Employee Post-Retirement Benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Employee Post-Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Post-Retirement Benefits

Note 10.  Employee Post-Retirement Benefits

HickoryTech provides post-retirement health care and life insurance benefits for eligible employees. We are currently not funding these post-retirement benefits, but have accrued these liabilities. We are required to recognize the funded status of our post-retirement benefit plans on our consolidated balance sheet and recognize as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, the gains or losses and prior service costs or credit that arise during the period but are not recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost. Employees hired on or after January 1, 2007 are not eligible for post-retirement health care and life insurance benefits.

	Three Months Ended
	March 31
(Dollars in thousands)	2013			2012
Components of net periodic benefit cost
Service cost	$	67		$	150
Interest cost		120			188
Expected return on plan assets		-			-
Amortization of transition obligation		-			15
Amortization of prior service credits		(236	)		(19	)
Recognized actuarial loss		120			135
Net periodic benefit cost	$	71		$	469