Note 6 - Pension and Retirement Plans

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

6.         Pension and Retirement Plans

The Company has defined benefit and defined contribution plans in the United Kingdom, Germany and the U.S. In the United Kingdom and Germany, the Company provides defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution plans for the majority of its employees. In the U.S., the Company provides benefits through supplemental retirement plans to certain current and former employees. The domestic 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. Domestically, the Company also provides for officer death benefits through post-retirement plans to certain officers.  All of the Company’s defined benefit plans are closed to newly hired employees and have been for the two years ended September 30, 2012 and for the three months ended December 31, 2012.

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.

Our pension plan in the United Kingdom 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 international plans are as follows:

	For the Three Months Ended December 31,
	2012									2011
	Foreign			U.S.			Total			Foreign			U.S.		Total
	(Amounts in thousands)
Pension:
Service cost	$	15		$	—		$	15		$	16		$	3	$	19
Interest cost		173			16			189			179			21		200
Expected return on plan assets		(104	)		—			(104	)		(104	)		—		(104	)
Amortization of:
Prior service gain		—			—			—			—			—		—
Amortization of net gain		36			6			42			22			7		29
Net periodic benefit cost	$	120		$	22		$	142		$	113		$	31	$	144
Post Retirement:
Service cost	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—	$	—
Interest cost		—			9			9			—			18		18
Amortization of net gain		—			(46	)		(46	)		—			17		17
Net periodic benefit cost	$	—		$	(37	)	$	(37	)	$	—		$	35	$	35