Employee and Retiree Benefit Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee and Retiree Benefit Plans

Employee and Retiree Benefit Plans

The Company has defined benefit pension plans that are principally noncontributory and cover most full-time employees.  All pension plans are funded except for the U.S. and Canadian nonqualified supplemental plan and the U.S. director’s plan.  All U.S. tax qualified plans meet the funding requirements of federal laws and regulations.  Contributions to foreign plans are based on local laws and tax regulations.  The Company also sponsors health care and life insurance benefit plans, which are not funded, that cover most retired U.S. employees.  The health care benefits are contributory; the life insurance benefits are noncontributory.

The table that follows provides the components of net periodic benefit expense for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	Pension Benefits					Other Postretirement Benefits
(Thousands of dollars)	2020			2019		2020	2019
Service cost	$	2,166		2,062		447	420
Interest cost	5,791			7,151		794	945
Expected return on plan assets	(6,344		)	(6,460	)	—	—
Amortization of prior service cost (credit)	183			247		—	(98	)
Recognized actuarial loss	4,269			3,514		—	—
Net periodic benefit expense	$	6,065		6,514		1,241	1,267

The components of net periodic benefit expense, other than the service cost component, are included in the line item “Interest and other income (loss)” in Consolidated Statements of Operations.

During the three-month period ended March 31, 2020, the Company made contributions of $7.3 million to its defined benefit pension and postretirement benefit plans.  Remaining funding in 2020 for the Company’s defined benefit pension and postretirement plans is anticipated to be $32.4 million.