PENSION AND OTHER SAVING PLANS (Tables) - Pension Benefits [Member]

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Table Text Block [Line Items]

Schedule of benefit obligations and amounts recognized in financial statements

The following table provides a reconciliation of the changes in the benefit obligations of the plans and the fair value of assets of the qualified plans and the amounts recognized in the Company’s financial statements for both the defined benefit pension and SERP plans:



	Defined Benefit Pension December 31,						SERP December 31,
	2015			2014			2015			2014
	(In thousands)
Change in benefit obligation:
Net benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	206,966		$	155,075		$	4,129		$	3,640
Liability acquired	—			36,087			—			—
Service cost	1,760			2,425			—			—
Interest cost	7,282			7,963			153			168
Actuarial loss (gain)	(11,514		)	32,505			(108		)	704
Benefits and expenses paid	(17,974		)	(15,119		)	(372		)	(383		)
Settlements and curtailments	(1,559		)	(10,862		)	—			—
Plan amendments	—			207			—			—
Foreign currency exchange rate changes	(3,532		)	(1,315		)	—			—
Net benefit obligation at end of year	181,429			206,966			3,802			4,129
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at the beginning of year	160,947			134,149			—			—
Assets acquired	—			36,616			—			—
Actual return on plan assets	(2,379		)	14,392			—			—
Employer contributions	3,727			4,812			372			383
Benefits and expenses paid	(17,974		)	(15,119		)	(372		)	(383		)
Settlements	124			(12,795		)	—			—
Foreign currency exchange rate changes	(3,308		)	(1,108		)	—			—
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	141,137			160,947			—			—
Unfunded status at end of year	$	(40,292	)	$	(46,019	)	$	(3,802	)	$	(4,129	)
Amounts recognized in the accompanying balance sheet consist of:
Noncurrent asset, included in Other assets	$	1,082		$	—		$	—		$	—
Current liability	—			—			(368		)	(368		)
Noncurrent liability	(41,374		)	(46,019		)	(3,434		)	(3,760		)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	33,313			34,249			1,589			1,815
Net amount recognized at end of year	$	(6,979	)	$	(11,770	)	$	(2,213	)	$	(2,313	)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of:
Net actuarial loss	$	33,236		$	34,164		$	1,589		$	1,815
Prior service cost	77			85			—			—
	$	33,313		$	34,249		$	1,589		$	1,815

Schedule of amounts in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) to be recognized over next fiscal year

The following amounts will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost in 2016 (in millions):



	Pension		SERP
Net actuarial loss	$	5.6	$	0.1

Components of net periodic benefit cost

The components of net periodic benefit cost are as follows:



	Defined Benefit Pension Years Ended December 31,									SERP Years Ended December 31,
	2015			2014			2013			2015		2014		2013
	(In thousands)
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	1,760		$	2,425		$	2,346		$	—	$	—	$	—
Interest cost	7,282			7,963			6,209			153		168		152
Expected return on plan assets	(10,033		)	(10,796		)	(8,770		)	—				—
Settlements and curtailments	(1,683		)	4,585			—			—		—		—
Amortization of:
Prior service cost	8			—			—			—		—		—
Actuarial loss	2,840			1,217			3,377			118		97		112
Total net periodic pension cost	$	174		$	5,394		$	3,162		$	271	$	265	$	264

Schedule of weighted-average assumptions used

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations as of the end of each year were as follows:



	Defined Benefit Pension December 31,		SERP December 31,
	2015	2014	2015	2014
Discount rate	3.90% - 4.25%	3.60% - 3.90%	4.25%	3.90%
Measurement date	December 31, 2015	December 31, 2014	December 31, 2015	December 31, 2014

The following table provides the assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost:



	Defined Benefit Pension Years Ended December 31,			SERP Years Ended December 31,
	2015	2014	2013	2015	2014	2013
Discount rate	3.60% - 3.90%	4.25% - 4.70%	3.35% - 3.75%	3.90%	4.65%	3.75%
Expected return on plan assets	3.66% - 7.10%	7.40%	7.40%	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rate of compensation increase	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Measurement date	December 31, 2014	December 31, 2013	December 31, 2012	December 31, 2014	December 31, 2013	December 31, 2012

Schedule of allocation of plan assets

The weighted-average target asset allocation of the Company’s pension trusts were as follows at December 31, 2015:



	Target Allocation
Asset category
Cash and equivalents	0% - 10%
Equity securities funds	20% - 60%
Debt securities funds	40% - 80%
Other	0% - 10%

The fair value of the Company’s pension plan assets by asset category is as follows:



	December 31, 2015
			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets		Significant Other Observable Inputs		Significant Unobservable Inputs
	Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(In thousands)
Pooled separate accounts:
Large-cap blend (a)	$	43,417	$	—	$	43,417	$	—
International blend (b)	7,779		—		7,779		—
Fixed income domestic (c)	22,115		—		22,115		—
Fixed income long term (d)	43,091		—		43,091		—
Stable value (e)	4,937		—		4,937		—
Registered investment companies – growth fund	15,447		15,447		—		—
Limited partnerships and limited liability companies	136		—		—		136
Westmoreland Coal common stock	273		273		—		—
Cash and cash equivalents	3,942		3,942		—		—
	$	141,137	$	19,662	$	121,339	$	136



	December 31, 2014
			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets		Significant Other Observable Inputs		Significant Unobservable Inputs
	Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(In thousands)
Pooled separate accounts:
Large-cap blend (a)	$	47,092	$	—	$	47,092	$	—
International blend (b)	7,290		—		7,290		—
Fixed income domestic (c)	23,057		—		23,057		—
Fixed income long term (d)	47,299		—		47,299		—
Stable value (e)	5,346		—		5,346		—
Registered investment companies – growth fund	16,490		16,490		—		—
Limited partnerships and limited liability companies	224		—		—		224
Westmoreland Coal common stock	1,539		1,539		—		—
Cash and cash equivalents	12,610		12,610		—		—
	$	160,947	$	30,639	$	130,084	$	224

(a) Large-cap blend funds seek to provide long-term growth of capital. They seek to provide investment results that approximate the performance of the Standard & Poor’s Composite 1500 Index.

(b) International blends seek to have a diversified portfolio of investments, invading fixed-income and equity-focused investments in international markets.

(d) Fixed income long term bond funds seek to achieve performance results similar to the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. This fund invests primarily in corporate and government bonds.

(e) The stable value fund seeks to invest in publicly traded and privately placed debt securities and mortgage loans, and to a lesser extent, real estate and other equity investments in order to provide a guaranteed rate of return.

Schedule of expected benefit payments

The following benefit payments are expected to be paid from its pension plan assets:



	Pension Benefits
	(In thousands)
2016	$	10,846
2017	9,048
2018	9,280
2019	9,758
2020	10,111
Years 2021 - 2025	54,006

Schedule of multiemployer plans

The following table shows required information for each employer contributing to the Central Pension Fund:



	WECO		WRI		WSC
Employer plan number	9313		9243		4990
Minimum contributions per hour worked	$5.85 - $5.90		$4.03 - $4.39		$	3.70
Expiration date of collective bargaining agreements	2/28/2019		5/31/2021		3/31/2022
Employer contributions (in millions):
2015	$	3.6	$	1.1	$	0.1
2014	3.3		1.2		0.1
2013	3.4		0.9		0.1