<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?><InstanceReport xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"><Version>2.4.0.8</Version><ReportLongName>1090 - Disclosure - EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS</ReportLongName><DisplayLabelColumn>true</DisplayLabelColumn><ShowElementNames>false</ShowElementNames><RoundingOption /><HasEmbeddedReports>false</HasEmbeddedReports><Columns><Column FlagID="0"><Id>1</Id><IsAbstractGroupTitle>false</IsAbstractGroupTitle><LabelSeparator>

</LabelSeparator><CurrencyCode /><FootnoteIndexer /><hasSegments>false</hasSegments><hasScenarios>false</hasScenarios><MCU><KeyName /><CurrencySymbol /><contextRef><ContextID>D2013Q2YTD</ContextID><EntitySchema>http://www.sec.gov/CIK</EntitySchema><EntityValue>0000355429</EntityValue><PeriodDisplayName /><PeriodType>duration</PeriodType><PeriodStartDate>2013-01-01T00:00:00</PeriodStartDate><PeriodEndDate>2013-06-30T00:00:00</PeriodEndDate><Segments /><Scenarios /></contextRef><UPS /><CurrencyCode /><OriginalCurrencyCode /></MCU><CurrencySymbol /><Labels><Label Key="CalendarSupplement" Id="0" Label="6 Months Ended" /><Label Key="Calendar" Id="1" Label="Jun. 30, 2013" /></Labels></Column></Columns><Rows><Row FlagID="0"><Id>1</Id><IsAbstractGroupTitle>true</IsAbstractGroupTitle><LabelSeparator>

</LabelSeparator><Level>1</Level><ElementName>us-gaap_PensionAndOtherPostretirementBenefitExpenseAbstract</ElementName><ElementPrefix>us-gaap_</ElementPrefix><IsBaseElement>true</IsBaseElement><BalanceType>na</BalanceType><PeriodType>duration</PeriodType><IsReportTitle>false</IsReportTitle><IsSegmentTitle>false</IsSegmentTitle><IsCalendarTitle>false</IsCalendarTitle><IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow>false</IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow><IsEquityAdjustmentRow>false</IsEquityAdjustmentRow><IsBeginningBalance>false</IsBeginningBalance><IsEndingBalance>false</IsEndingBalance><IsReverseSign>false</IsReverseSign><FootnoteIndexer /><Cells><Cell FlagID="0" ContextID="" UnitID=""><Id>1</Id><IsNumeric>false</IsNumeric><IsRatio>false</IsRatio><DisplayZeroAsNone>false</DisplayZeroAsNone><NumericAmount>0</NumericAmount><RoundedNumericAmount>0</RoundedNumericAmount><NonNumbericText /><FootnoteIndexer /><CurrencyCode /><CurrencySymbol /><IsIndependantCurrency>false</IsIndependantCurrency><ShowCurrencySymbol>false</ShowCurrencySymbol><DisplayDateInUSFormat>false</DisplayDateInUSFormat></Cell></Cells><ElementDataType>xbrli:stringItemType</ElementDataType><SimpleDataType>string</SimpleDataType><IsTotalLabel>false</IsTotalLabel><UnitID>0</UnitID><Label>EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS</Label></Row><Row FlagID="0"><Id>2</Id><IsAbstractGroupTitle>false</IsAbstractGroupTitle><LabelSeparator>

</LabelSeparator><Level>2</Level><ElementName>us-gaap_PensionAndOtherPostretirementBenefitsDisclosureTextBlock</ElementName><ElementPrefix>us-gaap_</ElementPrefix><IsBaseElement>true</IsBaseElement><BalanceType>na</BalanceType><PeriodType>duration</PeriodType><IsReportTitle>false</IsReportTitle><IsSegmentTitle>false</IsSegmentTitle><IsCalendarTitle>false</IsCalendarTitle><IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow>false</IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow><IsEquityAdjustmentRow>false</IsEquityAdjustmentRow><IsBeginningBalance>false</IsBeginningBalance><IsEndingBalance>false</IsEndingBalance><IsReverseSign>false</IsReverseSign><PreferredLabelRole>terseLabel</PreferredLabelRole><FootnoteIndexer /><Cells><Cell FlagID="0" ContextID="D2013Q2YTD" UnitID=""><Id>1</Id><IsNumeric>false</IsNumeric><IsRatio>false</IsRatio><DisplayZeroAsNone>false</DisplayZeroAsNone><NumericAmount>0</NumericAmount><RoundedNumericAmount>0</RoundedNumericAmount><NonNumbericText>&lt;div style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times New Roman;"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="2"&gt;9.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-SIZE: 3pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="2"&gt;EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;Components of the net periodic benefit cost of the Company&amp;#8217;s defined benefit pension plan and unfunded excess benefit plan are as follows:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table style="text-align:left;WIDTH: 89.34%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.4in;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="89%"&gt;

