Pension and Profit Sharing | 6. Pension and Profit Sharing United States employees, hired prior to July 1, 1993, are covered by a funded, defined benefit pension plan. The benefits of this pension plan are based on years of service and the average compensation of the highest three consecutive years during the last ten years of employment. In December 1995, the Company's Board of Directors approved an amendment to the United States pension plan that terminated all future benefit accruals as of February 1, 1996, without terminating the pension plan. The Company’s funding policy with respect to its qualified plan is to contribute at least the minimum amount required by applicable laws and regulations. In 2019, the Company contributed $14,413 to the plan. The plan asset weighted average allocation at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, by asset category, were as follows: Asset Category: 2019 2018 Equity Securities 66 % 65 % Fixed Income Securities 32 % 33 % Other Securities / Investments 2 % 2 % Total: 100 % 100 % The Company’s investment policy for the pension plan is to minimize risk by balancing investments between equity securities and fixed income securities. Plan funds are invested in long-term obligations with a history of moderate to low risk. The pension plan asset information included below is presented at fair value. ASC 820 establishes a framework for measuring fair value and requires disclosures about assets and liabilities measured at fair value. The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three levels as follows: • Level 1 – Inputs to the valuation methodology based on unadjusted quoted market prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date. • Level 2 – Inputs to the valuation methodology that include quoted market prices that are not considered to be active or financial instruments for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly. • Level 3 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement. The following tables present the pension plan assets by level within the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2019 and 2018: 2019 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Money Market Fund $ 31 $ 16,763 $ — $ 16,794 Equity Common and Collected Funds 102,030 580,839 — 682,869 Fixed Income Common and Collected Funds 82,670 246,316 — 328,986 Total: $ 184,731 $ 843,918 $ — $ 1,028,649 2018 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total Money Market Fund $ 4 $ 17,320 $ — $ 17,324 Equity Common and Collected Funds 99,616 564,371 — 663,957 Fixed Income Common and Collected Funds 83,211 249,309 — 332,520 Total: $ 182,831 $ 831,000 $ — $ 1,013,831 Other disclosures related to the pension plan follow: 2019 2018 Assumptions used to determine benefit obligation: Discount rate 2.74 % 3.87 % Changes in benefit obligation: Benefit obligation at beginning of year $ (1,160,930 ) $ (1,362,867 ) Interest cost (41,841 ) (39,851 ) Service cost (25,000 ) (33,000 ) Actuarial (loss) gain (46,288 ) 71,338 Benefits and plan expenses paid 200,743 203,450 Benefit obligation at end of year: $ (1,073,316 ) $ (1,160,930 ) Changes in plan assets: Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year $ 1,013,831 $ 1,249,825 Actual return on plan assets 201,148 (57,651 ) Employer contribution 14,413 25,107 Benefits and plan expenses paid (200,743 ) (203,450 ) Fair value of plan assets at end of year 1,028,649 1,013,831 Funded status: $ (44,667 ) $ (147,099 ) Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income: Net actuarial loss $ 689,398 $ 880,370 Prior service cost 538 1,082 Total: $ 689,936 $ 881,452 Accrued benefits costs are included in other accrued liabilities (non-current). 2019 2018 Assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost: Discount rate 3.87 % 3.14 % Expected return on plan assets 6.00 % 6.00 % Components of net benefit expense: Service cost $ 25,000 $ 33,000 Interest cost 41,841 39,851 Expected return on plan assets (54,330 ) (67,547 ) Amortization of prior service costs 544 543 Amortization of actuarial loss 90,442 87,360 78,497 60,207 Net periodic benefit cost: $ 103,497 $ 93,207 The Company employs a building block approach in determining the long-term rate of return for plan assets. Historical markets are studied and long-term historical relationships between equity securities and fixed income securities are preserved consistent with the widely-accepted capital market principle that assets with higher volatility generate higher returns over the long run. Our expected 6% long-term rate of return on plan assets is determined based on long-term historical performance of plan assets, current asset allocation and projected long-term rates of return. The following table discloses the change recorded in other comprehensive income related to benefit costs: 2019 2018 Balance at beginning of the year $ 881,452 $ 915,495 Change in net loss (100,530 ) 53,860 Amortization of actuarial loss (90,442 ) (87,360 ) Amortization of prior service cost (544 ) (543 ) Change recognized in other comprehensive income (191,516 ) (34,043 ) Total recognized in other comprehensive income $ 689,936 $ 881,452 The Company anticipates that in 2020, net periodic benefit cost will include approximately $74,720 of net actuarial loss and $543 of prior service cost. The following benefits are expected to be paid: 2020 $ 152,000 2021 135,000 2022 120,000 2023 106,000 2024 95,000 Years 2025 - 2029 332,000 The Company also has a qualified, 401k plan covering substantially all of its United States employees. Annual Company contributions to this plan are determined by the Company’s Compensation Committee. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company contributed 50% of employee’s contributions, up to the first 6% contributed by each employee. Total contribution expense under this 401k plan was $309,922 in 2019 and $271,541 in 2018. |