Note 9 - Employee Benefit Program

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Notes to Financial Statements

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [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

$18.5

thousand,

$18.5

thousand and

$18

thousand for

2018,

2017

and

2016,

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

4.5%

of the employee’s annual compensation during

2018,

2017

and

2016.

For the years ended

December 31, 2018,

2017,

and

2016,

the total contributions and expense associated with this plan was

$470

thousand,

$486

thousand and

$508

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

December 2017,

the RSP’s ongoing funded status improved to

98%.

Program assets as of

June 30, 2018

were over

$2.4

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

2018,

2017

and

2016,

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

2018,

2017

or

2016.

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

December 31, 2018,

2017,

and

2016,

the total expense associated with these plans was

$21

thousand,

$16

thousand and

$16

thousand, respectively.