NOTE 12 — 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.

Historically, we estimated the service and interest cost components of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit cost by applying a single weighted-average discount rate, derived from the yield curve used to measure the benefit obligation at the beginning of the period. During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, we elected to change our approach in estimating service and interest cost by applying the split discount rate approach. Under the split discount rate approach, we estimate service and interest cost by applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve used in the determination of the benefit obligation to the relevant projected cash flows. We made this change in order to more precisely measure our service and interest costs, and the split discount rate approach achieves this by improving the correlation between projected benefit cash flows and the corresponding spot yield curve rates. This change will not affect the measurement of our total benefit obligation at our annual measurement date, as the change in service and interest cost is completely offset by deferred actuarial (gains)/losses that will arise at the next annual measurement date. As this change is treated as a change in estimate, the impact is reflected in the first quarter of the current fiscal year and prospectively, and historical measurements of service and interest cost were not affected.

This change in estimate is anticipated to reduce our current year annual net periodic benefit expense by approximately $5.4 million for our U.S. Plans and by approximately $1.0 million for our non-U.S. plans. Accordingly, for the three months ended February 29, 2016, total service cost and interest cost for all plans was $9.6 million and $6.1 million, respectively, a reduction of $0.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively, as a result of implementing the new approach. For the nine months ended February 29, 2016, total service cost and interest cost for all plans was $28.7 million and $18.3 million, respectively, a reduction of $0.6 million and $4.2 million, respectively, as a result of implementing the new approach. This resulted in an increase in income from continuing operations and net income for the three months ended February 29, 2016 of approximately $1.6 million and $1.1 million, respectively, and an increase in both basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.01 for the third quarter of fiscal 2016. For the nine months ended February 29, 2016, this resulted in an increase in income from continuing operations and net income of approximately $4.8 million and $3.3 million, respectively, and an increase in both basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.02.

The following tables provide the retirement-related benefit plans’ impact on income before income taxes for the three and nine months ended February 29, 2016 and February 28, 2015:

	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended
	February 29,			February 28,			February 29,			February 28,
Pension Benefits	2016			2015			2016			2015
(In thousands)
Service cost	$	8,202		$	7,604		$	1,067		$	1,231
Interest cost		4,499			5,046			1,319			1,891
Expected return on plan assets		(6,437	)		(6,102	)		(1,978	)		(2,296	)
Amortization of:
Prior service cost		58			75						10
Net actuarial losses recognized		4,190			3,502			455			536
Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	10,512		$	10,125		$	863		$	1,372

	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended
	February 29,			February 28,			February 29,		February 28,
Postretirement Benefits	2016			2015			2016		2015
(In thousands)
Service cost	$	-		$	-		$	281	$	313
Interest cost		59			66			221		308
Amortization of:
Prior service (credit)		(62	)		(62	)
Net actuarial (gains) losses recognized					(34	)		61		104
Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	(3	)	$	(30	)	$	563	$	725

	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Nine Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	February 29,			February 28,			February 29,			February 28,
Pension Benefits	2016			2015			2016			2015
(In thousands)
Service cost	$	24,606		$	22,732		$	3,201		$	3,693
Interest cost		13,497			15,050			3,965			5,673
Expected return on plan assets		(19,311	)		(18,170	)		(5,944	)		(6,888	)
Amortization of:
Prior service cost		174			223						30
Net actuarial losses recognized		12,570			10,446			1,369			1,608
Settlement								91
Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	31,536		$	30,281		$	2,682		$	4,116

	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Nine Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	February 29,			February 28,			February 29,		February 28,
Postretirement Benefits	2016			2015			2016		2015
(In thousands)
Service cost	$	-		$	-		$	843	$	939
Interest cost		177			198			663		924
Amortization of:
Prior service (credit)		(186	)		(186	)
Net actuarial (gains) losses recognized					(102	)		183		312
Net Periodic Benefit Cost	$	(9	)	$	(90	)	$	1,689	$	2,175

Note that the information reflected above for the U.S. pension plans includes the Day-Glo plan as of its reconsolidation date of January 1, 2015.

We previously disclosed in our financial statements for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2015 that we expected to contribute approximately $32.0 million to our retirement plans in the U.S. and approximately $5.7 million to plans outside the U.S. during the current fiscal year. As of March 1, 2016, for tax planning purposes, we contributed an additional $3.8 million to the Retirement Plan in the U.S., which will increase our total expected U.S. contributions for the 2016 fiscal year to $35.8 million.