Retirement plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 30, 2017

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Retirement plans

Retirement plans

401(k) Plan

Employees of the Company, excluding employees of certain international subsidiaries, are eligible to participate in a defined contribution retirement plan, the Dunkin’ Brands 401(k) Retirement Plan (“401(k) Plan”), under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Under the 401(k) Plan, employees may contribute up to 80% of their pre-tax eligible compensation, not to exceed the annual limits set by the IRS. The 401(k) Plan allows the Company to match participants’ contributions in an amount determined at the sole discretion of the Company. The Company matched participants’ contributions during fiscal years 2017, 2016, and 2015, up to a maximum of 4% of the employee’s eligible compensation. Employer contributions totaled $3.4 million, $3.3 million, and $3.2 million for fiscal years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.

NQDC Plans

The Company also offers certain qualifying individuals, as defined by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), the ability to participate in the NQDC Plans. The NQDC Plans allow for pre-tax contributions of up to 50% of a participant’s base annual salary and other forms of compensation, as defined. The Company credits the amounts deferred with earnings and holds investments in company-owned life insurance policies to partially offset the Company’s liabilities under the NQDC Plans. The NQDC Plans liability, included in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets, was $13.5 million and $11.1 million at December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. As of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, total investments held for the NQDC Plans were $10.8 million and $9.3 million, respectively, and are included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets.

Canadian Pension Plan

The Company sponsored a contributory defined benefit pension plan in Canada, The Baskin-Robbins Employees’ Pension Plan (“Canadian Pension Plan”), which provided retirement benefits for the majority of its Canadian employees.

During fiscal year 2012, the Company’s board of directors approved a plan to close the Peterborough, Ontario, Canada manufacturing plant, where the majority of the Canadian Pension Plan participants were employed. As a result of the closure, the Company terminated the Canadian Pension Plan in fiscal year 2012, and the Financial Services Commission of Ontario approved the termination of the plan in fiscal year 2014. During fiscal year 2015, the Company completed the final settlement of the plan by funding the plan deficit and distributing substantially all plan assets through lump-sum distributions to participants and the purchase of annuities. The settlement of the Canadian Pension Plan resulted in the recognition of a loss of $4.1 million, which was reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss to general and administrative expenses, net during fiscal year 2015.