NOTE 6 — PENSION PLANS

We offer defined benefit pension plans, defined contribution pension plans, as well as several unfunded health care benefit plans primarily for certain of our retired employees. The following tables provide the retirement-related benefit plans’ impact on income before income taxes for the three and nine month periods ended February 28, 2015 and 2014:


	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended
	February 28,						February 28,
Pension Benefits	2015			2014			2015			2014
(In thousands)
Service cost	$	7,604		$	6,764		$	1,231		$	1,109
Interest cost		5,046			4,510			1,891			1,799
Expected return on plan assets		(6,102	)		(5,190	)		(2,296	)		(2,096	)
Amortization of:
Prior service cost		75			84			10			1
Net actuarial losses recognized		3,502			3,305			536			624

Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	10,125		$	9,473		$	1,372		$	1,437


	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended
	February 28,						February 28,
Postretirement Benefits	2015			2014			2015		2014
(In thousands)
Service cost	$	—		$	—		$	313	$	327
Interest cost		66			81			308		317
Amortization of:
Prior service (credit)		(62	)		(22	)
Net actuarial (gains) losses recognized		(34	)		(29	)		104		134

Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	(30	)	$	30		$	725	$	778


	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Nine Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	February 28,						February 28,
Pension Benefits	2015			2014			2015			2014
(In thousands)
Service cost	$	22,732		$	20,292		$	3,693		$	3,327
Interest cost		15,050			13,530			5,673			5,398
Expected return on plan assets		(18,170	)		(15,571	)		(6,888	)		(6,287	)
Amortization of:
Prior service cost		223			251			30			3
Net actuarial losses recognized		10,446			9,916			1,608			1,871

Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	30,281		$	28,418		$	4,116		$	4,312


	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Nine Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	February 28,						February 28,
Postretirement Benefits	2015			2014			2015		2014
(In thousands)
Service cost	$	—		$	—		$	939	$	981
Interest cost		198			243			924		951
Amortization of:
Prior service (credit)		(186	)		(66	)		—		—
Net actuarial (gains) losses recognized		(102	)		(87	)		312		401

Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	(90	)	$	90		$	2,175	$	2,333

We previously disclosed in our financial statements for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2014 that we expected to contribute approximately $53.1 million to our retirement plans in the U.S. and approximately $6.3 million to plans outside the U.S. during the current fiscal year. As of February 28, 2015, we expect to contribute an additional $0.2 million to the DayGlo pension plan for the period from January 1, 2015 through May 31, 2015.

We have determined that our postretirement medical plan provides prescription drug benefits that will qualify for the federal subsidy provided by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. For all groups of retirees, we have assumed that the subsidy will continue indefinitely. However, effective January 1, 2014, we changed our retiree medical offering to a Medicare Advantage Plan. Under the Medicare Advantage Plan, any Part D subsidy belongs to the insurance carrier. Our results reflect this change.