Employee Benefit Plans

We maintain several defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans which cover a substantial number of employees. Benefits under our defined benefit plans are based upon each employee’s years of service and average salary. Our funding policy for these plans is based on the minimum amount required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

The Advantica Pension Plan (the “Pension Plan”) was closed to new qualifying participants as of December 31, 1999. Benefits ceased to accrue for Pension Plan participants as of December 31, 2004. During 2014, our Board of Directors approved the termination and liquidation of the Pension Plan as of December 31, 2014. During the year ended December 28, 2016, we completed the liquidation of the Pension Plan. Accordingly, we made a final contribution of $9.5 million to the Pension Plan. The resulting $67.7 million in Pension Plan assets were used to make lump sum payments and purchase annuity contracts, which are administered by a third-party provider. In addition, during the year ended December 28, 2016, we recognized a pre-tax settlement loss of $24.3 million related to the liquidation, reflecting the recognition of unamortized actuarial losses that were recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income. See Note 15.

Defined Benefit Plans

The obligations and funded status for the Pension Plan and other defined benefit plans were as follows:



	Pension Plan					Other Defined Benefit Plans
	December 27, 2017		December 28, 2016			December 27, 2017			December 28, 2016
	(In thousands)
Change in Benefit Obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	—	$	67,735		$	2,639		$	2,669
Service cost	—		105			—			—
Interest cost	—		—			83			91
Actuarial losses	—		945			172			73
Benefits paid	—		(1,057		)	(195		)	(194		)
Settlements	—		(67,728		)	(91		)	—
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	—	$	—		$	2,608		$	2,639
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	—	$	—		$	2,608		$	2,639

Change in Plan Assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	—	$	58,378		$	—		$	—
Actual return on plan assets	—		861			—			—
Employer contributions	—		9,546			286			194
Benefits paid	—		(1,057		)	(195		)	(194		)
Settlements	—		(67,728		)	(91		)	—
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	—	$	—		$	—		$	—
Funded status	$	—	$	—		$	(2,608	)	$	(2,639	)

The amounts recognized in our Consolidated Balance Sheets were as follows:



	Pension Plan				Other Defined Benefit Plans
	December 27, 2017		December 28, 2016		December 27, 2017			December 28, 2016
	(In thousands)
Other current liabilities	$	—	$	—	$	(280	)	$	(259	)
Other noncurrent liabilities	—		—		(2,328		)	(2,380		)
Net amount recognized	$	—	$	—	$	(2,608	)	$	(2,639	)

The amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income, that have not yet been recognized as a component of net periodic benefit cost, were as follows:



	Pension Plan			Other Defined Benefit Plans
	December 27, 2017		December 28, 2016	December 27, 2017		December 28, 2016
	(In thousands)
Unamortized actuarial losses, net	$	—	—	(1,092	)	(1,033	)

During fiscal 2018, $0.1 million of accumulated other comprehensive income will be recognized related to our other defined benefit plans.

The components of the change in unamortized actuarial losses, net, included in accumulated other comprehensive loss were as follows:



	Fiscal Year Ended
	December 27, 2017			December 28, 2016
	(In thousands)
Pension Plan:
Balance, beginning of year	$	—		$	(23,955	)
Benefit obligation actuarial loss	—			(945		)
Net gain	—			603
Settlement loss recognized	—			24,297
Balance, end of year	$	—		$	—

Other Defined Benefit Plans:
Balance, beginning of year	$	(1,033	)	$	(1,045	)
Benefit obligation actuarial loss	(172		)	(73		)
Amortization of net loss	92			85
Settlement loss recognized	21			—
Balance, end of year	$	(1,092	)	$	(1,033	)

Minimum pension liability adjustments, net of tax for 2017, 2016 and 2015 were an addition of less than $0.1 million, a reduction of $21.8 million and a reduction of $2.2 million, respectively. Total minimum pension liability adjustments of $1.0 million (net of a tax benefit of $0.1 million) and $0.9 million (net of a tax benefit of $0.1 million) are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss, net in our Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Deficit for the years ended December 27, 2017 and December 28, 2016, respectively.

