Note 16 - Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Notes to Financial Statements

Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]

(16)

Employee Benefit Plans

Bancorp has a combined employee stock ownership and profit sharing plan (“KSOP”). The plan is a defined contribution plan and is available to all employees meeting certain eligibility requirements. In general, for employees who work more than

1,000

hours per year, Bancorp matches employee contributions up to

6%

of the employee’s salary, and contributes an amount of Bancorp stock equal to

2%

of the employee’s salary. Employer matching expenses related to contributions to the plan for

2016,

2015,

and

2014

were

$1.9

million,

$1.8

million, and

$1.7

million, respectively, and are recorded within salaries and employee benefits. Employee and employer contributions are made in accordance with the terms of the plan. As of

December

 

31,

2016

and

2015,

the KSOP held

567,000

and

433,400

shares of Bancorp stock, respectively.

In addition Bancorp has non-qualified plans into which directors and certain senior officers

may

defer director fees or salary/incentives. Bancorp matched certain executives’ deferrals into the senior officers’ plan amounting to approximately

$293

thousand,

$171

thousand, and

$228

thousand in

2016,

2015

and

2014

respectively. At

December

31,

2016

and

2015,

the amounts included in other liabilities in the consolidated financial statements for this plan were

$5.6

million and

$4.9

million, were comprised primarily of participants’ contributions, and represented the fair value of mutual fund investments directed by participants.

Bancorp sponsors an unfunded non-qualified defined benefit retirement plan for

three

key officers

(two

current and

one

retired), and has no plans to increase the number of or the benefits to participants. Benefits vest based on

25

years of service. The former officer and

one

current officer are fully vested, and

one

current officer will be fully vested in

2017.

Bancorp uses a

December

31

measurement date for this plan. At

December

31,

2016

and

2015

both, accumulated benefit obligation for the plan included in other liabilities in the consolidated financial statements was

$2.1million.

Discount rates of

4.10%

and

4.28%

were used in

2016

and

2015,

respectively, in determining the actuarial present value of the projected benefit obligation. Actuarially determined pension costs are expensed and accrued over the service period, and benefits are paid from Bancorp’s assets. Bancorp maintains life insurance policies, for which it is the ultimate beneficiary, on certain current and former executives. Income from these policies helps offset the cost of benefits. The liability for Bancorp’s plan met the benefit obligation as of

December

31,

2016

and

2015.

Information about the components of the net periodic benefit cost of the defined benefit plan, recorded in salaries and employee benefits, is as follows:

	Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2016		2015		2014
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	-	$	-	$	-
Interest cost		87		83		90
Expected return on plan assets		-		-		-
Amortization of prior service cost		-		-		-
Amortization of net losses		47		59		36
Net periodic benefit cost	$	134	$	142	$	126

Benefits expected to be paid in each year from

2017

to

2020

and beyond are listed in the table below.

(In thousands)	Benefits
2017	$	84
2018		84
2019		84
2020		84
Beyond 2020		3,278
Total future payments	$	3,614

Expected benefits to be paid are based on the same assumptions used to measure Bancorp’s benefit obligation at

December

 

31,

2016.

There are no obligations for other post-retirement and post-employment benefits.