Note 21 - Employee Benefit Plan

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 21 — EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN

401(k) Plan

The Company has a 401(k) Plan (the “Plan”) for the benefit of its U.S. employees. Employees of the Company and its U.S. subsidiaries who have completed one year of service or who had one year of service upon establishment of the Plan are eligible to participate in the Plan. Contributions are made by employees through pretax deductions up to 60% of their annual salary. Contributions made by the Company are matched up to a maximum of 2% of the employee’s annual salary. The Company’s contributions to the Plan were $533,000, $482,000, and $507,000 for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively.

Severance plan

The Company, through Ormat Systems, provides limited non-pension benefits to all current employees in Israel who are entitled to benefits in the event of termination or retirement in accordance with the Israeli Government sponsored programs. These plans generally obligate the Company to pay one month’s salary per year of service to employees in the event of involuntary termination. There is no limit on the number of years of service in the calculation of the benefit obligation. The liabilities for these plans are recorded at each balance sheet date by determining the undiscounted obligation as if it were payable at that point in time. Such liabilities have been presented in the consolidated balance sheets as “liabilities for severance pay”. The Company has an obligation to partially fund the liabilities through regular deposits in pension funds and severance pay funds. The amounts funded amounted to $15,953,000 and $19,572,000 at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and have been presented in the consolidated balance sheets as part of “deposits and other”. The severance pay liability covered by the pension funds is not reflected in the financial statements as the severance pay risks have been irrevocably transferred to the pension funds. Under the Israeli severance pay law, restricted funds may not be withdrawn or pledged until the respective severance pay obligations have been met. As allowed under the program, earnings from the investment are used to offset severance pay costs. Severance pay expenses for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 were $2,095,000, $877,000, and $2,320,000, respectively, which are net of income (including loss) amounting to ($1,491,000), $2,155,000, and $930,000, respectively, generated from the regular deposits and amounts accrued in severance funds.

The Company expects to pay the following future benefits to its employees upon their reaching normal retirement age:

	(Dollars in thousands)
Year ending December 31:
2015	$	4,109
2016		665
2017		2,163
2018		2,518
2019		821
2020-2023		6,303
	$	16,579

The above amounts were determined based on the employees’ current salary rates and the number of years’ service that will have been accumulated at their retirement date. These amounts do not include amounts that might be paid to employees that will cease working with the Company before reaching their normal retirement age.