Note 15 - Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

15.   EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Savings and Profit Sharing Plan

The Company has a defined contribution retirement savings plan (the “Profit Sharing Plan”), which allows qualified employees, at their option, to make contributions up to 45% of their pre-tax base salary (15% for certain highly compensated employees) through salary deductions under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. At the employees’ direction, employee contributions are invested among a variety of investment alternatives. For employees who make voluntary contributions to the Profit Sharing Plan, the Company contributes an amount equal to 2% of the employee’s compensation. The Profit Sharing Plan also permits the Company to distribute a discretionary profit-sharing component up to 15% of the employee’s compensation. The Company’s matching contribution vests immediately, while the discretionary component vests over a period of six years.

Savings and Profit Sharing Plan

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

	Years Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Profit sharing expense	$	2,897	$	859	$	2,454
Company dividends received by the Profit Sharing Plan	$	72	$	72	$	452
Company shares held by the Profit Sharing Plan at year end:
Number of shares		1,806,262		2,752,521		2,916,152
Fair value	$	18,297	$	31,709	$	31,757

Pension Plan

The Company sponsors a noncontributory defined benefit retirement plan (the “Pension Plan”) that provides for retirement benefits based on years of service and compensation levels of the participants. The Pension Plan covers a majority of employees who met certain eligibility requirements and were hired before April 1, 2007 when it was amended to eliminate new enrollment of employees. Actuarially determined pension costs are charged to current operations. The Company’s funding policy is to contribute amounts to its plan sufficient to meet the minimum funding requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 plus such additional amounts as the Company deems appropriate.

Pension Plan’s Cost and Obligations

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

	December 31,
	2011			2010
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	55,782		$	43,889
Change in benefit obligation:
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	51,963		$	43,671
Service cost		2,725			2,352
Interest cost		3,032			2,665
Actuarial losses		8,067			4,957
Benefits paid		(2,776	)		(1,682	)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year	$	63,011		$	51,963
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	54,713		$	51,033
Actual return on plan assets		1,053			5,362
Benefits paid		(2,776	)		(1,682	)
Employer contributions		10,000			-
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	$	62,990		$	54,713
Funded status recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition:
Noncurrent prepaid pension	$	-		$	2,750
Noncurrent liabilities		(21	)		-
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss:
Prior service cost	$	4		$	8
Net loss		21,860			12,996
Net amount recognized	$	21,864		$	13,004
Actuarial losses included in accumulated other comprehensive loss as a percent of:
Accumulated benefit obligation		39.2	%		29.6	%
Fair value of plan assets		34.7	%		23.8	%
Amounts expected to be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost in the next fiscal year:
Prior service cost	$	3		$	3
Net loss		1,336			525
Net amount expected to be recognized	$	1,339		$	528
Weighted-average assumptions at the end of the year used to determine the actuarial present value of the projected benefit obligation:
Discount rate		4.40	%		5.50	%
Rate of compensation increase		2.50	%		3.00	%

Expected amortization of net actuarial losses – To the extent the cumulative actuarial losses included in accumulated other comprehensive loss exceed 10% of the greater of the accumulated benefit obligation or the market-related value of the Pension Plan assets, it is the Company’s policy to amortize the Pension Plan’s net actuarial losses into income over the future working life of the Pension Plan participants. Actuarial losses included in accumulated other comprehensive loss as of December 31, 2011 exceeded 10% of the accumulated benefit obligation and the fair value of plan assets. The amortization of net actuarial losses is a component of the net periodic benefit cost. Amortization of the net actuarial losses and prior service cost included in other comprehensive income (loss) is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s future results of operations, financial position, or liquidity.

Net Periodic Benefit Pension Cost

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

	Years Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Components of net periodic benefit cost:
Service cost	$	2,725		$	2,352		$	3,404
Interest cost		3,032			2,665			3,337
Expected return on plan assets		(4,110	)		(4,150	)		(4,558	)
Recognized net actuarial loss		976			2			1,153
Amortization of prior service cost		3			3			3
Other (1)		1,285			-			737
Net periodic cost		3,911			872			4,076
Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized as a charge to other comprehensive income (loss):
Net loss (gain) for the period		11,124			3,746			(15,830	)
Amortization of prior service cost		(4	)		(4	)		(4	)
Amortization of net loss		(2,260	)		(2	)		(1,154	)
Total		8,860			3,740			(16,988	)
Total recognized in net periodic pension cost and other comprehensive loss	$	12,771		$	4,612		$	(12,912	)
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net periodic cost:
Discount rate		5.50	%		6.00	%		6.25	%
Expected return on plan assets		7.50	%		7.50	%		8.50	%
Rate of compensation increase		3.00	%		3.00	%		4.50	%

(1)   The 2011 amount represents the correction of a 2010 actuarial pension expense calculation related to the valuation of future early retirement benefits.

Pension Plan Asset Allocation

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

	Target Allocation		Fair Value of Plan		Percentage of Plan Assets
	2011		Assets (1)		2011			2010
Asset Category:
Equity securities		50 - 60%	$	32,360		51	%		61	%
Fixed income		30 - 48%		18,937		30	%		33	%
Cash equivalents		2 - 10%		11,693		19	%		6	%
Total			$	62,990		100	%		100	%

(1)   Additional information regarding the fair value of plan assets can be found in Note 22, “Fair Value.”

As of December 31, 2011, asset category allocations were outside the target range due to a December 2011 employer contribution included in cash equivalents. On January 31, 2012, subsequent to investing this contribution, allocations were 55% equity, 35% fixed income, and 10% cash equivalents.

Expected long-term rate of return – The expected long-term rate of return on Pension Plan assets represents the average rate of return expected to be earned over the period the benefits included in the benefit obligation are to be paid. In developing the expected rate of return, the Company considers long-term returns of historical market data and projections of future returns for each asset category, as well as historical actual returns on the Pension Plan assets with the assistance of its independent actuarial consultant. Using this reference data, a forward-looking return expectation for each asset category and a weighted-average expected long-term rate of return based on the target assets allocation is developed.

Investment policy and strategy – The investment objective of the Pension Plan is to maximize the return on Pension Plan assets over a long-term horizon to satisfy the Pension Plan obligations. In establishing its investment policies and asset allocation strategies, the Company considers expected returns and the volatility associated with different strategies. The policy established by the Committee provides for growth of capital with a moderate level of volatility by investing assets according to the target allocations stated above. As a strategy to mitigate volatility, investments are weighted toward publicly traded securities, and alternative asset classes, such as private equity hedge funds and real estate, are avoided. The assets are reallocated as needed by the fund manager to meet the above target allocations. Under the advisement of a certified investment advisor, the Committee reviews the investment policy on a quarterly basis to determine if any adjustments to the policy or investment strategy are necessary.

Based on the actuarial assumptions, the Company does not anticipate making a contribution to the Pension Plan in 2012. Estimated future pension benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, for fiscal years 2012 through 2021, are as follows.

Estimated Future Pension Benefit Payments

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

	Total
Year ending December 31,
2012	$	5,276
2013		4,944
2014		5,134
2015		5,146
2016		5,240
2017-2021		26,124