Employee Benefit Plans

Mattel and certain of its subsidiaries have qualified and nonqualified retirement plans covering substantially all employees of these companies, which are more fully described in Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements–Employee Benefit Plans" in its 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

A summary of the components of net periodic benefit cost for Mattel’s defined benefit pension plans is as follows:



	For the Three Months Ended						For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30, 2018			September 30, 2017			September 30, 2018			September 30, 2017
	(In thousands)
Service cost	$	1,014		$	1,198		$	3,206		$	3,441
Interest cost	4,494			4,479			13,691			13,370
Expected return on plan assets	(5,621		)	(5,768		)	(16,952		)	(17,253		)
Amortization of prior service cost	7			8			23			23
Recognized actuarial loss	2,125			1,823			6,648			5,464
Settlement loss	—			—			2,443			—
	$	2,019		$	1,740		$	9,059		$	5,045

A summary of the components of net periodic benefit cost for Mattel's postretirement benefit plans is as follows:



	For the Three Months Ended					For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30, 2018			September 30, 2017		September 30, 2018			September 30, 2017
	(In thousands)
Service credit	$	—		$	—	$	1		$	1
Interest cost	52			203		156			609
Amortization of prior service credit	(509		)	—		(1,528		)	—
Recognized actuarial (gain) loss	(80		)	37		(240		)	112
	$	(537	)	$	240	$	(1,611	)	$	722

In accordance with ASU 2017-07, Compensation-Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, which went into effect for interim and annual reporting periods beginning on January 1, 2018, Mattel's service cost component is recorded within operating income (loss), presented in the same line items as other employee compensation costs arising from employee services rendered in the period, while other components of net periodic pension cost and postretirement benefit cost are recorded outside of income from operations, presented in other non-operating expense, net. Prior period amounts have been retrospectively adjusted, which resulted in a reclassification of $0.5 million and $1.6 million of expense, net from other selling and administrative expenses to other non-operating expense, net for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, Mattel made cash contributions totaling approximately $17 million related to its defined benefit pension and postretirement benefit plans. During the remainder of 2018, Mattel expects to make additional cash contributions of approximately $3 million.