Retirement Plans

12 Months Ended

Apr. 02, 2011


14.	RETIREMENT PLANS

Defined Contribution Plans

We have a Savings Plus Plan that is a 401(k) plan that allows our U.S. employees to accumulate savings on a pre-tax basis. In addition, matching contributions are made to the Plan based upon pre-established rates. Our matching contributions amounted to approximately $3.3 million in 2011, $3.0 million in 2010, and $2.9 million in 2009. Upon Board approval, additional discretionary contributions can also be made. No discretionary contributions were made for the Savings Plan in fiscal year 2011, 2010, or 2009.

Some of our subsidiaries also have defined contribution plans, to which plan both the employee and the employer make contributions. The employer contributions to these plans totaled $1.8 million, $1.7 million, and $1.4 million in fiscal year 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively, of which $1.5 million, $1.4 million, and $1.2 million in fiscal year 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively, were contributed for our employees in Switzerland.

Defined Benefit Plans

ASC Topic 715, Compensation — Retirement Benefits, requires an employer to: (a) recognize in its statement of financial position an asset for a plan’s over-funded status or a liability for a plan’s under-funded status; (b) measure a plan’s assets and its obligations that determine its funded status as of the end of the employer’s fiscal year (with limited exceptions); and (c) recognize changes in the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan in the year in which the changes occur. Accordingly, the Company is required to report changes in its funded status in comprehensive income on its Statement of Stockholders’ Equity and Comprehensive Income.

Benefits under these plans are generally based on either career average or final average salaries and creditable years of service as defined in the plans. The annual cost for these plans is determined using the projected unit credit actuarial cost method that includes actuarial assumptions and estimates which are subject to change.

Some of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries have defined benefit pension plans covering substantially all full time employees at those subsidiaries. Net periodic benefit costs for the plans in the aggregate include the following components:


	April 2,			April 3,			March 28,
	2011			2010			2009
	(In thousands)

Service cost	$	667		$	512		$	539
Interest cost on benefit obligation		283			242			242
Expected (return)/loss on plan assets		(467	)		(289	)		946
Actuarial gain/(loss)		(48	)		223			(1,028	)
Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost		381			(68	)		(41	)
Amortization of unrecognized initial obligation		30			27			26

Totals	$	846		$	647		$	684

The activity under those defined benefit plans are as follows:


	April 2,			April 3,
	2011			2010
	(In thousands)

Change in Benefit Obligation:
Benefit Obligation, beginning of year	$	(7,949	)	$	(6,721	)
Service cost		(667	)		(512	)
Interest cost		(283	)		(242	)
Benefits paid		843			217
Actuarial (loss)/gain		102			(558	)
Currency translation		(674	)		(133	)

Benefit obligation, end of year	$	(8,628	)	$	(7,949	)

Change in Plan Assets:
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year	$	3,833		$	3,097
Company contributions		478			471
Benefits paid		(783	)		(176	)
Gain/(Loss) on plan assets		467			288
Currency translation		454			153

Fair value of Plan Assets, end of year	$	4,449		$	3,833

Funded Status	$	(4,178	)	$	(4,116	)
Unrecognized net actuarial loss/(gain)		341			785
Unrecognized initial obligation		(83	)		(117	)
Unrecognized prior service cost		171			180

Net amount recognized	$	(3,749	)	$	(3,268	)

One of the benefit plans is funded through assets of the Company. Accordingly that plan has no assets included in the information presented above. The total liability for this plan was $4.1 million and $3.7 million as of April 2, 2011 and April 3, 2010, respectively. The assets of the other plan were greater than the accumulated benefit obligation in fiscal year 2011 and 2010.

The accumulated benefit obligation for both plans was $3.9 million and $3.6 million for the year ended April 2, 2011 and April 3, 2010, respectively.

Amounts recognized as a component of other accrued liabilities on the balance sheet as of April 2, 2011 and April 3, 2010, under ASC Topic 715 totaled $3.7 million and $3.3 million, respectively.

The components of the change recorded in our accumulated other comprehensive income related to our defined benefit plans, net of tax, are as follows (in thousands):


Balance as of March 28, 2009	$	(511	)
Obligation at transition		28
Actuarial loss		(293	)
Prior service cost		(44	)

Balance as of April 3, 2010	$	(820	)
Obligation at transition		574
Actuarial loss		(50	)
Prior service cost		31

Balance as of April 2, 2011	$	(265	)

The weighted average rates used to determine the net periodic benefit costs were as follows:


	April 2,			April 3,			March 28,
	2011			2010			2009

Discount rate		5.30	%		5.20	%		4.50	%
Rate of increased salary levels		2.60	%		2.00	%		2.30	%
Expected long-term rate of return on assets		1.60	%		1.60	%		1.90	%

We have no other material obligation for post-retirement or post-employment benefits.

The Company’s investment policy for its pension plans is to balance risk and return through a diversified portfolio to reduce interest rate and market risk. Maturities are managed so that sufficient liquidity exists to meet immediate and future benefit payment requirements.

For the Company’s plan with assets, the asset allocation at the end of April 2, 2011 and April 3, 2010 year end by asset category are presented in the following table:


	April 2,			April 3,
	2011			2010

Plan Assets
Equity Securities		58.7	%		58.3	%
Debt Securities		41.3	%		41.7	%

Total		100.0	%		100.0	%

ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, provides guidance for reporting and measuring the plan assets of our defined benefit pension plan at fair value as of April 2, 2011. Using the same three- level valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements as described in Note 7, the categorization for the assets of the Company’s plan with assets is classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because the plan assets are primarily local market and global equity securities and local market bonds that are valued using prices quoted on the active market.

Expected benefit payments for both plans are estimated using the same assumptions used in determining the company’s benefit obligation at April 2, 2011. Benefit payments will depend on future employment and compensation levels, average years employed and average life spans, among other factors, and changes in any of these factors could significantly affect these estimated future benefit payments.

Estimated future benefit payments during the next five years and in the aggregate for the five fiscal years thereafter, are as follows (in thousands):


Expected Benefit Payments
Fiscal Year 2012	$	152
Fiscal Year 2013	$	199
Fiscal Year 2014	$	327
Fiscal Year 2015	$	196
Fiscal Year 2016	$	2,242

Fiscal Year 2017-2020	$	3,116

The Company contributions for fiscal year 2012 are expected to be consistent with our recent historical experience.