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

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

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:



	2016			2015
	(In thousands)
Change in benefit obligation:
Net benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	184,681		$	199,088
Liability acquired	89,300			—
Service cost	1,634			1,732
Interest cost	10,635			7,397
Actuarial loss (gain)	1,018			(11,148		)
Benefits and expenses paid	(14,064		)	(10,428		)
Settlements and curtailments	(992		)	—
Foreign currency exchange rate changes	277			(1,960		)
Net benefit obligation at end of year	272,489			184,681
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at the beginning of year	141,137			153,341
Assets acquired	90,600			—
Actual return on plan assets	18,053			(2,402		)
Employer contributions	970			2,786
Benefits and expenses paid	(14,064		)	(10,428		)
Settlements	(992		)	—
Foreign currency exchange rate changes	338			(2,160		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	236,042			141,137
Unfunded status at end of year	$	(36,447	)	$	(43,544	)
Amounts recognized in the accompanying balance sheet consist of:
Noncurrent asset, included in Other assets	$	7,893		$	1,632
Current liability, included in Other current liabilities	(358		)	(368		)
Noncurrent liability	(43,982		)	(44,808		)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	26,123			33,494
Net amount recognized at end of year	$	(10,324	)	$	(10,050	)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss consist of:
Net actuarial loss	$	26,054		$	33,417
Prior service cost	69			77
	$	26,123		$	33,494

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

will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost.

Components of net periodic benefit cost

The components of net periodic benefit cost are as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016			2015			2014
	(In thousands)
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	1,634		$	1,732		$	1,998
Interest cost	10,635			7,397			7,400
Expected return on plan assets	(14,025		)	(9,959		)	(10,316		)
Settlements and curtailments	186			—			382
Amortization of:
Prior service cost	8			8			—
Actuarial loss	4,167			3,442			886
Total net periodic pension cost	$	2,605		$	2,620		$	350

Schedule of weighted-average assumptions used

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016	2015	2014
Discount rate	3.90% - 4.25%	3.60% - 3.90%	4.25% - 4.70%
Expected return on plan assets	1.75% - 7.10%	3.66% - 7.10%	7.40%
Measurement date	December 31, 2015	December 31, 2014	December 31, 2013

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



	December 31,
	2016	2015
Discount rate	3.60% - 4.05%	3.90% - 4.25%
Measurement date	December 31, 2016	December 31, 2015

Schedule of allocation of plan assets

The weighted-average target asset allocation of the Company’s pension trusts were as follows at December 31, 2016:



	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, 2016
			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)	$	61,799	$	—	$	61,799	$	—
International blend (b)	10,401		—		10,401		—
Fixed income domestic (c)	21,732		—		21,732		—
Fixed income long term (d)	105,640		—		105,640		—
Stable value (e)	13,317		—		13,317		—
Registered investment companies – growth fund	18,515		18,515		—		—
Limited partnerships and limited liability companies	29		—		—		29
Westmoreland Coal common stock	819		819		—		—
Cash and cash equivalents	3,790		3,790		—		—
	$	236,042	$	23,124	$	212,889	$	29



	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

(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)
2017	$	15,975
2018	14,509
2019	15,051
2020	15,430
2021	15,798
Years 2022-2026	81,020

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):
2016	$	3.7	$	0.8	$	0.1
2015	3.6		1.1		0.1
2014	3.3		1.2		0.1