POSTRETIREMENT MEDICAL BENEFITS AND PENSION

Postretirement Medical Benefits

The Company provides postretirement medical benefits to retired employees and their dependents as mandated by the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992 and pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. The Company also provides these benefits to qualified full-time employees pursuant to collective bargaining agreements.

The components of net periodic postretirement medical benefit cost are as follows:



	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2014		2013
	(In thousands)
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	822	$	1,109
Interest cost	3,203		3,035
Amortization of deferred items	5		1,001
Total net periodic benefit cost	$	4,030	$	5,145

The following table shows the net periodic postretirement medical benefit costs that relate to current and former mining operations:



	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2014		2013
	(In thousands)
Former mining operations	$	2,403	$	3,119
Current operations	1,627		2,026
Total net periodic benefit cost	$	4,030	$	5,145

The costs for the former mining operations are included in Heritage health benefit expenses and costs for current operations are included in Cost of sales and Selling and administrative expenses.

Pension

The Company provides pension benefits to qualified full-time employees pursuant to collective bargaining agreements.

The Company incurred net periodic benefit costs of providing these pension benefits as follows:



	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2014			2013
	(In thousands)
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	500		$	534
Interest cost	1,747			1,625
Expected return on plan assets	(2,154		)	(2,060		)
Amortization of deferred items	359			741
Total net periodic pension cost	$	452		$	840

These costs are included in Cost of sales and Selling and administrative expenses.

The Company contributed $0.6 million of cash contributions to its pension plans in the three months ended March 31, 2014 and expects to make $3.7 million of pension plan contributions during the remainder of 2014.