Retirement Plans

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Retirement Plans

9. Retirement Plans

401(k) Plan - We maintain a 401(k) plan for qualified employees which is subject to “safe harbor” provisions. Those provisions include a matching employer contribution consisting of 100.0% of the first 3.0% of employee contributions and 50.0% of the next 2.0% of employee contributions. In addition, all employer matching funds vest immediately. Contributions to the plan totaled $27,757 and $23,538, for the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively and for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, totaled $60,049 and $57,547, respectively.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan - The Company adopted an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in December 2016, effective January 1, 2016, which is a non-contributory defined contribution plan covering all employees of the Company. The Company sponsors and maintains the ESOP and related trust for the benefit of its eligible employees. The ESOP is a leveraged ESOP, meaning funds are loaned to the ESOP from the Company. The Company entered into a loan agreement with the ESOP on December 29, 2016, pursuant to which the ESOP may borrow up to $5.0 million to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock on the open market, which serve as collateral for the loan.

Between January 3, and February 28, 2017, the Company’s ESOP had purchased 682,500 shares of the Company’s common stock in the open market at a cost of approximately $4.9 million. Shares purchased by the ESOP are held in a suspense account for allocation among participants as contributions are made to the ESOP by the Company. The share allocations are accounted for at fair value at the date of allocation.

A total of 421,491 shares with a fair value of $484,715 remained allocated or committed to be released from the suspense account, as of June 30, 2024. We recognized as compensation cost $12,818 and $24,913 during the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The remaining 237,721 unallocated shares have an approximate fair value of $273,379, as of June 30, 2024. As of June 30, 2024, the ESOP held a total of 412,169 allocated shares, 9,322 committed-to-be-released shares and 237,721 suspense shares. Dividends on allocated and unallocated shares are used to pay down the ESOP loan from the Operating Partnership.

The share allocations are accounted for at fair value on the date of allocation as follows:

	June 30, 2024				December 31, 2023
	Number of Shares		Fair Value		Number of Shares		Fair Value
Allocated shares		412,169	$	473,994		412,169	$	614,131
Committed to be released shares		9,322		10,721		—		—
Total Allocated and Committed-to-be-Released		421,491	$	484,715		412,169	$	614,131
Unallocated shares		237,721		273,379		247,043		368,094
Total ESOP Shares		659,212	$	758,094		659,212	$	982,225