Retirement Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Retirement Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Retirement Benefit Plans

12. Retirement Benefit Plans

Defined Contribution Plans

We maintain various defined contribution plans, which include profit sharing and provide retirement benefits for substantially all of our employees. Matching obligations, in connection with the plans which are funded in cash and typically contributed to the plans in March of the following year, are as follows (in thousands):

	U.S. Defined Contribution
Year ended December 31,
2012	$	8,100
2011		7,573
2010		3,523

We maintain an unfunded Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan for key employees. Under the plan, these employees may elect to defer a portion of their compensation and, in addition, we may at our discretion make contributions to the plan on behalf of the employees.  In March 2011, contributions of $247,000 were made related to calendar year 2010.  In March 2012, contributions of $505,000 were made related to calendar year 2011.  We have recorded an obligation of $671,000 for 2012.

We also have an Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust ("ESOP") for employees who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.  We maintain an employee benefits trust to which we contribute shares of treasury stock. We are authorized to instruct the trustees to distribute such shares toward the satisfaction of our future obligations under employee benefit plans. The shares held in trust are not considered outstanding for purposes of calculating earnings per share until they are committed to be released. The trustees will vote the shares in accordance with its fiduciary duties.  During 2012, we contributed to the trust an additional 177,000 shares from our treasury and released 180,000 shares from the trust leaving 930 shares remaining in the trust as of December 31, 2012.  The provision for expense in connection with the ESOP was approximately $3.9 million in 2012, $2.5 million in 2011 and $1.6 million in 2010.

Multi-Employer Benefit Plans

We participate in multi-employer plans which provide defined benefits to unionized workers at certain of our manufacturing facilities.  Contributions to the plans are determined in accordance with the provisions of a negotiated labor contract.

In December 2007, in connection with the shutdown of the manufacturing operations at Long Island City, we entered into an agreement with the UAW.  As part of the agreement, we agreed to withdraw from the multi-employer pension plan covering our UAW employees at the Long Island City facility and incurred a withdrawal liability from the plan.  The pension plan withdrawal liability related to trust asset under-performance and was payable quarterly for 20 years at $0.3 million per year, which commenced in December 2008.  In June 2011, we settled our pension withdrawal liability for $2.8 million and recorded a gain of $0.3 million in connection with the settlement.

Defined Benefit Pension Plan

We maintain a defined benefit unfunded Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan ("SERP").  The SERP, as amended, is a defined benefit plan pursuant to which we will pay supplemental pension benefits to certain key employees upon the attainment of a contractual participant's payment date based upon the employees' years of service and compensation.  We use a January 1 measurement date for this plan.  Benefit obligations as of the end of each year reflect assumptions in effect as of this date.

The benefit obligation, funded status, and amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements for the SERP, as of and for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, were (in thousands):

	Defined Benefit Retirement Plan
	2012			2011
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	4,082		$	2,673
Service cost		130			111
Interest cost		186			181
Actuarial loss		327			1,117
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	4,725		$	4,082
Unfunded status of the plan	$	(4,725	)	$	(4,082	)

Amounts recognized in the balance sheet:
Accrued postretirement benefit liabilities	$	4,725	$	4,082
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (pre-tax) related to:
Unrecognized net actuarial losses		1,510		1,444
Unrecognized prior service cost		28		138

The unrecognized amounts recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income will be subsequently recognized as expense consistent with our historical accounting policy for amortizing those amounts.  Actuarial gains and losses incurred in future periods and not recognized as expense in those periods will be recognized as increases or decreases in other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax.  As they are subsequently recognized as a component of expense, the amounts recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) in prior periods are adjusted.

The following defined benefit plan amounts were included in other comprehensive income, net of tax, during the year ended December 31, 2012 (in thousands):

	Incurred but Not Recognized		Reclassification Adjustment for Prior Period Amounts Recognized
Actuarial gains (losses)
SERP defined benefit plan	$	197	$	157
Prior service (cost) credit
SERP defined benefit plan		-		66
	$	197	$	223

The prior service cost (credit) included in accumulated other comprehensive income at the end of 2012 and expected to be recognized in net periodic benefit cost during 2013 is $0.7 million ($430,000 net of tax).

The components of net periodic benefit cost for our defined benefit plan include the following (in thousands):

	December 31,
Defined benefit retirement plan:	2012		2011		2010
Service cost	$	130	$	111	$	79
Interest cost		186		181		133
Amortization of prior service cost		110		111		110
Amortization of unrecognized loss		261		173		25
Net periodic benefit cost	$	687	$	576	$	347

Actuarial assumptions used to determine costs and benefit obligations related to our defined benefit plan are as follows:

	December 31,
	2012			2011			2010
Discount rates		4.00	%		4.55	%		5.35	%
Salary increase		4.00	%		4.00	%		4.00	%

The Company's discount rate is determined by considering current yield curves representing high quality, long-term fixed income instruments.  We set our discount rate for the plan based on a review of the Mercer Pension Discount Yield Curve and Index Rates.  We believe that the timing and amount of cash flows related to these instruments is expected to match the estimated defined benefit payment streams of our plan.

For the defined benefit pension plan, the projected benefit obligation ("PBO"), accumulated benefit obligation ("ABO") and fair value of the plan's assets are as follows (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2012		2011
Projected benefit obligation	$	4,725	$	4,082
Accumulated benefit obligation		4,601		3,662
Fair value of plan assets		-		-

The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid as follows (in thousands):

	Plan Benefits
2013	$	-
2014		-
2015		5,694
2016		-
2017		-
Years 2018 – 2022		-