Employee Benefit Plans

Postretirement Benefits

The Company provides certain health care benefits for retired employees, including their spouses, eligible dependents and surviving spouses (retirees). These benefits are commonly called postretirement benefits. The health care plans are contributory, with participants' contributions adjusted annually. Most employees become eligible for these benefits if they meet certain age and service requirements at retirement. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company expanded their eligibility definition to include those employees who have reached the age of 50 with at least 20 years of service. The Company was providing postretirement benefits to 310 retirees and their dependents at the end of 2016 and 276 retirees and their dependents at the end of 2015.

Obligations and Funded Status

The funded status represents the difference between the accumulated benefit obligation of the Company's postretirement plan and the fair value of plan assets at December 31. The postretirement plan does not have any plan assets; therefore, the unfunded status is equal to the amount of the December 31 accumulated benefit obligation.

The change in the Company's postretirement benefit obligation is as follows:



	Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands)	2016			2015			2014
Change in Benefit Obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	36,626		$	37,076		$	34,995
Service cost	2,323			1,808			1,295
Interest cost	1,498			1,448			1,343
Actuarial (gain) loss	(2,846		)	(2,829		)	373
Benefits paid	(934		)	(877		)	(930		)
Plan amendments	815			—			—
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	37,482		$	36,626		$	37,076
Change in Plan Assets
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	—			—			—
Funded status at end of year	$	(37,482	)	$	(36,626	)	$	(37,076	)

Amounts Recognized in the Balance Sheet

Amounts recognized in the balance sheet consist of the following:



	December 31,
(In thousands)	2016		2015		2014
Current liabilities	$	1,223	$	1,333	$	1,249
Long-term liabilities	36,259		35,293		35,827
	$	37,482	$	36,626	$	37,076

Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) consist of the following:



	December 31,
(In thousands)	2016			2015		2014
Net actuarial (gain) loss	$	(2,266	)	$	580	$	3,408
Prior service cost	704			—		—
	$	(1,562	)	$	580	$	3,408

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost and Other Amounts Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)



	Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands)	2016			2015			2014
Components of Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost
Service cost	$	2,323		$	1,808		$	1,295
Interest cost	1,498			1,448			1,343
Amortization of prior service cost	111			—			—
Amortization of net loss	—			—			(26		)
Net periodic postretirement cost	$	3,932		$	3,256		$	2,612
Other Changes in Benefit Obligations Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Net (gain) loss	$	(2,846	)	$	(2,829	)	$	373
Prior service cost	815			—			—
Amortization of prior service cost	(111		)	—			—
Amortization of net loss	—			—			26
Total recognized in other comprehensive income	(2,142		)	(2,829		)	399
Total recognized in net periodic benefit cost and other comprehensive income (loss)	$	1,790		$	427		$	3,011

Assumptions

Assumptions used to determine projected postretirement benefit obligations and postretirement costs are as follows:



	December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
Discount rate⁽¹⁾	4.30	%	4.25	%	4.00	%
Health care cost trend rate for medical benefits assumed for next year (pre-65)	7.50	%	5.50	%	6.00	%
Health care cost trend rate for medical benefits assumed for next year (post-65)	5.00	%	5.50	%	6.00	%
Ultimate trend rate (pre-65)	4.50	%	4.50	%	4.50	%
Ultimate trend rate (post-65)	4.50	%	4.50	%	4.50	%
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate (pre-65)	2023		2018		2018
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate (post-65)	2018		2018		2018

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(1)	Represents the year end rates used to determine the projected benefit obligation. To compute postretirement cost in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, the beginning of year discount rates of 4.25%, 4.00% and 4.75% were used.

Coverage provided to participants age 65 and older is under a fully-insured arrangement. The Company subsidy is limited to 60% of the expected annual fully-insured premium for participants age 65 and older. For all participants under age 65, the Company subsidy for all retiree medical and prescription drug benefits, beginning January 1, 2006, was limited to an aggregate annual amount not to exceed $648,000. This limit increases by 3.5% annually thereafter.

