NOTE 5 — Pension Plans

We maintain a non-contributory, tax qualified defined benefit pension plan that has been frozen since July 2011. All of our full time employees were eligible to participate in this qualified pension plan. Benefits provided by our qualified pension plan were based on years of service and employees’ remuneration over their term of employment. Compensation earned by employees up to July 31, 2011 is used for purposes of calculating benefits under our pension plan with no future benefit accruals after this date. Participants as of July 31, 2011 continue to earn vesting credit with respect to their frozen accrued benefits as they continue to work. We also maintain a non-qualified, non-contributory defined benefit pension plan, the excess plan, for certain employees that has been frozen since July 2011. This excess plan provided benefits that would otherwise be provided under the qualified pension plan but for maximum benefit and compensation limits applicable under federal tax law. The cost associated with the excess plan is determined using the same actuarial methods and assumptions as those used for our qualified pension plan. The assets for the excess plan aggregate $293,000 and $289,000 as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, and are recorded in other assets in our consolidated balance sheets (see NOTE 7 — Fair Value Measurements).

The components of net periodic pension benefit for our defined benefit pension plans are as follows:

	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2015			2014			2015			2014
Interest cost	$	239,000		$	217,000		$	479,000		$	434,000
Expected return on plan assets	(291,000		)	(275,000		)	(581,000		)	(551,000		)
Recognized net actuarial loss	38,000			1,000			75,000			3,000

	$	(14,000	)	$	(57,000	)	$	(27,000	)	$	(114,000	)

We contributed $70,000 to our defined benefit pension plans during the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2015. We expect to contribute $425,000 to our defined benefit pension plans during 2015. We contributed $45,000 to our defined benefit pension plans during the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2014.

We also maintain a non-elective, non-qualified supplemental executive retirement plan (“SERP”) which provides deferred compensation to certain highly compensated employees that approximates the value of benefits lost by the freezing of the pension plan which are not offset by our enhanced matching contribution in our 401(k) plan. The SERP is a discretionary defined contribution plan and contributions made to the SERP in any given year are not guaranteed and will be at the sole discretion of our Compensation and Stock Incentive Committee. During the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, we recorded expenses of $30,000 and $60,000, and $30,000 and $60,000, respectively, related to the SERP. During the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, we contributed $0 and $126,000, and $0 and $115,000 to the plan, respectively. The liability for pension benefits was $58,000 and $124,000 as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively.

We maintain a defined contribution 401(k) plan which permits participation by substantially all employees. Our matching contributions to the 401(k) plan were $198,000 and $428,000, and $197,000 and $392,000 for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.