Employee Benefit Plans

Retirement Plans and Retiree Health and Life Insurance Plans

The Company provides non-contributory defined benefit pension plans for a majority of its employees in the United States and certain of its employees in Mexico and Belgium. Effective December 31, 2003, the Company froze participation for newly hired salaried and non-union hourly U.S. employees in its traditional defined benefit pension plan. At that time, the Company adopted a defined contribution plan, the Sonoco Investment and Retirement Plan (SIRP), which covers its non-union U.S. employees hired on or after January 1, 2004. The Company also sponsors contributory defined benefit pension plans covering the majority of its employees in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands.

On February 4, 2009, the U.S. qualified defined benefit pension plan was amended to freeze plan benefits for all active participants effective December 31, 2018. Remaining active participants in the U.S. qualified plan will become participants of the SIRP effective January 1, 2019.

The Company also provides postretirement healthcare and life insurance benefits to a limited number of its retirees and their dependents in the United States and Canada, based on certain age and/or service eligibility requirements.

The components of net periodic benefit cost include the following:



	Three Months Ended
	March 30, 2014			March 31, 2013
Retirement Plans
Service cost	$	5,167		$	6,135
Interest cost	17,897			16,604
Expected return on plan assets	(22,753		)	(21,392		)
Amortization of net transition obligation	99			110
Amortization of prior service cost	163			103
Amortization of net actuarial loss	6,302			10,713
Net periodic benefit cost	$	6,875		$	12,273
Retiree Health and Life Insurance Plans
Service cost	$	173		$	222
Interest cost	257			244
Expected return on plan assets	(387		)	(371		)
Amortization of prior service credit	(337		)	(733		)
Amortization of net actuarial loss	(24		)	(1		)
Net periodic benefit income	$	(318	)	$	(639	)

The Company made contributions of $31,466 and $6,196 to its defined benefit retirement and retiree health and life insurance plans during the three months ended March 30, 2014 and March 31, 2013, respectively. The Company anticipates that it will make additional contributions of approximately $22,000 to its defined benefit retirement and retiree health and life insurance plans in 2014.

Sonoco Investment and Retirement Plan (SIRP)

The Company recognized SIRP expense totaling $2,556 and $2,081 for the quarters ended March 30, 2014 and March 31, 2013, respectively. Contributions to the SIRP, funded annually in the first quarter, totaled $12,049 during the three months ended March 30, 2014, and $9,290 during the three months ended March 31, 2013. No additional SIRP contributions are expected during the remainder of 2014.