Employee benefit plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Employee benefit plans

Employee benefit plans

Note 11 – Employee benefit plans:

The components of net periodic defined benefit pension cost are presented in the table below.

	Three months ended				Nine months ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2022		2023		2022		2023
	(In thousands)
Interest cost	$	297	$	393	$	891	$	1,255
Expected return on plan assets		(392)		(321)		(1,176)		(1,087)
Recognized actuarial losses		373		358		1,119		1,074
Total	$	278	$	430	$	834	$	1,242

We currently expect our 2023 contributions to our defined benefit pension plans to be approximately $1.2 million.

We previously maintained a defined benefit pension plan in the U.K. related to a former disposed U.K. business unit. In accordance with applicable U.K. pension regulations, we entered into an agreement in March 2021 for the bulk annuity purchase, or “buy-in”, with a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension plans. Following the buy-in, individual policies replaced the bulk annuity policy in a “buy-out” which was completed as of May 1, 2023. The buy-out was completed with existing plan funds. At the completion of the buy-out, the assets and liabilities of the U.K. pension plan were removed from our Consolidated Financial Statements and a non-cash pension plan termination loss of $4.9 million was recognized in the second quarter of 2023.