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Benefit Plans
3 Months Ended
Apr. 01, 2012
Benefit Plans [Abstract]  
Benefit Plans

18. Benefit Plans

Pension Plans

Retirement benefits under the two Company-sponsored pension plans are based on the employee’s length of service, average compensation over the five consecutive years that give the highest average compensation and average Social Security taxable wage base during the 35-year period before reaching Social Security retirement age. Contributions to the plans are based on the projected unit credit actuarial funding method and are limited to the amounts currently deductible for income tax purposes. On February 22, 2006, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an amendment to the principal Company-sponsored pension plan to cease further benefit accruals under the plan effective June 30, 2006.

The components of net periodic pension cost were as follows:

 

                 
    First Quarter  
In Thousands   2012     2011  

Service cost

  $ 28     $ 25  

Interest cost

    3,124       3,085  

Expected return on plan assets

    (2,973     (2,922

Amortization of prior service cost

    5       4  

Recognized net actuarial loss

    693       518  

Net periodic pension cost

  $ 877     $ 710  

The Company contributed $13.7 million to its Company-sponsored pension plans during Q1 2012. The Company has made additional payments of $2.1 million subsequent to the end of Q1 2012.

 

Postretirement Benefits

The Company provides postretirement benefits for a portion of its current employees. The Company recognizes the cost of postretirement benefits, which consist principally of medical benefits, during employees’ periods of active service. The Company does not pre-fund these benefits and has the right to modify or terminate certain of these benefits in the future.

The components of net periodic postretirement benefit cost were as follows:

 

                 
    First Quarter  
In Thousands   2012     2011  

Service cost

  $ 316     $ 242  

Interest cost

    781       708  

Amortization of unrecognized transitional assets

          (5

Recognized net actuarial loss

    613       530  

Amortization of prior service cost

    (379     (429

Net periodic postretirement benefit cost

  $ 1,331     $ 1,046  

401(k) Savings Plan

The Company provides a 401(k) Savings Plan for substantially all of its full-time employees who are not part of collective bargaining agreements. The Company matched the first 3% of participants’ contributions for 2011. The Company maintained the option to increase the matching contributions an additional 2%, for a total of 5%, based on the financial results for 2011. The 2% matching contributions were accrued in each quarter during 2011 for a total accrual of $2.8 million. Based on the Company’s financial results, the Company decided to increase the matching contributions for the additional 2% for the entire year of 2011. The Company made this additional contribution payment for 2011 in Q1 2012.

During Q1 2012, the Company decided to change the Company’s matching from fixed to discretionary and no longer automatically matches the first 3% of participants’ contributions. The Company maintains the option to make matching contributions for eligible participants of up to 5% based on the Company’s financial results for 2012 and future years.

The total expense for this benefit, using an estimate for the 5% matching contributions in Q1 2012, was $2.1 million in both Q1 2012 and Q1 2011.

Multi-Employer Benefits

The Company entered into a new agreement in the third quarter of 2008 after one of its collective bargaining contracts expired in July 2008. The new agreement allowed the Company to freeze its liability to Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan (“Central States”), a multi-employer defined benefit pension fund, while preserving the pension benefits previously earned by the employees. As a result of freezing the Company’s liability to Central States, the Company recorded a charge of $13.6 million in 2008. The Company paid $3.0 million in 2008 to the Southern States Savings and Retirement Plan (“Southern States”) under the agreement to

freeze the Central States liability. The remaining $10.6 million was the present value amount, using a discount rate of 7% that will be paid to Central States over the next 20 years and was recorded in other liabilities. Including the $3.0 million paid to Southern States in 2008, the Company has paid $6.2 million from the fourth quarter of 2008 through Q1 2012 and will pay approximately $1 million annually over the next 17 years.