Assumed health care cost trend rates may have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the health care plans. A one-percentage-point change in assumed health care cost trend rates would have the following effects:



(In thousands)	1-Percentage-Point Increase		1-Percentage-Point Decrease
Effect on total of service and interest cost	$	968	$	(721	)
Effect on postretirement benefit obligation	6,828		(5,338		)

Cash Flows

Contributions. The Company expects to contribute approximately $1.2 million to the postretirement benefit plan in 2017.

Estimated Future Benefit Payments. The following estimated benefit payments under the Company's postretirement plans, which reflect expected future service, are expected to be paid as follows:



(In thousands)
2017	1,249
2018	1,344
2019	1,488
2020	1,625
2021	1,708
Years 2022 - 2026	10,489

Savings Investment Plan

The Company has a Savings Investment Plan (SIP), which is a defined contribution plan. The Company matches a portion of employees' contributions in cash. Participation in the SIP is voluntary and all regular employees of the Company are eligible to participate. The Company matches employee contributions dollar-for-dollar, up to the maximum IRS limit, on the first six percent of an employee's pretax earnings. The SIP also provides for discretionary profit sharing contributions in an amount equal to nine percent of an eligible plan participant's salary and bonus. During the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company made contributions of $6.5 million, $7.1 million and $7.2 million, respectively, which are included in general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. The Company's common stock is an investment option within the SIP.

Deferred Compensation Plan

The Company has a deferred compensation plan which is available to officers and certain members of the Company's management group and acts as a supplement to the SIP. The Internal Revenue Code does not cap the amount of compensation that may be taken into account for purposes of determining contributions to the deferred compensation plan and does not impose limitations on the amount of contributions to the deferred compensation plan. At the present time, the Company anticipates making a contribution to the deferred compensation plan on behalf of a participant in the event that Internal Revenue Code limitations cause a participant to receive less than the Company matching contribution under the SIP.

The assets of the deferred compensation plan are held in a rabbi trust and are subject to additional risk of loss in the event of bankruptcy or insolvency of the Company.

Under the deferred compensation plan, the participants direct the deemed investment of amounts credited to their accounts. The trust assets are invested in either mutual funds that cover the investment spectrum from equity to money market, or may include holdings of the Company's common stock, which is funded by the issuance of shares to the trust. The mutual funds are publicly traded and have market prices that are readily available. The Company's common stock is not currently an investment option in the deferred compensation plan. Shares of the Company's stock currently held in the deferred compensation plan represent vested performance share awards that were previously deferred into the rabbi trust. Settlement payments are made to participants in cash, either in a lump sum or in periodic installments. The market value of the trust assets, excluding the Company's common stock, was $12.6 million and $12.9 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and is included in other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Related liabilities, including the Company's common stock, totaled $24.2 million and $22.4 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and are included in other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. With the exception of the Company's common stock, there is no impact on earnings or earnings per share from the changes in market value of the deferred compensation plan assets because the changes in market value of the trust assets are offset completely by changes in the value of the liability, which represents trust assets belonging to plan participants.

As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, 495,774 shares and 534,174 shares of the Company's common stock were held in the rabbi trust, respectively. These shares were recorded at the market value on the date of deferral, which totaled $5.1 million and $5.7 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and is included in additional paid-in capital in stockholders' equity in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Company recognized compensation expense (benefit) of $1.8 million, $(6.4) million and $(4.9) million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, which is included in general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations representing the increase (decrease) in the closing price of the Company's shares held in the trust. The Company's common stock issued to the trust is not considered outstanding for purposes of calculating basic earnings per share, but is considered a common stock equivalent in the calculation of diluted earnings per share.

The Company made contributions to the deferred compensation plan of $0.6 million, $1.0 million and $0.8 million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, which are included in general and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.