Employee Benefit Plans | Note 10 Employee Benefit Plans Defined Benefit Plan The Company has a noncontributory defined-benefit pension plan (the “Plan”), which covers most of its employees. The Company accrues and makes contributions designed to fund normal service costs on a current basis using the projected unit credit with service proration method to amortize prior service costs arising from improvements in pension benefits and qualifying service prior to the establishment of the Plan over a period of approximately 30 years. A summary of the activity in the Plan's projected benefit obligation, assets, funded status and amounts recognized in the Company's consolidated balance sheets is as follows: (In thousands) 2015 2014 Projected benefit obligation: Balance, January 1 $ 81,342 $ 63,439 Service cost 3,795 3,003 Interest cost 3,178 3,037 Actuarial (gain) loss (8,358 13,349 Benefits paid (1,588 ) (1,486 ) Balance, December 31 $ 78,369 $ 81,342 Plan assets: Fair value, January 1 $ 72,972 $ 70,627 Actual return (210 ) 3,831 Employer contribution — — Benefits paid (1,588 ) (1,486 ) Fair value, December 31 $ 71,174 $ 72,972 Funded status: Accrued pension liability $ (7,195 ) $ (8,370 ) The following represent the major assumptions used to determine the projected benefit obligation of the Plan. For 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Plan's expected benefit cash flows were discounted using the Citibank Above Median Curve. For 2015, the RP-2014 Mortality Table and the MP-2015 Mortality Improvement Table were used. For 2014 and 2013, the RP-2014 Mortality Table and MP-2014 Mortality Improvement Table were used. 2015 2014 2013 Weighted average discount rate 4.50 % 4.00 % 5.00 % Rate of increase in compensation levels (a) (a) 3.75 % (a) 6.0% graded down to 3.25 The accumulated benefit obligation was $ 68,321,000 69,420,000 The following pension benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid by the Plan: Amount 2016 $ 2,064,000 2017 2,302,000 2018 2,630,000 2019 2,799,000 2020 3,023,000 2021-2025 20,160,000 The Plan's pension cost included the following components: For the Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2015 2014 2013 Service cost benefits earned during the year $ 3,796 $ 3,003 $ 3,452 Interest cost on projected benefit obligations 3,178 3,037 2,819 Expected return on plan assets (4,864 ) (4,711 ) (4,469 ) Net amortization and deferral 1,542 244 1,729 Net periodic pension cost $ 3,652 $ 1,573 $ 3,531 The following represent the major assumptions used to determine the net pension cost of the Plan: 2015 2014 2015 Weighted average discount rate 4.00 % 5.00 % 4.25 % Rate of increase in compensation levels (a) 3.75 % 3.75 % Expected long-term rate of return on assets 6.75 % 6.75 % 7.25 % (a) 6.0% graded down to 3.25% over the first seven years of service For 2015, the RP-2014 Mortality Table and the MP-2015 Mortality Improvement Table were used. For 2014, the RP-2014 Mortality Tables were used. For 2013, the RP-2000 Employees Mortality Table, RP-2000 Healthy Annuitant Mortality Table, and RP-2000 Disabled Mortality Table were used. The investment objective for the Plan is to maximize total return with a tolerance for average risk. Asset allocation is a balance between fixed income and equity investments, with a target allocation of approximately 50 34 16 The expected one-year nominal returns and annual standard deviations are shown by asset class below: One-Year Nominal Annual Standard Asset Class % of Total Portfolio Return Deviation Core Fixed Income 50 % 4.84 % 4.64 % Large Cap U.S. Equities 10 % 7.42 % 16.14 % Large Cap U.S. Growth Equities 8.5 % 8.14 % 18.35 % Large Cap U.S. Value Equities 8.5 % 7.29 % 16.27 % Small Cap U.S. Equities 7 % 8.42 % 20.02 % International (Developed) 15 % 8.80 % 19.35 % International (Emerging) 1 % 10.49 % 27.66 % Applying appropriate correlation factors between each