Note 9 - Employee Benefit Program

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Retirement Benefits [Text Block]

9. Employee Benefit Program

Employees of all subsidiaries except BTC participate in a Company-sponsored defined contribution savings plan under Section

401

(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. The terms of the plan provide for an elective contribution from employees

not

to exceed

$19.5

thousand,

$18.5

thousand and

$18.5

thousand for

2020,

2019

and

2018,

respectively. The Company matched the employee's contribution up to

4.5%

of the employee's annual compensation during

2020,

2019

and

2018.

For the years ended

December 31, 2020,

2019,

and

2018,

the total contributions and expense associated with this plan was

$513

thousand,

$449

thousand and

$470

thousand, respectively. 

The employees of BTC participate in a multiemployer Retirement and Security Program (“RSP”) as a defined benefit plan and a Savings Plan (“SP”) provided through the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (“NTCA”). The risks associated with participating in a multiemployer plan are different from a single-employer plan. Contributions to the multiemployer plan by the Company

may

be used to provide benefits to employees of other participating employers. If a participating employer stops contributing to the plan, the unfunded obligations of the plan

may

be borne by the remaining participating employers. The NTCA has sponsored the RSP since

1959.

Currently, the Company represents approximately

0.3%

of the employers and less than

0.1%

of the employees covered by the RSP. As of

January 1, 2019,

the RSP's ongoing funded status was

100.1%.

Program assets as of

October 31, 2020

were

$2.1

billion, placing the RSP among the

500

largest pension plans in the United States. Participation in the RSP requires a minimum employee contribution of

1.0%

of their annual compensation. For each of

2020,

2019

and

2018,

the Company contributed

4.5%

of annual compensation for every participating employee. SP is a defined contribution savings plan under Section

401

(k) of the Internal Revenue Code to which the Company made

no

contribution for

2020,

2019

or

2018.

The employee can make voluntary contributions to the SP as desired. For the years ended

December 31, 2020,

2019,

and

2018,

the total expense associated with these plans was

$19

thousand,

$19

thousand and

$21

thousand, respectively.