Components of Net Periodic Pension Benefit Cost

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Components of Net Periodic Pension Benefit Cost

Components of Net Periodic Pension Benefit Cost

Note G — Components of Net Periodic Pension Benefit Cost

Prior to January 1, 1999, we maintained a defined benefit pension plan for which most of our employees were eligible.  We elected to freeze benefits under this defined benefit pension plan as of December 31, 1998.

In 1994, we adopted a non-qualified, unfunded, supplemental pension plan covering certain employees, which provides for incremental pension payments so that total pension payments equal those amounts that would have been payable from our principal pension plan if it were not for limitations imposed by income tax regulations.  The benefits under this supplemental pension plan accrued after December 31, 1998 as if the principal pension plan had not been frozen.

We are not required to make and do not intend to make any contributions to our unfunded, supplemental pension plan in 2014 other than to the extent needed to cover benefit payments.  We expect benefit payments under this supplemental pension plan to total $1.6 million in 2014.

Effective April 1, 2014, we froze benefits under our unfunded, supplemental pension plan, which was accounted for as a curtailment of the plan in the second quarter of 2014.  The plan freeze results in a reduction of plan expense of $0.4 million over the remainder of 2014 and a reduction in the projected benefit obligation of $1.2 million.  This curtailment gain offsets the unrecognized loss held by the plan.  The remaining portion of the unrecognized loss will then be amortized over the average life expectancy of all participants.

Net pension cost for both plans included the following components:

	Three Months Ended September 30,
In thousands	2014			2013
Service cost	$	—		$	86
Interest cost	1,916			1,809
Expected return on plan assets	(2,109		)	(1,846		)
Amortization of prior service cost	—			—
Recognized actuarial loss	892			1,672
Net periodic benefit cost	$	699		$	1,721

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
In thousands	2014			2013
Service cost	$	100		$	257
Interest cost	5,771			5,428
Expected return on plan assets	(6,327		)	(5,537		)
Amortization of prior service cost	—			—
Recognized actuarial loss	2,734			5,015
Net periodic benefit cost	$	2,278		$	5,163

We made contributions of $4.4 million to our funded, frozen pension plan in the nine months ended September 30, 2014.  We do not plan to make additional contributions to this pension plan during the remainder of 2014.  These contributions to our funded, frozen pension plan are being made in order to satisfy the Pension Protection Act of 2006 minimum required contribution.