8.	POSTRETIREMENT BENEFIT PLANS

Defined Benefit Pension Plans

The Company sponsors various funded qualified and unfunded non-qualified defined benefit pension plans, the most significant of which cover employees in the U.S. and U.K. locations. The U.S. and U.K. defined benefit pension plans are frozen and service benefits are no longer being accrued.

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost

	UNITED STATES
(In thousands)	Three Months Ended September 30						Nine Months Ended September 30
	2018			2017			2018			2017
Interest cost	$	1,566		$	1,665		$	4,645		$	4,988
Expected return on plan assets		(2,320	)		(2,323	)		(6,962	)		(6,966	)
Amortization of net actuarial loss		987			738			2,860			2,314
Net periodic benefit cost	$	233		$	80		$	543		$	336

	UNITED KINGDOM
(In thousands)	Three Months Ended September 30						Nine Months Ended September 30
	2018			2017			2018			2017
Interest cost	$	138		$	151		$	430		$	441
Expected return on plan assets		(216	)		(203	)		(673	)		(593	)
Amortization of net actuarial loss		53			97			166			284
Net periodic benefit cost (income)	$	(25	)	$	45		$	(77	)	$	132

In the first quarter of 2018, the Company implemented ASU No. 2017-07, Compensation-Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, which amended the guidance for the presentation of the components of net periodic cost in the income statement. The guidance requires the service cost component of net periodic benefit cost to be included in employee compensation costs in the income statement and all other components elsewhere in the income statement outside of income from operations. The Company does not have a service component of the net periodic benefit cost because the defined benefit plans (both U.S. and U.K. locations) are frozen. The other components of net periodic benefit cost such as interest cost, amortization of net actuarial loss and expected return on plan assets are included in the line item Other, net within Other Income (Expense) section of the Income statement. See Note 14 for more details.

Employer Contributions

U.S. Plans

The Company made a $5,000,000 voluntary contribution to its funded U.S. qualified defined benefit plans in the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2018. No further contributions are expected to be made to the funded plans in 2018. As a result of pension funding relief provisions included in the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014, the Company is not required to make contributions to the funded U.S. qualified defined benefit plans during 2018. Approximately $312,000 is expected to be contributed to the unfunded non-qualified plans in 2018. Of such amount, $256,000 had been contributed to the non-qualified plans as of September 30, 2018.

U.K. Plan

The Company’s U.K. subsidiary expects to contribute approximately $497,000 to its defined benefit pension plan in 2018. Of such amount, $372,000 had been contributed to the plan as of September 30, 2018.

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company sponsors retirement savings defined contribution plans that cover eligible U.S. and U.K. employees. The Company’s U.S. retirement plans include two qualified plans, one of which is a 401(k) plan and one of which is an employee stock ownership plan, and one non-qualified supplemental executive plan. Historically, the Company made profit sharing contributions into the qualified retirement plans for its U.S. employees. Profit sharing contributions were determined each year using a formula that was applied to Company earnings. The contributions, which were made partly in cash paid to the 401(k) plan and partly in Company common stock, are allocated to participant accounts on the basis of participant base earnings. Effective January 1, 2018, the Company amended its U.S. retirement saving plan and profit sharing formula, which resulted in a higher potential contribution percentage to the U.S. retirement savings plan and a lower potential profit sharing contribution percentage relative to prior years.

Defined contribution plan expenses for the Company’s retirement savings plans and profit sharing were as follows:

(In thousands)	Three Months Ended September 30				Nine Months Ended September 30
	2018		2017		2018		2017
Retirement savings plans	$	1,738	$	1,275	$	5,201	$	3,758
Profit sharing plan		759		1,308		2,769		5,259
Total defined contribution expense	$	2,497	$	2,583	$	7,970	$	9,017

The Company has a rabbi trust to fund the obligations of its non-qualified supplemental executive defined contribution plans (supplemental plans). The trust comprises various mutual fund investments selected by the participants of the supplemental plans. In accordance with the accounting guidance for rabbi trust arrangements, the assets of the trust and the obligations of the supplemental plans are reported on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The Company elected the fair value option for the mutual fund investment assets so that offsetting changes in the mutual fund values and defined contribution plan obligations would be recorded in earnings in the same period. Therefore, the mutual funds are reported at fair value with any subsequent changes in fair value recorded in the consolidated statements of income. The liabilities related to the supplemental plans increase (i.e., supplemental plan expense is recognized) when the value of the trust assets appreciates and decrease when the value of the trust assets declines (i.e., supplemental plan income is recognized). At September 30, 2018, the balance of the trust assets was $1,617,000, which equaled the balance of the supplemental plan liabilities (see the long-term investments section in Note 3 for further information regarding the Company’s mutual fund assets).