Pensions and Postretirement Benefits

9 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2014

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract]

Pensions and Postretirement Benefits [Text Block]

Pensions and Postretirement Benefits

Our net periodic pension expense (income) for the three and nine months endedAugust 31, 2014 and 2013 was comprised of the following (in thousands):

	Three months ended August 31,						Nine months ended August 31,
	2014			2013			2014			2013
Service costs incurred	$	1,516		$	2,606		$	7,609		$	7,812
Interest costs on projected benefit obligation	2,117			1,766			6,358			5,227
Expected return on plan assets	(2,088		)	(1,900		)	(6,312		)	(5,624		)
Amortization of prior service credit	(114		)	(336		)	(790		)	(1,008		)
Amortization of transitional obligation	11			—			33			—
Curtailment gain	(2,877		)	—			(2,877		)	—
Net periodic pension expense (income)	$	(1,435	)	$	2,136		$	4,021		$	6,407

Our net periodic postretirement expense was comprised of the following for the three and nine months endedAugust 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

	Three months ended August 31,				Nine months ended August 31,
	2014		2013		2014		2013
Service costs incurred	$	4	$	6	$	12	$	17
Interest costs	103		100		309		300
Net periodic postretirement expense	$	107	$	106	$	321	$	317

Effective July 11, 2014, we discontinued future accruals to our U.S. Retirement Income Plan (U.S. RIP) and Supplemental Income Plan (SIP), which necessitated a remeasurement of our U.S. RIP obligation and resulted in a curtailment gain of $2.9 million that we recorded in the third quarter of 2014. In lieu of future accruals to the U.S. RIP and SIP, we will now provide an annual company non-elective contribution to the 401(k) accounts of affected eligible employees if they are active employees at the end of the calendar year.

In September 2014, we made a $10 million contribution to our U.S. RIP in order to increase plan funding and avoid certain additional variable rate premium costs.