Defined Benefit Plan

On December 1, 2005, the Company adopted a defined benefit plan ("Cash Balance Plan") to provide retirement income to all eligible employees of the Company and its subsidiaries in accordance with the terms and conditions in the plan document. As previously stated, the Company made the decision to terminate the Cash Balance Plan effective December 31, 2013. On May 12, 2014 Cowen received a favorable determination letter from the IRS approving the termination of the Cash Balance Plan. Subsequently, steps were taken to process the distributions based on participant distribution elections by December 15, 2015 and the Company is filing a final Form 5500 for the Plan Year 2014.

The amounts contained in the following table relate to the Company's defined benefit plan(s) for the year ended December 31, 2014:



	As of December 31, 2014
	(dollars in thousands)
Projected benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	3,592
Service cost	—
Interest cost	84
Actuarial loss (gain)	(2		)
Benefits paid	(3,791		)
Curtailments	—
Lump sum settlement	117
Effect of change in currency conversion	—
Benefit obligation at end of year	$	—
Change in plan assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	4,389
Actual return on plan assets	306
Employer contributions	—
Benefits paid	(3,791		)
Transfer to qualified replacement plan	(874		)
Expenses paid from the plan	(30		)
Fair value of plan assets at the end of year	$	—
Funded balance at end of year	$	—
Amounts recognized in the consolidated statement of financial condition
Asset	$	—
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	—



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013
	(dollars in thousands)
Components of net periodic benefit cost included in employee compensation and benefits
Service cost	$	—		$	—
Interest cost	84			207
Expected return on plan assets	(299		)	(251		)
Amortization of loss / (gain)	(205		)	—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			21
Effect of settlement	—			(95		)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	(420	)	$	(118	)
Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive loss
Net loss (gain)	$	344		$	137
Effect of curtailment	—			(360		)
Effect of settlement	—			—
Amortization of loss / (gain)	—			—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			(23		)
Total recognized in other comprehensive income (loss)	$	344		$	(246	)
Total recognized in net periodic benefit cost and other comprehensive loss	$	(76	)	$	(364	)
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss
Net gain (loss)	$	—		$	344
Prior service cost	—			—
Effect of change in currency conversion	—			—
Total recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	$	—		$	344
Estimated amounts to be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year
Prior service cost	$	—		$	—
Net gain (loss)	$	—		$	—

The assumed long term rate of return on the Cash Balance Plan assets was 6% as of December 31, 2014 and 2013. The Company's approach in determining the long-term rate of return for plan assets is based upon historical financial market relationships that have existed over time with the presumption that this trend will generally remain constant in the future.

All assets in the Cash Balance Plan as of December 31, 2014 were distributed or transferred out.