11. Pension and Retirement Plans

The Company’s operations have defined benefit and defined contribution plans in the U.K. and in the U.S. In the U.K., the Company provides defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution plans for some of its employees. In the U.S., the Company provides benefits through supplemental retirement plans to certain former employees. The U.S. supplemental retirement plans have life insurance policies which are not plan assets but were purchased by the Company as a vehicle to fund the costs of the plan. The Company also provides for officer death benefits through post-retirement plans to certain officers of the Company in the U.S. All the Company’s defined benefit plans are closed to newly hired employees and have been since September 2009.

The Company funds its pension plans in amounts sufficient to meet the requirements set forth in applicable employee benefits laws and local tax laws. Liabilities for amounts in excess of these funding levels are accrued and reported in the consolidated balance sheets.

The Company’s pension plan in the U.K. is the only plan with plan assets. The plan assets consist of an investment in a commingled fund which in turn comprises a diversified mix of assets including corporate equity securities, government securities and corporate debt securities.

The components of net periodic benefit costs related to the U.S. and U.K. plans are as follows:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2021						2020
	U.K.		U.S.		Total		U.K.		U.S.		Total
	(Amounts in thousands)
Pension:
Interest cost	$	61	$	2	$	63	$	66	$	4	$	70
Expected return on plan assets		(99)		—		(99)		(74)		—		(74)
Amortization of past service costs		2		—		2		2		—		2
Amortization of net gain		45		1		46		48		1		49
Net periodic benefit cost	$	9	$	3	$	12	$	42	$	5	$	47

Post Retirement:
Service cost	$	—	$	12	$	12	$	—	$	9	$	9
Interest cost		—		11		11		—		11		11
Amortization of net gain		—		12		12		—		6		6
Net periodic cost	$	—	$	35	$	35	$	—	$	26	$	26


	Six Months Ended March 31,
	2021						2020
	U.K.		U.S.		Total		U.K.		U.S.		Total
	(Amounts in thousands)
Pension:
Interest cost	$	119	$	5	$	124	$	132	$	8	$	140
Expected return on plan assets		(196)		—		(196)		(148)		—		(148)
Amortization of past service costs		4		—		4		4		—		4
Amortization of net gain (loss)		89		2		91		96		2		98
Net periodic benefit cost	$	16	$	7	$	23	$	84	$	10	$	94

Post Retirement:
Service cost	$	—	$	23	$	23	$	—	$	19	$	19
Interest cost		—		22		22		—		23		23
Amortization of net loss		—		25		25		—		12		12
Net periodic cost	$	—	$	70	$	70	$	—	$	54	$	54

The fair value of the assets held by the U.K. pension plan by asset category are as follows:


	Fair Values as of
	March 31, 2021								September 30, 2020
	Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as								Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as
Asset Category	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	(Amounts in thousands)
Cash on deposit	$	76	$	76	$	—	$	—	$	471	$	471	$	—	$	—
Pooled funds		11,097		11,097		—		—		9,269		9,269		—		—
Total plan assets	$	11,173	$	11,173	$	—	$	—	$	9,740	$	9,740	$	—	$	—