Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

(16) Commitments and Contingencies

Sevcon, Inc. and subsidiaries are involved in various legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business but the Company believes that it is remote that the outcome will be material to operations.

The Company maintains a directors' retirement plan which provides for certain retirement benefits to non-employee directors. Effective January 1997 the plan was frozen and no further benefits are being accrued. While the cost of the plan has been fully charged to expense, the plan is not separately funded. The estimated maximum liability which has been recorded based on the cost of buying deferred annuities at December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016 was $142,000 and $144,000, respectively.

Minimum rental commitments under all non-cancelable leases for the years ended September 30 are as follows: 2017 - $524,000; 2018 - $643,000; 2019 - $602,000; 2020 - $503,000; 2021 - $475,000 and $2,101,000 thereafter.

The U.K. subsidiaries of the Company have given to RBS NatWest Bank a security interest in certain leasehold and freehold property assets as security for overdraft facilities of $1,100,000 as mentioned in Note 15.