RETIREMENT PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

RETIREMENT PLANS

RETIREMENT PLANS

The Company maintains a 401(k) profit-sharing plan for all qualified employees. Employees are eligible to participate in the 401(k) profit-sharing plan following completion of one month of service and attaining age 18. Pursuant to the 401(k) profit-sharing plan, employees can contribute up to the lesser of $53 thousand or 100% of their compensation. Substantially all of the Company’s employees are covered by the plan, which contains limited match or safe harbor provisions. The Company will match 50% of the first 6% of the base contribution that an employee contributes. The Company’s match is immediately vested and paid at the end of the year. Employer contributions to the plan are based on the performance of the Company and are at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Employer contribution expense totaled $590 thousand, $479 thousand and $432 thousand for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

The Company has deferred compensation agreements with certain present and former directors, whereby a director or his beneficiaries will receive a monthly retirement benefit beginning at age 65. The arrangement is funded by an amount of life insurance on the participating director, which is calculated to meet the Company’s obligations under the compensation agreement. The cash value of the life insurance policies is an unrestricted asset of the Company. The estimated present value of future benefits to be paid totaled $68 thousand and $82 thousand at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Expense for this plan totaled $8 thousand, $9 thousand and $11 thousand for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

The Company also has supplemental discretionary deferred compensation plans for directors and executive officers. The plans are funded annually with director fees and salary reductions which are either placed in a trust account invested by the Bank’s OFA division or recognized as a liability. The trust account balance totaled $1.8 million and $1.7 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and is directly offset in other liabilities. Expense for these plans totaled $61 thousand, $61 thousand and $10 thousand, for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

In addition, the Company has two supplemental retirement and salary continuation plans for directors and executive officers. These plans are funded with single premium life insurance on the plan participants. The cash value of the life insurance policies is an unrestricted asset of the Company. The estimated present value of future benefits to be paid on these plans totaled $10.6 million and $8.5 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Expense for these plans totaled $1.0 million, $872 thousand and $739 thousand, for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

The Company has promised a continuation of life insurance coverage to certain persons post-retirement. The estimated present value of future benefits to be paid totaled $1.5 million and $1.5 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Expense for this plan totaled $22 thousand, $126 thousand and $77 thousand for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

Trust account balances, and estimated present values of future benefits and deferred compensation liabilities, noted above are included in other assets and other liabilities, respectively, on the consolidated balance sheets.