Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2016
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]  
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

NOTE 5 - EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The Company has a defined benefit pension plan covering substantially all full-time and eligible part-time associates and a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SERP”) covering its executive officers.

The components of the net periodic benefit cost for the Company's qualified benefit pension plan were as follows:

Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
(Dollars in Thousands) 2016 2015 2016 2015
Service Cost $ 1,613 $ 1,675 $ 3,226 $ 3,350
Interest Cost 1,397 1,425 2,794 2,850
Expected Return on Plan Assets (1,934) (1,950) (3,870) (3,900)
Prior Service Cost Amortization 69 75 139 150
Net Loss Amortization 801 800 1,602 1,600
Net Periodic Benefit Cost $ 1,946 $ 2,025 $ 3,891 $ 4,050
Discount Rate 4.52% 4.15% 4.52% 4.15%
Long-term Rate of Return on Assets 7.50% 7.50% 7.50% 7.50%

The components of the net periodic benefit cost (income) for the Company's SERP were as follows:
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
(Dollars in Thousands) 2016 2015 2016 2015
Interest Cost $ 40 $ 28 $ 80 $ 55
Prior Service Cost Amortization - 2 - 5
Net Loss (Gain) Amortization 190 (90) 380 (180)
Net Periodic Benefit Cost (Income) $ 230 $ (60) $ 460 $ (120)
Discount Rate 4.13% 4.15% 4.13% 4.15%

Effective December 31, 2015, the Company changed the method used to estimate the service and interest components of net periodic benefit cost for the defined benefit and supplemental executive retirement plans. This new estimation approach discounts the individual expected cash flows underlying the service cost and interest cost using the applicable spot rates derived from the yield curve used to discount the cash flows for the benefit obligations.  Historically, the estimated service and interest cost components utilized a single weighted-average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the benefit obligations at the beginning of the period. The Company elected this change to provide a more precise measurement of service and interest costs by improving the correlation between projected benefit cash flows to the corresponding spot yield curve rates.  The change was accounted for as a change in accounting estimate that is inseparable from a change in accounting principle and was accounted for prospectively.  While the benefit obligations for the plans measured under this approach was unchanged, the more granular application of the spot rates decreased the combined service and interest costs for the defined benefit retirement plan for fiscal 2016 by $0.7 million and the supplemental executive retirement plans by $34,000.