NOTE 16. PENSION PLAN

The Company maintained a Defined Benefit Pension Plan (the “Pension Plan”) which had been, prior to December 31, 2011, for all employees who had attained the age of 21 and completed one year of service. The pension benefits were based primarily on years of service and the average compensation for the five highest consecutive years during the final ten years of employment. The benefit formula generally provided for a life annuity benefit.

Effective December 31, 2011, the Company amended its Pension Plan to freeze participants’ benefits with no future accruals after that date. Any current or future employee who was not a participant of the Pension Plan on December 31, 2011 was not eligible to enter the Pension Plan.

On October 23, 2013 the Company’s Board of Directors approved the commencement of the steps necessary to terminate the Pension Plan, pursuant to the Pension Plan, and, if necessary, for the Company to make the required level of contribution whereby the Pension Plan would have sufficient funds to pay all benefits owed participants and beneficiaries. On January 22, 2014, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the termination of the Pension Plan effective March 31, 2014. Termination of the Pension Plan was completed through the distribution of the Pension Plan assets to participants and beneficiaries through either the purchase of an annuity from an insurance company or, payment of the benefit owed in a one-time lump sum payment based on a final calculation of benefit as of March 31, 2014. The final termination settlement was completed during the three months ended December 31, 2014. The Company contributed approximately $43,000 in 2014 to fully fund the Pension Plan to enable the distribution to participants of a lump sum benefit or the purchase of a life annuity to effectuate the termination. In addition, the Company incurred approximately $170,000 for the cost of legal and other advisors to complete the termination. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company received the favorable determination letter from the IRS, which was the final step in terminating the Pension Plan.

The Company used a December 31 measurement date.

Following are the components of the Net Period Pension Cost (Benefit):


	December 31,
	2016		2015		2014
Service Cost	$	—	$	—	$	87,219
Interest Cost		—		—		425,735
Actual Return on Plan Assets		—		—		342,637
Amortization of Unrecognized Transition Loss (Gain) from Earlier Periods		—		—		—
Amortization of Unrecognized Prior Service Cost		—		—		—
Amortization of Net Gain (Loss) from Earlier Periods		—		—		—
Net Periodic Pension Cost (Benefit)	$	—	$	—	$	855,591

The Pension Plan held no assets as of December 2016, 2015, or 2014 and there was no activity during the years ended December 31, 2016 or 2015.