Retirement and Employee Benefits Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Retirement and Employee Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Retirement and Employee Benefits Plans

(12)PENSION PLAN AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

The Company has defined pension and postretirement benefit plans which cover substantially all of the Company's employees. Net periodic pension and other postretirement benefit costs include the following components for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

	Pension Benefits
	For the three months ended
	March 31,
	2012	2011
	(in thousands)
Service cost	$                 2,736	$                 2,331
Interest cost	1,013	917
Expected return on plan assets	(1,357)	(1,099)
Amortization of prior service cost	71	86
Amortization of net loss	305	214
Net periodic benefit cost	$                 2,768	$                 2,449
	Other Postretirement Benefits
	For the three months ended
	March 31,
	2012		2011
	(in thousands)
Service cost	$                    458		$                    338
Interest cost	100		63
Amortization of transition obligation	16		16
Amortization of prior service cost	3		4
Amortization of net loss	23		3
Net periodic benefit cost	$                    600		$                    424

The Company currently expects to contribute $16.2 million to its pension plans and $0.1 million to its postretirement benefit plan in 2012. As of March 31, 2012, the Company has contributed $3.0 million to the pension plans and less than $0.1 million to the postretirement benefit plan.

The Company maintains a non-qualified deferred compensation supplemental retirement savings plan ("Non-Qualified Plan") for certain key employees who may elect to defer and contribute a portion of their compensation, as permitted by the plan. Shares of the Company's common stock purchased under the terms of the Non-Qualified Plan are presented as treasury stock and totaled 100,970 shares at March 31, 2012 compared to 98,889 shares at December 31, 2011.