EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

9 Months Ended

Oct. 29, 2011

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 3 –EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Retirement Plans. The determination of the obligation and expense for Hancock’s defined benefit pension retirement plan and postretirement health care benefit plan is dependent on the Company’s selection of assumptions used by actuaries in calculation of those amounts.  Those assumptions are described in the Company’s 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and include the discount rate, the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, and the rates of increase in compensation and health care costs, in addition to other disclosures. Actual results that differ from the assumptions are accumulated and amortized over future periods and, therefore, generally affect the recognized expense and recorded obligation in such future periods. While the Company believes that the assumptions are appropriate, significant differences in actual experience or significant changes in assumptions may materially affect the pension and other postretirement obligations and future expense.

The following summarizes the net periodic benefit cost for Hancock’s defined benefit pension retirement plan and its postretirement health care benefit plan for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended October 29, 2011 and October 30, 2010 (in thousands):

	Retirement Plan						Postretirement Benefit Plan						Retirement Plan						Postretirement Benefit Plan
	Thirteen Weeks Ended												Thirty-nine Weeks Ended
	October 29,			October 30,			October 29,			October 30,			October 29,			October 30,			October 29,			October 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010			2011			2010			2011			2010
Service costs	$	126		$	107		$	8		$	21		$	379		$	321		$	51		$	55
Interest cost		1,138			1,169			31			34			3,415			3,447			99			99
Expected return on assets		(1,006	)		(957	)		-			-			(3,031	)		(2,875	)		-			-
Amortization of prior service costs		-			-			(180	)		(200	)		-			-			(542	)		(597	)
Recognized net actuarial (gain) loss		231			251			(70	)		(55	)		738			731			(202	)		(199	)
Net periodic benefit cost (gain)	$	489		$	570		$	(211	)	$	(200	)	$	1,501		$	1,624		$	(594	)	$	(642	)

At October 29, 2011, the fair value of the assets held by the pension retirement plan was $55.8 million, which includes $4.5 million of required cash contributions made in the first thirty-nine weeks of 2011. Including the contributions less benefit payments and plan expenses, pension retirement plan assets have increased by $1.4 million since January 29, 2011.

Based on management’s assessment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the “Acts”) as they relate to the Company’s postretirement health care benefit plan, management does not believe the impact of this legislation is a significant event to the Company and believes the Acts will not materially impact costs in subsequent periods.