PENSION AND OTHER POST-RETIREMENT BENEFIT PLANS

Defined Benefit and Post-retirement Healthcare Plans

ABX sponsors a qualified defined benefit pension plan for ABX crewmembers and a qualified defined benefit pension plan for a major portion of its other ABX employees that meet minimum eligibility requirements. ABX also sponsors non-qualified defined benefit pension plans for certain employees. These non-qualified plans are unfunded. Employees are no longer accruing benefits under any of the defined benefit pension plans. ABX also sponsors a post-retirement healthcare plan for its ABX employees, which is unfunded.

The accounting and valuation for these post-retirement obligations are determined by prescribed accounting and actuarial methods that consider a number of assumptions and estimates. The selection of appropriate assumptions and estimates is significant due to the long time period over which benefits will be accrued and paid. The long term nature of these benefit payouts increases the sensitivity of certain estimates of our post-retirement costs. The assumptions considered most sensitive in actuarially valuing ABX’s pension obligations and determining related expense amounts are discount rates and expected long term investment returns on plan assets. Additionally, other assumptions concerning retirement ages, mortality and employee turnover also affect the valuations. Actual results and future changes in these assumptions could result in future costs significantly higher than those recorded in our results of operations. The Company’s net periodic benefit costs for its defined benefit pension plans and post-retirement healthcare plans for both continuing and discontinued operations are as follows (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended June 30,												Six Months Ended June 30,
	Pension Plans						Post-Retirement Healthcare Plan						Pension Plans						Post-Retirement Healthcare Plan
	2014			2013			2014			2013			2014			2013			2014			2013
Service cost	$	—		$	—		$	60		$	69		$	—		$	—		$	120		$	138
Interest cost	9,879			8,989			71			66			19,758			17,978			142			132
Expected return on plan assets	(11,528		)	(11,498		)	—			—			(23,056		)	(22,996		)	—			—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			—			(872		)	(1,413		)	—			—			(1,744		)	(2,826		)
Amortization of net (gain) loss	—			3,074			80			104			(1		)	6,148			160			208
Net periodic benefit cost	$	(1,649	)	$	565		$	(661	)	$	(1,174	)	$	(3,299	)	$	1,130		$	(1,322	)	$	(2,348	)

During the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2014, the Company contributed $0.3 million and $1.0 million to the pension plans. The Company expects to contribute and additional $5.3 million during the remainder of 2014.