11. Pension Plan

The Company and certain subsidiaries have a noncontributory defined benefit retirement plan (the “Pension Plan”), covering approximately 20% of aggregate employees. Benefits are based on years of service and the employee’s average compensation for the highest five compensation years preceding retirement or termination.

Pension expense is composed of the following components included in cost of goods sold and selling, general, and administrative expenses in the Company’s consolidated statements of earnings (in thousands):

	Three months ended						Nine months ended
	November 30,						November 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
Components of net periodic benefit cost
Service cost	$	271		$	292		$	812		$	875
Interest cost		567			593			1,702			1,779
Expected return on plan assets		(948	)		(917	)		(2,845	)		(2,749	)
Amortization of:
Unrecognized net loss		510			671			1,531			2,012
Net periodic benefit cost	$	400		$	639		$	1,200		$	1,917

The Company is required to make contributions to the Pension Plan. These contributions are required under the minimum funding requirements of ERISA. Due to the enactment of the Highway and Transportation Funding Act (HATFA) in August 2014, plan sponsors can calculate the discount rate used to measure the Pension Plan liability using a 25-year average of interest rates plus or minus a corridor. The Company’s minimum required contribution to the Pension Plan is zero for the Pension Plan year ending February 28, 2018. However, the Company made a cash contribution to the Pension Plan of $3.0 million on December 28, 2017 for fiscal year 2018. The Company contributed $3.0 million to the Pension Plan during fiscal year 2017.