Employee Retirement and Pension Benefits

9 Months Ended

Sep. 28, 2019

Employee Retirement and Pension Benefits

U.S. Defined Benefit Pension Plan – Certain U.S. hourly employees participate in our defined benefit pension plan. The plan is not open to new employees. Pension expense, as recorded in the accompanying unaudited consolidated statements of operations, is determined by using spot rate assumptions made on January 1 of each year as summarized below:



	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
(amounts in thousands)	September 28, 2019			September 29, 2018			September 28, 2019			September 29, 2018
Components of pension benefit expense - U.S. benefit plan:
Administrative cost	$	1,250		$	1,223		$	3,750		$	2,873
Interest cost	3,725			3,300			11,175			10,000
Expected return on plan assets	(4,650		)	(5,200		)	(13,950		)	(14,250		)
Amortization of net actuarial pension loss	2,225			2,325			6,675			8,325
Pension benefit expense	$	2,550		$	1,648		$	7,650		$	6,948

During the three and nine months ended September 28, 2019, we made required contributions to our U.S. defined benefit pension plan or (“the Plan”) of $3.1 million and $6.1 million, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 29, 2018, we made required contributions to the Plan of $1.4 million and $2.7 million, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 28, 2019, we made voluntary contributions of $0.1 million. We did not make any voluntary contributions during the three and nine months ended September 29, 2018. During fiscal year 2019, we expect to make additional cash contributions to the Plan of approximately $1.6 million.