Pension and Retirement Plans

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2025

Pension and Retirement Plans

Pension and Retirement Plans

10.          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 current 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 condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The Company’s pension plan in the U.K. is the only pension plan with plan assets. In October 2024 the company contributed approximately 0.6 million Great British Pounds to the U.K. pension plan and all of the plan assets were converted to cash. Also in October 2024, in connection with the planned termination of our defined benefit pension plan in the U.K., we paid 8.5 million Great British Pounds to enter into a buy-in contract. This payment is subject to adjustment as a result of subsequent data cleansing activities. Under the terms of this buy-in contract, the insurer is liable to pay the benefits of the plan, but the Company still retains full legal responsibility to pay the benefits to members using the insurance payments. In accordance with US GAAP, specifically ASC 715-30 Defined Benefit Plans – Pension, the buy-in

contract does not qualify as a significant event and therefore remeasurement is not required. The buy-in contract will be treated as a plan asset. When the buy-in contract transitions to a buy-out contract the Company will no longer have legal responsibility to pay the benefits to the members. This transition is a significant event and the pension assets and liabilities will be remeasured at this time. If the transition does not occur before September 30, 2025, the pension assets and liabilities will be remeasured as of this date in accordance with our Pension and Retirement Plans accounting policy.

The components of net periodic benefit costs related to the US and UK plans are as follows:

	Three Months Ended June 30,
	2025						2024
	U.K.		U.S.		Total		U.K.		U.S.		Total
	(Amounts in thousands)
Pension:
Interest cost	$	135	$	2	$	137	$	112	$	2	$	114
Expected return on plan assets		(156)		—		(156)		(149)		—		(149)
Amortization of past service costs		2		—		2		2		—		2
Amortization of net gain		—		(2)		(2)		—		(1)		(1)
Net periodic (benefit) cost	$	(19)	$	—	$	(19)	$	(35)	$	1	$	(34)
Post Retirement:
Service cost	$	—	$	7	$	7	$	—	$	5	$	5
Interest cost		—		14		14		—		16		16
Amortization of net gain		—		(29)		(29)		—		(43)		(43)
Net periodic benefit	$	—	$	(8)	$	(8)	$	—	$	(22)	$	(22)

	Nine Months Ended June 30,
	2025						2024
	U.K.		U.S.		Total		U.K.		U.S.		Total
	(Amounts in thousands)
Pension:
Interest cost	$	344	$	6	$	350	$	333	$	8	$	341
Expected return on plan assets		(400)		—		(400)		(445)		—		(445)
Amortization of past service costs		6		—		6		6		—		6
Amortization of net gain		—		(5)		(5)		—		(4)		(4)
Net periodic (benefit) cost	$	(50)	$	1	$	(49)	$	(106)	$	4	$	(102)
Post Retirement:
Service cost	$	—	$	20	$	20	$	—	$	17	$	17
Interest cost		—		44		44		—		48		48
Amortization of net gain		—		(89)		(89)		—		(129)		(129)
Net periodic benefit	$	—	$	(25)	$	(25)	$	—	$	(64)	$	(64)

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

	Fair Values as of
	June 30, 2025								September 30, 2024
	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	$	183	$	183	$	—	$	—	$	65	$	65	$	—	$	—
Fixed income		—		—		—		—		10,388		8,714		1,674		—
Buy-in contract*		8,845		—		—		8,845		—		—		—		—
Equity		—		—		—		—		913		263		650		—
Total plan assets	$	9,028	$	183	$	—	$	8,845	$	11,366	$	9,042	$	2,324	$	—

*This fair value is as of March 31, 2025 and is based on the latest information available. The buy-in contract is valued on an insurer pricing basis, which reflects the purchase price adjusted for changes in discount rates and other actuarial assumptions, which approximates fair value. Due to this, the buy-in contract is classified as a Level 3. The fair value of the buy-in contract can vary significantly based on the 20-year U.K. gilt yield, which was around 4.5% as of September 30, 2024 and 5.2% as of March 31, 2025 leading to a decrease in fair value. Additionally, the profit realized by the insurance company is not considered in the fair value and a decrease will occur from payments made to the pensioners.