The components of net periodic benefit cost were as follows:



	Fiscal Year Ended
	December 27, 2017		December 28, 2016			December 30, 2015
	(In thousands)
Pension Plan:
Service cost	$	—	$	105		$	380
Interest cost	—		—			2,983
Expected return on plan assets	—		—			(3,508		)
Amortization of net loss	—		—			1,733
Settlement loss recognized	—		24,297			—
Net periodic benefit cost	$	—	$	24,402		$	1,588
Other comprehensive (income) loss	$	—	$	(23,955	)	$	(3,619	)

Other Defined Benefit Plans:
Interest cost	$	83	$	91		$	107
Amortization of net loss	92		85			79
Settlement loss recognized	21		—			—
Net periodic benefit cost	$	196	$	176		$	186
Other comprehensive (income) loss	$	59	$	(12	)	$	(36	)

Net pension and other defined benefit plan costs (including premiums paid to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) for 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $0.2 million, $24.6 million and $1.8 million, respectively.

Assumptions

Because the Pension Plan was closed to new qualifying participants as of December 31, 1999 and benefits ceased to accrue for Pension Plan participants as of December 31, 2004, an assumed rate of increase in compensation levels was not applicable for 2017, 2016 or 2015.



	December 27, 2017		December 28, 2016		December 30, 2015
Assumptions used to determine benefit obligations:
Pension Plan:
Discount rate	N/A		N/A
Other Defined Benefit Plans:
Discount rate	3.08	%	3.31	%

Assumptions used to determine net periodic pension cost:
Discount rate	3.31	%	3.62	%	4.12	%
Rate of increase in compensation levels	N/A		N/A		N/A
Expected long-term rate of return on assets	N/A		N/A		5.75	%

In determining the expected long-term rate of return on assets, we evaluated our asset class return expectations, as well as long-term historical asset class returns. Projected returns are based on broad equity and bond indices. Additionally, we considered our historical compounded returns, which have been in excess of our forward-looking return expectations. In determining the discount rate, we have considered long-term bond indices of bonds having similar timing and amounts of cash flows as our estimated defined benefit payments. We use a yield curve based on high quality, long-term corporate bonds to calculate the single equivalent discount rate that results in the same present value as the sum of each of the plan's estimated benefit payments discounted at their respective spot rates.

Contributions and Expected Future Benefit Payments

Prior to the liquidation of the Pension Plan, during the year ended December 28, 2016, we made a final contribution of $9.5 million to the Pension Plan. We made contributions of $0.3 million and $0.2 million to our other defined benefit plans during the years ended December 27, 2017 and December 28, 2016, respectively. We expect to contribute $0.3 million to our other defined benefit plans during 2018.

Benefits expected to be paid for each of the next five years and in the aggregate for the five fiscal years from 2023 through 2027 are as follows:



	Other Defined Benefit Plans
	(In thousands)
2018	$	280
2019	564
2020	253
2021	229
2022	296
2023 through 2027	1,027

Defined Contribution Plans

Eligible employees can elect to contribute up to 25% of their compensation to our 401(k) plan. Effective January 1, 2016, the plan was amended and restated to incorporate Safe Harbor Plan design features which included changes to participant eligibility, company contribution amounts and vesting. As a result, beginning in 2016, we match up to a maximum of 4% of compensation deferred by the participant. Prior to 2016, we made matching contributions of up to 3% of compensation deferred by the participant.

In addition, a non-qualified deferred compensation plan is offered to certain employees. This plan allows participants to defer up to 50% of their annual salary and up to 100% of their bonus, on a pre-tax basis. Prior to 2016, we made matching contributions of up to 3% of compensation deferred by the participant under the non-qualified deferred compensation plan. Beginning in 2016, matching contributions are no longer made under this plan.

We made total contributions of $2.0 million, $2.2 million and $1.6 million for 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, under these plans.