Note 7 - Employee Benefit Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

7.

   

Employee Benefit Plans

We sponsor defined benefit pension plans covering substantially all U.S. employees.  Net periodic pension cost for the plans consisted of the following for the

three

months ended

March

 

31,

2017

and

2016

(in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2017			2016
Service cost	$	1,196		$	1,077
Interest cost		1,339			1,307
Expected return on plan assets		(1,462	)		(1,325	)
Amortization of prior service benefit		(84	)		(84	)
Amortization of net loss		1,033			1,093
Net periodic benefit cost	$	2,022		$	2,068

In

April

2017,

we contributed

$1.2

million in cash to our defined benefit plans, and expect to contribute an additional

$2.8

million in cash or shares of our common stock to our defined benefit plans in

2017.

We expect to contribute approximately

$0.4

million to our unfunded supplemental executive retirement plan during

2017.