RETIREMENT PLANS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

RETIREMENT PLANS

RETIREMENT PLANS

The Company sponsors a defined benefit retirement plan, or Benefit Plan, that covers eligible employees hired prior to February 1, 2007. The benefits are based on years of service and the employee’s five-year final average salary. Contributions are intended to provide for benefits attributable to service both to date and expected to be provided in the future. The Company funds the plan in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). In April 2017, the Company froze the Benefit Plan as it relates to future benefit accruals for participants. The Company expects to contribute $165,000 to the Benefit Plan in 2024.

Benefit Plan assets consist of equity, debt and short-term money market investment funds. The Benefit Plan’s current investment policy changed during the third quarter of 2018. The policy's strategy seeks to minimize the volatility of the funding ratio. This objective will result in a prescribed asset mix between "return seeking" assets (e.g., stocks) and a bond portfolio (e.g., long duration bonds) according to a pre-determined customized investment strategy based on the Benefit Plan's funded status as the primary input. This path will be used as a reference point as to the mix of assets, which by design will de-emphasize the return seeking portion as the funded status improves. At March 31, 2024, the investment mixes were approximately at 99% debt and 1% money market funds. At December 31, 2023, the investment mixes were approximately 99% debt, and 1% money market funds. The weighted-average discount rate used in determining the periodic pension cost is 4.85% in both 2024 and 2023. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is 5.00% for both fiscal 2024 and 2023. The long-term rate of return on Benefit Plan assets is based on the historical returns within the plan and expectations for future returns.

Total pension and retirement earnings for the Benefit Plan was as follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
($ in thousands)	2024		2023
(Cost)/earnings components:
Interest cost	$	(104)	$	(104)
Expected return on plan assets	112		105
Net amortization and deferral	(14)		(17)
Total net periodic pension cost	$	(6)	$	(16)

The Company has a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, or SERP, to restore to executives designated by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors the full benefits under the pension plan that would otherwise be restricted by certain limitations now imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. In April 2017, the Company froze the SERP plan as it relates to the accrual of additional benefits.

The pension and retirement expense for the SERP was as follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
($ in thousands)	2024		2023
Cost components:
Interest cost	$	(69)	$	(73)
Net amortization and other	(13)		(10)
Total net periodic pension cost	$	(82)	$	(83)