Accrued Severance Benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Postemployment Benefits [Abstract]

Accrued Severance Benefits

12. Accrued Severance Benefits

The majority of accrued severance benefits are for employees in the Company’s Korean subsidiary. Pursuant to the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act of Korea, eligible employees and executive officers with one or more years of service are entitled to severance benefits upon the termination of their employment based on their length of service and rate of pay. As of March 31, 2020, 98% of all employees of the Company were eligible for severance benefits.

Changes in accrued severance benefits are as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2020			March 31, 2019
Beginning balance	$	53,344		$	55,691
Provisions		2,019			1,314
Severance payments		(1,952	)		(1,496	)
Translation adjustments		(2,801	)		(956	)
		50,610			54,553
Less: Cumulative contributions to severance insurance deposit accounts		(1,557	)		(869	)
The National Pension Fund		(75	)		(87	)
Group severance insurance plan		(213	)		(243	)
Accrued severance benefits, net	$	48,765		$	53,354

The severance benefits funded through the Company’s National Pension Fund and group severance insurance plan will be used exclusively for payment of severance benefits to eligible employees. These amounts have been deducted from the accrued severance benefit balance.

In July 2018, the Company began contributing to certain severance insurance deposit accounts a certain percentage of severance benefits that are accrued for eligible employees for their services from January 1, 2018. These accounts consist of time deposits and other guaranteed principal and interest, and are maintained at insurance companies, banks or security companies for the benefit of employees. The Company deducts the contributions made to these severance insurance deposit accounts from its accrued severance benefits.

The Company is liable to pay the following future benefits to its non-executive employees upon their normal retirement age (in thousands):

	Severance benefit
Remainder of 2020	$	369
2021		626
2022		823
2023		580
2024		788
2025		2,201
2026 – 2030		19,439

The above amounts were determined based on the non-executive employees’ current salary rates and the number of service years that will be accumulated upon their retirement dates. These amounts do not include amounts that might be paid to non-executive employees that will cease working with the Company before their normal retirement ages.

Korea’s mandatory retirement age is 60 under the Employment Promotion for the Aged Act.