Retirement Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Retirement Plans [Abstract]

RETIREMENT PLANS

7. RETIREMENT PLANS

Multi-employer Defined Benefit Plan

Pension benefits for substantially all of the Company’s Alaska-based employees are provided through the Alaska Electrical Pension Fund (“AEPF”). The Company pays a contractual hourly amount based on employee classification or base compensation to the AEPF.

See “Note 10 – Subsequent Events” for a summary of the amendment to the Company’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1547 (“IBEW”) and the expected effect of the amendment on the Company’s obligation regarding payments to the AEPF and its defined contribution plan beginning in 2013.

Defined Benefit Plan

The Company has a legacy defined benefit plan that covers certain employees previously employed by Century Telephone Enterprise, Inc. (“CenturyTel Plan”). This plan was transferred to the Company in connection with the acquisition of CenturyTel, Inc.’s Alaska properties, whereby assets and liabilities of the CenturyTel Plan were transferred to the ACS Retirement Plan on September 1, 1999.

The following table presents the net periodic pension expense for the ACS Retirement Plan for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2012 and 2011:

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Interest cost	$	179		$	187		$	466		$	562
Expected return on plan assets		(174	)		(213	)		(440	)		(639	)
Amortization of loss		199			183			541			550
Net periodic pension expense	$	204		$	157		$	567		$	473