RETIREMENT AND POSTRETIREMENT PLANS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

RETIREMENT AND POSTRETIREMENT PLANS [Abstract]

RETIREMENT AND POSTRETIREMENT PLANS

12.   RETIREMENT AND POSTRETIREMENT PLANS

The Holding Company or the Bank maintains the Retirement Plan of The Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh (the "Employee Retirement Plan"), the Retirement Plan for Board Members of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (the "Outside Director Retirement Plan"), the BMP, and the Postretirement Welfare Plan of The Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh (the "Postretirement Plan").  Net expenses associated with these plans were comprised of the following components:

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2015		Three Months Ended March 31, 2014
	BMP, Employee and Outside Director Retirement Plans	Postretirement Plan	BMP, Employee and Outside Director Retirement Plans	Postretirement Plan
Service cost	$-	$9	$-	$10
Interest cost	344	510	338	58
Expected return on assets	(414)	-	(444)	-
Curtailment gain(1)	-	(3,394)	-	-
Amortization of unrealized loss	480	(13)	$261	$-
Net periodic cost (gain)	$410	$(2,888)	$155	$68

(1) The Postretirement Plan was amended effective March 31, 2015, whereby future retirees will not be eligible to participate in the plan. This plan amendment resulted in a curtailment gain.

The Company disclosed in its consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014 that it expected to make contributions to, or benefit payments on behalf of, benefit plans during 2015 as follows: Employee Retirement Plan - $14, BMP - $604, Outside Director Retirement Plan - $188, and Postretirement Plan - $145.  The Company made contributions of $5 to the Employee Retirement Plan during the three months ended March 31, 2015, and expects to make the remainder of the estimated contributions during 2015.  The Company made benefit payments of $45 on behalf of the Outside Director Retirement Plan during the three months ended March 31, 2015, and expects to make the remainder of the estimated net contributions or benefit payments during 2015.  The Company made benefit payments totaling $17 on behalf of the Postretirement Plan during the three months ended March 31, 2015, and expects to make the remainder of the estimated $145 of contributions or benefit payments during 2015. Since all benefit payments expected to be made to the Postretirement Plan for the year ending December 31, 2015 related to previously earned benefits, the curtailment of future Postretirement Plan benefits enacted during the three months ended March 31, 2015 had no impact upon the expected benefit payments to be made in 2015. The Company did not make any defined benefit contributions to, or benefit payments on behalf of, the BMP during the three months ended March 31, 2015, and does not currently expect to make benefit payments on behalf of the BMP during 2015, since anticipated retirements that formed the basis for these expected benefit payments in 2015 are presently not expected to occur.