Retirement Benefits

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Retirement Benefits - General

Retirement Benefits

Note 17. Retirement benefits

Woodward provides various benefits to eligible members of the Company, including contributions to various defined contribution plans, pension benefits associated with defined benefit plans, postretirement medical benefits and postretirement life insurance benefits. Eligibility requirements and benefit levels vary depending on employee location. A September 30 measurement date is utilized to value plan assets and obligations for all Woodward defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans.

U.S. GAAP requires that, for obligations outstanding as of September 30, 2011, the funded status reported in interim periods shall be the same asset or liability recognized in the previous year end statement of financial position adjusted for (a) subsequent accruals of net periodic benefit cost that exclude the amortization of amounts previously recognized in other comprehensive income (for example, subsequent accruals of service cost, interest cost, and return on plan assets) and (b) contributions to a funded plan or benefit payments.

The components of the net periodic retirement pension costs recognized are as follows:

	Three-Months Ending December 31,
	United States						Other Countries						Total
	2011			2010			2011			2010			2011			2010
Service cost	$	883		$	858		$	287		$	222		$	1,170		$	1,080
Interest cost		1,454			1,412			569			555			2,023			1,967
Expected return on plan assets		(1,752	)		(1,673	)		(645	)		(619	)		(2,397	)		(2,292	)
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss		131			78			167			221			298			299
Prior service cost (benefit)		19			19			(2	)		(2	)		17			17
Net periodic retirement pension (benefit) cost	$	735		$	694		$	376		$	377		$	1,111		$	1,071
Contributions	$	150		$	—		$	1,881		$	2,702		$	2,031		$	2,702

The components of the net periodic other postretirement benefit costs recognized are as follows:

	Three-Months Ending
	December 31,
	2011			2010
Service cost	$	17		$	23
Interest cost		449			493
Amortization of:
Net actuarial (gain) loss		23			32
Prior service cost (benefit)		(137	)		(218	)
Net periodic other postretirement (benefit) cost	$	352		$	330
Contributions	$	501		$	777

The amount of cash contributions made to these plans in any year is dependent upon a number of factors, including minimum funding requirements in the jurisdictions in which Woodward operates and arrangements made with trustees of certain foreign plans. As a result, the actual funding in fiscal 2012 may differ from the current estimate. Woodward estimates its remaining cash contributions in fiscal year 2012 will be as follows:

Retirement pension benefits:
United States	$	450
United Kingdom		1,315
Japan		—
Switzerland		191
Other postretirement benefits		4,209