Pension and Employee Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Pension and Employee Benefit Plans

12. Pension and Employee Benefit Plans

We sponsor several non-contributory defined benefit pension plans for certain union employees. All plans are funded in accordance with the funding requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

We also sponsor a postretirement health care plan for office employees retired before January 1, 1990. The plan allowed retirees who attained the age of 65 to elect the type of coverage desired.

Retirement and health care plan expense is based on valuations performed by plan actuaries as of the beginning of each fiscal year. The components of the expense consisted of the following:

(Table only in thousands)	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2015			2014			2015			2014
Pension plan:
Service cost	$	58		$	50		$	175		$	150
Interest cost		354			357			1,060			1,071
Expected return on plan assets		(502	)		(488	)		(1,507	)		(1,464	)
Amortization of net actuarial loss		65			44			194			132
Net periodic benefit gain	$	(25	)	$	(37	)	$	(78	)	$	(111	)
Health care plan:
Interest cost	$	1		$	1		$	4		$	3
Amortization of loss (gain)		2			(1	)		5			(3	)
Net periodic benefit cost (gain)	$	3		$	—		$	9		$	—

We made contributions to our defined benefit plans during the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 totaling $0.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively. We anticipate contributing $0.2 million to fund the pension plans and $25,000 for the retiree health care plan during the remainder of 2015. The unfunded liability of the plans of $10.7 million and $11.1 million as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, is included in Other Liabilities on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.