EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

3 Months Ended

Jul. 21, 2012

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The Company maintains a qualified, noncontributory pension plan that covers all full-time United States employees meeting certain age and service requirements.  The plan provides pension benefits based on an employee’s length of service and the average compensation earned from the later of the hire date or January 1, 1998, to the retirement date.  On February 3, 2004, the Company amended its pension plan to implement a freeze of future benefit accruals under the plan, except for those employees with ten years of service and who had attained age 50 at April 1, 2004, who were grandfathered and whose benefits continued to accrue.  Effective February 20, 2009, the Company amended its pension plan to implement a freeze of future benefit accruals for the remaining grandfathered participants.  The Company’s funding policy is to contribute annually at least the minimum amount required by government funding standards, but not more than is tax deductible.  The Company made a pension contribution in April 2012 with respect to fiscal 2012 and will be evaluating its requirements for further contributions during fiscal 2012. Plan assets consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, fixed income securities, domestic and international equity securities and exchange traded funds.

Beginning in fiscal 2012, net unrecognized actuarial loss for the pension plan will be recognized in earnings over the estimated remaining life of inactive participants under the plan, which now comprises the vast majority of plan participants as a result of retirements and workforce reductions that have occurred in the normal course.

The Company also maintains a noncontributory defined benefit plan providing supplemental retirement benefits for certain current and former key executives.  The cost of providing these benefits is accrued over the remaining expected service lives of the active plan participants.  The supplemental retirement plan is unfunded and as such does not have a specific investment policy or long-term rate of return assumption.  Certain assets previously used to finance these future obligations consisted of investments in a Rabbi Trust.  On July 12, 2011, the Company liquidated the investments held in the Rabbi Trust for $760,000.  Remaining obligations related to current and former key executives will be funded through the Company’s normal operating cash flows.

The following tables set forth the applicable components of net periodic benefit cost for the defined benefit plans:

	12 Weeks Ended
in thousands	Pension Plan						Supplemental Retirement Plan
	July 21, 2012			July 23, 2011			July 21, 2012		July 23, 2011
Components of net periodic benefit costs:
Interest cost	$	721		$	710		$	18	$	18
Expected return on plan assets	(766		)	(738		)	—		—
Amortization of net loss (gain)	146			386			—		(12		)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	101		$	358		$	18	$	6
	24 Weeks Ended
in thousands	Pension Plan						Supplemental Retirement Plan
	July 21, 2012			July 23, 2011			July 21, 2012		July 23, 2011
Components of net periodic benefit costs:
Interest cost	$	1,442		$	1,421		$	35	$	36
Expected return on plan assets	(1,532		)	(1,476		)	—		—
Amortization of net loss (gain)	293			772			—		(24		)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	203		$	717		$	35	$	12

The Company contributed $1.1 million to its pension plan in the 24 weeks ended July 21, 2012, and will be evaluating its requirements for further contributions during fiscal 2012.  Future contributions to the pension plan will be dependent upon legislation, future changes in discount rates and the earnings performance of plan assets.