Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

The components of net periodic pension cost for both plans are as follows:



	(In thousands) Years Ended December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Service cost	$	531		$	531		$	785
Interest cost	1,329			1,367			1,350
Expected return on plan assets	(1,530		)	(1,482		)	(1,495		)
Amortization of actuarial losses	810			762			887
Net periodic pension cost	$	1,140		$	1,178		$	1,527

Reclassification out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The components of the reclassifications of net actuarial losses from accumulated other comprehensive loss to net income for 2017 were as follows:



	(In thousands) Year Ended December 31,
	2017
Amortization of actuarial loss - total before tax ⁽¹⁾	$	810
Tax benefit	(302		)
Net of tax	$	508


(1)	The amortization expense is included in the computation of periodic pension cost and is a decrease to net income upon reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive loss.

Obligation and Funded Status of Defined Benefit Pension Plan and Retirement Plan

The obligations, fair value of plan assets, and funded status of both plans are as follows:



	(In thousands) December 31,
	2017			2016
Change in benefit obligation⁽¹⁾
Beginning benefit obligation (January 1)	$	33,154		$	31,510
Service cost	531			531
Interest cost	1,329			1,367
Actuarial loss	2,449			1,132
Benefits paid	(1,461		)	(1,386		)
Ending benefit obligation (December 31)	$	36,002		$	33,154
Change in plan assets
Beginning fair value of plan assets (January 1)	$	22,015		$	19,933
Return on assets	3,481			1,551
Employer contribution	1,611			1,917
Benefits paid	(1,461		)	(1,386		)
Ending fair value of plan assets (December 31)	$	25,646		$	22,015
Funded status (underfunded)	$	(10,356	)	$	(11,139	)
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet
Current liabilities	$	560		$	544
Non-current liabilities	$	9,796		$	10,595
Unrecognized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss
Beginning unrecognized loss, before tax (January 1)	$	9,220		$	8,919
Amortization	(810		)	(762		)
Liability loss	2,449			1,132
Asset gain	(1,951		)	(69		)
Ending unrecognized loss, before tax (December 31)	8,908			9,220
Tax impact	(3,309		)	(3,425		)
Unrecognized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax	$	5,599		$	5,795


(1)	Projected benefit obligation equals the accumulated benefit obligation for the plans.

Company's Pension Plan Asset Allocation, by Asset Category



	(In thousands) Year Ended December 31, 2017
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash and cash equivalents	$	135	$	—	$	—	$	135
Fixed income securities	3,494		—		—		3,494
Equities⁽¹⁾	1,625		—		—		1,625
Other investments	910		—		—		910
Total plan assets at fair value	$	6,164	$	—	$	—	6,164
Pooled funds							19,482
Total fair value of plan assets							$	25,646



	(In thousands) Year Ended December 31, 2016
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash and cash equivalents	$	366	$	—	$	—	$	366
Fixed income securities	3,468		—		—		3,468
Equities⁽¹⁾	1,611		—		—		1,611
Other investments	760		—		—		760
Total plan assets at fair value	$	6,205	$	—	$	—	6,205
Pooled funds							15,810
Total fair value of plan assets							$	22,015


(1)	Represents mutual funds and commingled accounts which invest primarily in equities, but may also hold fixed income securities, cash and other investments. Commingled funds with publicly quoted prices and actively traded are classified as Level 1 investments.

Our Pension Plan asset allocations at December 31, 2017 and 2016, by asset category, were as follows:



	December 31,
	2017		2016
Equity securities	70	%	65	%
Cash and equivalents	1	%	2	%
Debt securities	29	%	33	%
Total⁽¹⁾	100	%	100	%


(1)	Our overall investment strategy is to achieve an asset allocation within the following ranges to achieve an appropriate rate of return relative to risk.



Cash	0-5%
Fixed income securities	15-75%
Equities	30-80%

Weighted Average Assumptions Used to Determine Net Periodic Benefit Cost

The assumptions used to compute the fair value of stock option grants under the Stock Incentive Plans for years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 were as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Risk-free interest rate	1.75	%	1.20	%	1.13	%
Expected volatility	50.37	%	51.79	%	53.72	%
Expected dividends	—		—		—
Expected term (in months)	48		48		47

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net periodic benefit costs under the two plans were as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Discount rate used to determine pension expense
Pension Plan	4.18	%	4.55	%	4.25	%
LaBarge Retirement Plan	3.75	%	4.00	%	3.70	%

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations under the two plans were as follows:



	December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Discount rate used to determine value of obligations
Pension Plan	3.64	%	4.18	%	4.55	%
LaBarge Retirement Plan	3.40	%	3.75	%	4.00	%
Long-term rate of return - Pension Plan only	7.00	%	7.50	%	7.50	%

Expected Future Benefit Payments Under Pension Plans

The following benefit payments under both plans, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid:



	(In thousands)
	Pension Plan		LaBarge Retirement Plan
2018	$	1,178	$	561
2019	1,212		546
2020	1,288		528
2021	1,365		506
2022	1,453		482
2023 - 2027	8,246		2,022