RETIREMENT FUND AND PROFIT SHARING PLAN

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

RETIREMENT FUND AND PROFIT SHARING PLAN [Abstract]

RETIREMENT FUND AND PROFIT SHARING PLAN

11.   RETIREMENT FUND AND PROFIT SHARING PLAN

The Company maintains a domestic 401(k) plan, which allows individual voluntary savings to provide non-defined retirement benefits for plan participants, and also provides an employer match based upon employee deferrals.  The Company amended its 401(k) plan effective January 1, 2012 whereby the Company will match 100% of the first 1% of employee deferrals and 50% of the next 5% of employee deferrals.  Matching contributions will be made in cash beginning in 2012.  The expense for the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 amounted to approximately $0.1 million and $0.3 million, respectively.  The expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 amounted to approximately $0.4 million and $0.7 million, respectively.  Prior to January 1, 2012, the plan's structure provided for a Company match and discretionary profit sharing contributions that were made in the form of the Company's common stock.  As of September 30, 2012, the plan owned 15,366 and 225,445 shares of Bel Fuse Inc. Class A and Class B common stock, respectively.

The Company's subsidiaries in Asia have a non-defined retirement fund covering substantially all of their Hong Kong-based full-time employees.  The expense for the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 amounted to approximately $0.1 million in each period. The expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 amounted to approximately $0.2 million in each period. As of September 30, 2012, the plan owned 3,323 and 17,342 shares of Bel Fuse Inc. Class A and Class B common stock, respectively.

The SERP is designed to provide a limited group of key management and highly compensated employees of the Company with supplemental retirement and death benefits.

The components of SERP expense are as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2012		2011		2012		2011
Service cost	$	109	$	93	$	327	$	279
Interest cost		104		101		312		303
Amortization of adjustments		58		37		174		111
Total SERP expense	$	271	$	231	$	813	$	693

	September 30,		December 31,
	2012		2011
Balance sheet amounts:
Minimum pension obligation
and unfunded pension liability	$	9,915	$	9,274
Amounts recognized in accumulated
other comprehensive loss, pretax:
Prior service cost	$	911	$	1,010
Net gains		1,991		2,065
	$	2,902	$	3,075