DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN:
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12 Months Ended |
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Nov. 30, 2011
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Deferred Compensation Arrangements [Abstract] | |
Deferred Compensation Plan | DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN: The Company has a deferred compensation plan for certain directors and officers. The plan is designed to permit eligible officers and directors to accumulate additional income through a non-qualified deferred compensation plan that enables the officer or director to make elective deferrals of compensation to which he or she will become entitled in the future. An account is maintained for each participant for the purpose of recording the current value of his or her elective contributions, including earnings credited thereto. The participant may designate one or more investments as the measure of investment return on the participant’s account. On January 4, 2012, the Compensation Committee approved an amendment to the deferred compensation plan to prospectively limit designated investments as the measure of investment return to actively traded securities reported on recognized exchanges, bank deposits, and other investments with readily verifiable valuations. The participant’s account is adjusted monthly to reflect earnings and losses on the participant’s designated investments. The Company pays interest on the uninvested portion of deferred compensation. The amount credited to the participant’s account will be distributed as soon as practicable after the earlier of the participant’s termination of employment or attainment of age sixty-five. The distribution of benefits to the participant will be made in accordance with the election made by the participant in a lump sum or in equal monthly or annual installments over a period not to exceed fifteen years. The distribution of account balances subject to Section 409A of the Tax Code upon termination of employment of an officer is subject to a six-month delay. In the event the participant requests an early distribution other than a hardship distribution, a 10% withdrawal penalty will be levied. Such distribution will be in the form of a lump sum cash payment. Such early distribution elections are available only with respect to vested account balances as of December 31, 2004. As of November 30, 2011 and 2010, the deferred compensation liability balances were $13,872 and $16,737, respectively. Of the above deferred balances, $8,137 and $10,407 have been invested in equity securities, hedge funds and private equity funds. The Company has recorded a loss of $1,101, a gain of $176 and a gain of $2,670 for the years ended November 30, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. |