&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 25.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="25%" colspan="5"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;For&amp;#160;The&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 25.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="25%" colspan="5"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;For&amp;#160;The&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 25.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="25%" colspan="5"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;Three&amp;#160;Months&amp;#160;Ended&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 25.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="25%" colspan="5"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;Six&amp;#160;Months&amp;#160;Ended&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 25.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="25%" colspan="5"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;June&amp;#160;30,&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 25.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="25%" colspan="5"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;June&amp;#160;30,&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;2013&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;2012&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;2013&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;2012&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 53.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="53%" colspan="11"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold;" size="1"&gt;(Dollars&amp;#160;In&amp;#160;Thousands)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="center"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: -10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;Service cost &amp;#8212; benefits earned during the period&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.46%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;$&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 9.74%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="9%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;2,708&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.46%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;$&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 9.74%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="9%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;2,561&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.46%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;$&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 9.74%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="9%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;5,416&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.46%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;$&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 9.74%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="9%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;5,122&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: -10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;Interest cost on projected benefit obligation&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;2,553&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;2,604&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;5,106&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;5,208&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: -10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;Expected return on plan assets&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;(2,759&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;(2,673&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;(5,518&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;(5,346&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: -10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;Amortization of prior service cost/(credit)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;(95&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;(95&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;(190&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;(190&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: -10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 10pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;Amortization of actuarial losses&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;2,729&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;2,175&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;5,458&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 11.2%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="11%" colspan="2"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;4,350&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND: #cceeff; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" bgcolor="#CCEEFF" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr style="padding:0;"&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 42.36%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="42%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: -10pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 20pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;Total benefit cost&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 2.25pt double; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.46%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;$&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 2.25pt double; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 9.74%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="9%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;5,136&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 2.25pt double; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.46%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;$&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 2.25pt double; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 9.74%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="9%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;4,572&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 2.25pt double; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.46%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;$&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 2.25pt double; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 9.74%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="9%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;10,272&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 2.8%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="2%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 2.25pt double; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.46%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;$&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 2.25pt double; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 9.74%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="9%"&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="right"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;9,144&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; WIDTH: 1.64%; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in;" valign="bottom" width="1%"&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;During the six months ended June&amp;#160;30, 2013, the Company contributed $2.3 million to its defined benefit pension plan for the 2013 plan year. During July&amp;#160;of 2013, the Company contributed $2.3 million to the defined benefit pension plan for the 2013 plan year. The Company will continue to make contributions in future periods as necessary to at least satisfy minimum funding requirements. The Company may also make additional contributions in future periods to maintain an adjusted funding target attainment percentage (&amp;#8220;AFTAP&amp;#8221;) of at least 80%.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;In July&amp;#160;of 2012, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font style="POSITION: relative; FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; TOP: -3pt;" size="1"&gt;st&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;&amp;#160;Century Act (&amp;#8220;MAP-21&amp;#8221;), which includes pension funding stabilization provisions, was signed into law. These provisions establish an interest rate corridor which is designed to stabilize the segment rates used to determine funding requirements from the effects of interest rate volatility. The funding stabilization provisions of MAP-21 will reduce the Company&amp;#8217;s minimum required defined benefit plan contributions for the 2012 and 2013 plan year. The Company is evaluating the impact this change will have on funding requirements in future years.&amp;#160; Since the funding stabilization provisions of MAP-21 do not apply for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (&amp;#8220;PBGC&amp;#8221;) reporting purposes, the Company may also make additional contributions in future periods to maintain an 80% funded status for PBGC reporting purposes.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="TEXT-INDENT: 36.7pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;"&gt;&lt;font style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt;" size="2"&gt;In addition to pension benefits, the Company provides life insurance benefits to eligible retirees and limited healthcare benefits to eligible retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare. For a closed group of retirees over age&amp;#160;65, the Company provides a prescription drug benefit. The cost of these plans for the six months ended June&amp;#160;30, 2013, was immaterial to the Company&amp;#8217;s financial statements.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</NonNumbericText><FootnoteIndexer /><CurrencyCode /><CurrencySymbol /><IsIndependantCurrency>false</IsIndependantCurrency><ShowCurrencySymbol>false</ShowCurrencySymbol><DisplayDateInUSFormat>false</DisplayDateInUSFormat></Cell></Cells><ElementDataType>nonnum:textBlockItemType</ElementDataType><SimpleDataType>na</SimpleDataType><ElementDefenition>The entire disclosure for pension and other postretirement benefits.</ElementDefenition><ElementReferences>Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Accounting Standards Codification

 -Topic 715

 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&amp;trid=2235017



Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Implementation Guide (Q and A)

 -Number FAS88

 -Paragraph 63

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 132R

 -Paragraph 5, 6, 7, 8

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF)

 -Number 03-2

 -Paragraph 8

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 158

 -Paragraph 7, 21, 22

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 87

 -Paragraph 264

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 106

 -Paragraph 518

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 132R

 -Paragraph 5

 -Subparagraph b

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 132R

 -Paragraph 5

 -Subparagraph a

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 10: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 132R

 -Paragraph 5

 -Subparagraph h

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 11: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 132R

 -Paragraph 5

 -Subparagraph q

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 12: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name FASB Staff Position (FSP)

 -Number FAS106-2

 -Paragraph 20, 21, 22

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 13: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher AICPA

 -Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)

 -Number 30

 -Paragraph 26

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 14: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

 -Publisher FASB

 -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

 -Number 132R

 -Paragraph 8

 -Subparagraph m

 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



</ElementReferences><IsTotalLabel>false</IsTotalLabel><UnitID>0</UnitID><Label>EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS</Label></Row></Rows><Footnotes /><IsEquityReport>false</IsEquityReport><ReportName>EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS</ReportName><MonetaryRoundingLevel>UnKnown</MonetaryRoundingLevel><SharesRoundingLevel>UnKnown</SharesRoundingLevel><PerShareRoundingLevel>UnKnown</PerShareRoundingLevel><ExchangeRateRoundingLevel>UnKnown</ExchangeRateRoundingLevel><HasCustomUnits>true</HasCustomUnits><IsEmbedReport>false</IsEmbedReport><IsMultiCurrency>false</IsMultiCurrency><ReportType>Sheet</ReportType><RoleURI>http://www.protective.com/role/DisclosureEmployeeBenefitPlans</RoleURI><NumberOfCols>1</NumberOfCols><NumberOfRows>2</NumberOfRows></InstanceReport>
