Note 6 Retirement Plans

The Company has a contributory retirement savings plan, the Weis Markets, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan, covering substantially all full-time associates. The Company had a noncontributory profit-sharing plan, the Weis Markets, Inc. Profit Sharing Plan, covering eligible associates which included certain salaried associates, store management and administrative support personnel. Effective December 1, 2009, the Weis Markets, Inc. Profit Sharing Plan was merged into the Weis Markets, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan. The Company also has three supplemental retirement plans covering highly compensated employees of the Company. The Company’s policy is to fund all qualified retirement plan costs as accrued, but not supplemental retirement costs. Employer contributions to the qualified retirement plans are made at the sole discretion of the Company.

Retirement plan costs:



(dollars in thousands)		2014		2013		2012
Retirement savings plan	$	1,752	$	1,715	$	1,560
Profit-sharing plan		1,258		1,750		1,650
Deferred compensation plan		1,328		126		291
Supplemental retirement plan		1,061		2,025		1,105
Pharmacist deferred compensation plan		(228)		178		198
	$	5,171	$	5,794	$	4,804

The Company maintains a non-qualified deferred compensation plan for the payment of specific amounts of annual retirement benefits to certain officers or their beneficiaries over an actuarially computed normal life expectancy. The benefits are determined through actuarial calculations dependent on the age of the recipient, using an assumed discount rate. The Company deems the discount rate to be consistent over time with the rate of return on equity for the Company due to funding the total liability with Company assets. The plan is unfunded and accounted for on an accrual basis. The projected benefit obligations are equal to the liability for pension benefits included in “Accrued expenses” and “Postretirement benefit obligations” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Note 6 Retirement Plans (continued)

Change in the benefit obligations:



(dollars in thousands)		2014		2013
Benefit obligations at beginning of year	$	7,800	$	7,726
Interest cost		581		575
Benefit payments		(51)		(51)
Actuarial loss (gain)		747		(450)
	$	9,077	$	7,800



Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations:	2014	2013
Discount rate	7.50%	7.50%

Components of net periodic benefit cost:



(dollars in thousands)		2014		2013		2012
Interest cost	$	581	$	575	$	557
Amount of recognized (loss) gain		(696)		501		318

Estimated future benefit payments:



(dollars in thousands)		Benefits
2015	$	51
2016		1,929
2017		1,929
2018		1,929
2019		1,929
2020 - 2024		9,643

The Company also maintains a non-qualified supplemental executive retirement plan and a non-qualified pharmacist deferred compensation plan for certain of its associates. These plans are designed to provide retirement benefits and salary deferral opportunities because of limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Code and the Regulations implemented by the Internal Revenue Service. These plans are unfunded and accounted for on an accrual basis. Participants in these plans are excluded from participation in the profit sharing portion of the Weis Markets, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan once their yearly earnings exceed the IRS highly compensated threshold. The Board of Directors annually determines the amount of the allocation to the plans at its sole discretion. The allocation among the various plan participants is made in both flat dollar amounts and in relationship to their compensation. Plan participants are 100% vested in their accounts after six years of service with the Company. Benefits are distributed among participants upon reaching the applicable retirement age. Substantial risk of benefit forfeiture does exist for participants in these plans. The present value of accumulated benefits amounted to $9,646,000 and $9,352,000 at December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013, respectively, and is included in “Postretirement benefit obligations” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company has no other postretirement benefit plans.