of the asset classes the long-term rate of return on assets is estimated to be 6.75 A summary of the fair value measurements by type of asset is as follows: Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2015 2014 Quoted Prices Quoted Prices in Active in Active Markets for Significant Markets for Significant Identical Observable Identical Observable Assets Inputs Assets Inputs (In thousands) Total (Level 1) (Level 2) Total (Level 1) (Level 2) Cash $ 283 $ 283 $ — $ 268 $ 268 $ — Equity securities U.S. Large Cap Growth 6,507 — 6,507 7,165 — 7,165 U.S. Large Cap Value 6,401 — 6,401 7,066 — 7,066 U.S. Small/Mid Cap Growth 2,769 — 2,769 2,950 — 2,950 U.S. Small/Mid Cap Value 2,649 — 2,649 2,721 — 2,721 Non-U. S. Core 10,474 — 10,474 10,317 — 10,317 U.S. Large Cap Passive 7,153 — 7,153 7,192 — 7,192 Emerging Markets 599 — 599 703 — 703 Fixed Income U.S. Core 23,881 — 23,881 24,019 — 24,019 U.S. Passive 9,328 — 9,328 9,275 — 9,275 Opportunistic 1,130 1,130 1,296 — 1,296 Total $ 71,174 $ 283 $ 70,891 $ 72,972 $ 268 $ 72,704 Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan The Company also has an unfunded supplemental executive retirement plan (“SERP”) which covers key executives of the Company. The SERP is a noncontributory plan in which the Company's subsidiaries make accruals designed to fund normal service costs on a current basis using the same method and criteria as the Plan. A summary of the activity in the SERP's projected benefit obligation, funded status and amounts recognized in the Company's consolidated balance sheets is as follows: December 31, (In thousands) 2015 2014 Benefit obligation: Balance, January 1 $ 9,403 $ 8,048 Service cost 140 136 Interest cost 348 377 Benefits paid (243 ) (236 ) Actuarial (gain) loss (900 ) 1,078 Balance, December 31 $ 8,748 $ 9,403 The following represent the major assumptions used to determine the projected benefit obligation of the SERP. For 2015, 2014 and 2013, the SERP's expected benefit cash flows were discounted using the Citigroup Above Median Curve. 2015 2014 2013 Weighted average discount rate 4.25 % 3.75 % 4.75 % Rate of increase in compensation levels (a) (a) 3.75 % (a) 6.00% graded down to 3.25 The accumulated benefit obligation was $ 7,482,000 7,622,000 236,000 Expected future benefits payable by the Company over the next ten years are as follows: Amount 2016 $ 247,000 2017 246,000 2018 311,000 2019 310,000 2020 308,000 2021-2025 3,236,000 The SERP's pension cost included the following components: For the Year Ended December 31, (In thousands) 2015 2014 2013 Service cost – benefits earned during the year $ 140 $ 136 $ 144 Interest cost on projected benefit obligations 348 377 335 Net amortization and deferral 654 431 551 Net periodic pension cost $ 1,142 $ 944 $ 1,030 The pretax amounts in accumulated other comprehensive loss as of December 31 were as follows: The Plan SERP (In thousands) 2015 2014 2015 2014 Prior service cost $ — $ — $ — $ — Net actuarial loss 20,637 25,464 2,169 3,723 Total $ 20,637 $ 25,464 $ 2,169 $ 3,723 The estimated pretax prior service cost and net actuarial loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss at December 31, 2015 expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost in 2016 for the Plan are $ 0 1,200,000 0 295,000 The Company also maintains a noncontributory profit sharing program, which covers most of its employees. Employer contributions are calculated based upon formulas which relate to current operating results and other factors. Profit sharing expense recognized in the consolidated statements of income in 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $ 5,211,000 5,298,000 5,065,000 The Company also sponsors a defined contribution 401(k) plan to provide additional retirement benefits to substantially all employees. Contributions under the 401(k) plan for 2015, 2014 and 2013 were $ 623,000 584,000 591,000 |