Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

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



	(In thousands) Years Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
Service cost	$	601		$	531		$	531
Interest cost	1,268			1,329			1,367
Expected return on plan assets	(1,784		)	(1,530		)	(1,482		)
Amortization of actuarial losses	743			810			762
Net periodic pension cost	$	828		$	1,140		$	1,178

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 2018 were as follows:



	(In thousands) Year Ended December 31,
	2018
Amortization of actuarial loss - total before tax ⁽¹⁾	$	743
Tax benefit	(173		)
Net of tax	$	570


(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,
	2018			2017
Change in benefit obligation⁽¹⁾
Beginning benefit obligation (January 1)	$	36,002		$	33,154
Service cost	601			531
Interest cost	1,268			1,329
Actuarial (gain) loss	(2,415		)	2,449
Benefits paid	(1,505		)	(1,461		)
Ending benefit obligation (December 31)	$	33,951		$	36,002
Change in plan assets
Beginning fair value of plan assets (January 1)	$	25,646		$	22,015
Return on assets	(1,951		)	3,481
Employer contribution	1,559			1,611
Benefits paid	(1,505		)	(1,461		)
Ending fair value of plan assets (December 31)	$	23,749		$	25,646
Funded status (underfunded)	$	(10,202	)	$	(10,356	)
Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet
Current liabilities	$	580		$	560
Non-current liabilities	$	9,622		$	9,796
Unrecognized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss
Beginning unrecognized loss, before tax (January 1)	$	8,908		$	9,220
Amortization	(743		)	(810		)
Liability (gain) loss	(2,415		)	2,449
Asset loss (gain)	3,735			(1,951		)
Ending unrecognized loss, before tax (December 31)	9,485			8,908
Tax impact	(2,263		)	(3,309		)
Unrecognized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax	$	7,222		$	5,599


(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, 2018
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Cash and cash equivalents	$	153	$	—	$	—	$	153
Fixed income securities	3,647		—		—		3,647
Equities⁽¹⁾	1,475		—		—		1,475
Other investments	851		—		—		851
Total plan assets at fair value	$	6,126	$	—	$	—	6,126
Pooled funds							17,623
Total fair value of plan assets							$	23,749



	(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


(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, 2018 and 2017, by asset category, were as follows:



	December 31,
	2018		2017
Equity securities	57	%	70	%
Cash and equivalents	1	%	1	%
Debt securities	42	%	29	%
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, 2018, 2017, and 2016 were as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Risk-free interest rate	2.65	%	1.75	%	1.20	%
Expected volatility	53.66	%	50.37	%	51.79	%
Expected dividends	—		—		—
Expected term (in months)	36		48		48

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



	Years Ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Discount rate used to determine pension expense
Pension Plan	3.64	%	4.18	%	4.55	%
LaBarge Retirement Plan	3.40	%	3.75	%	4.00	%

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



	December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Discount rate used to determine value of obligations
Pension Plan	4.23	%	3.64	%	4.18	%
LaBarge Retirement Plan	4.00	%	3.40	%	3.75	%
Long-term rate of return - Pension Plan only	7.00	%	7.00	%	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
2019	$	1,206	$	581
2020	1,282		561
2021	1,378		538
2022	1,479		512
2023	1,522		483
2024 - 2028	8,741		1,991