to the extent of federal subsidies received by plan sponsors that provide retiree prescription drug benefits equivalent to Medicare Part D coverage. As a result, the Company was required to make an adjustment to its deferred tax asset associated with its postretirement benefit plan in the amount of $1.5 million during the first quarter of 2010. The offset to this adjustment was included in the provision for income taxes on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income.