Note 6 - Retirement Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

. Retirement Plans

We sponsor and in some cases contribute to defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans covering substantially all of our full-time employees. Our defined benefit pension plans are the Gray Television, Inc. Retirement Plan (the “Gray Pension Plan”) as well as two plans assumed when we acquired the related businesses in prior years. Effective July 1, 2015, monthly plan benefits under the Gray Pension Plan were frozen and no longer increase after June 30, 2015, therefore all three of our defined benefit pension plans are frozen plans.

The Gray Television, Inc. Capital Accumulation Plan (“the Capital Accumulation Plan”) is a defined contribution plan intended to meet the requirements of section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Effective beginning on July 1, 2015, employer contributions under the Capital Accumulation Plan include matching cash contributions at a rate of 100% of the first 3% of each employee’s salary deferral, and 50% of the next 2% of each employee’s salary deferral. In addition, the Company, at its discretion, may make an additional profit sharing contribution, based on annual Company performance, to those employees who meet certain criteria.

The following table provides the components of net periodic benefit cost for our pension plans for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended					Nine Months Ended
	September 30,					September 30,
	2015		2014			2015			2014
Service cost	$	-	$	1,279		$	3,116		$	3,886
Interest cost		-		1,099			4,448			3,336
Expected return on plan assets		-		(1,123	)		(5,114	)		(3,410	)
Loss amortization		-		263			1,740			799
Net periodic benefit cost	$	-	$	1,518		$	4,190		$	4,611

During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2015, we contributed $3.9 million to our pension plans. During the remainder of the year ending December 31, 2015, we expect to contribute an additional $1.3 million to our pension plans. For the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, our contributions to our Capital Accumulation Plan were $1.0 million and $0, respectively. We estimate that our contributions to the Capital Accumulation Plan for the remainder of the year ending December 31, 2015 will be approximately $0.9 million.