Retirement Agreements And Other Postretirement Benefit Plan

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Retirement Agreements And Other Postretirement Benefit Plan [Abstract]

Retirement Agreements And Other Postretirement Benefit Plan

10. Retirement Agreements and Other Postretirement Benefit Plan

     The Company has a 401(k) savings plan. In order to participate, individuals must be employed for one full year and work at least 1,000 hours annually. The Company makes a 3% Safe Harbor contribution and also has the option annually to make a discretionary profit share contribution. Individuals may elect to make contributions up to the maximum deductible amount as determined by the Internal Revenue Code. Expenses related to the 401(k) were approximately $479,000 and $484,000 for 2011 and 2010, respectively.

     In November 2003, ITIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into employment agreements with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of ITIC. These individuals also serve as the Chairman, President and Executive Vice President, respectively, of the Company. The agreements provide compensation and life, health, dental and vision benefits upon the occurrence of specific events, including death, disability, retirement, termination without cause or upon a change in control. The employment agreements also prohibit each of these executives from competing with ITIC and its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates in the State of North Carolina while employed by ITIC and for a period of two years following termination of their employment.

     In addition, during the second quarter of 2004, ITIC entered into nonqualified deferred compensation plan agreements with these executives. The amount accrued for all agreements at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was approximately $5,740,000 and $5,134,000, respectively, which includes postretirement compensation and health benefits, and was calculated based on the terms of the contract. Both the 2011 and 2010 accruals are included in the Accounts Payable and Accrued Liability line item of the Consolidated Balance Sheets. These executive contracts are accounted for on an individual contract basis. On December 24, 2008, the executive contracts were amended effective January 1, 2009 to bring them into compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, and were amended and restated to provide for an annual cash payment to the officers equal to the amounts the Company would have contributed to their accounts under its 401(k) Plan if such contributions were not limited by the federal tax laws, less the amount of any contributions that the Company actually makes to their accounts under the Company's 401(k) Plan.

     On November 17, 2003, ITIC entered into employment agreements with key executives that provide for the continuation of certain employee benefits upon retirement. The executive employee benefits include health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance and life insurance. The benefits are unfunded. Estimated future benefit payouts expected to be paid for each of the next five years are $4,437 in 2012, $5,678 in 2013, $6,201 in 2014, $6,729 in 2015, $7,262 in 2016 and $88,280 in the next five years thereafter.

Cost of the Company's postretirement benefits included the following components:

		2011			2010
Net periodic benefit cost
Service cost – benefits earned during the year	$	19,503		$	25,698
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation		24,607			30,755
Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost		13,038			20,388
Amortization of unrecognized (gain) loss		(318	)		2,572
Net periodic benefit cost at end of year	$	56,830		$	79,413

     The Company is required to recognize the funded status (i.e., the difference between the fair value of the assets and the accumulated postretirement benefit obligations of its postretirement benefits) in its Consolidated Balance Sheet, with a corresponding adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax. The net amount in accumulated other comprehensive income is $(82,392), $(54,376) net of tax, for December 31, 2011, and $19,977, $13,189 net of tax, for December 31, 2010, and represents the net unrecognized actuarial losses and unrecognized prior service costs. The effects of the funded status on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2011 and 2010 are presented in the following table:

		2011			2010
Funded status
Actuarial present value of future benefits:
Fully eligible active employee	$	(354,308	)	$	(36,253	)
Non-eligible active employees		(234,586	)		(393,442	)
Plan assets		-			-
Funded status of accumulated postretirement benefit obligation, recognized in
other liabilities	$	(588,894	)	$	(429,695	)

Development of the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 includes the following:

		2011			2010
Accrued postretirement benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	(429,695	)	$	(536,746	)
Service cost – benefits earned during the year		(19,503	)		(25,698	)
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation		(24,607	)		(30,755	)
Plan amendments		-			25,665
Actuarial (loss) gain		(115,089	)		137,839
Accrued postretirement benefit obligation at end of year	$	(588,894	)	$	(429,695	)

The changes in amounts related to accumulated other comprehensive income, pre-tax, are as follows:

		2011			2010
Balance at beginning of year	$	(19,977	)	$	166,487
Components of accumulated other comprehensive income
Unrecognized prior service cost		(13,038	)		(20,388	)
Amortization of gain (loss), net		318			(2,572	)
Actuarial loss (gain)		115,089			(137,839	)
Plan amendments		-			(25,665	)
Balance at end of year	$	82,392		$	(19,977	)

For 2011, the amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income, pre-tax, to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit costs are:

		Projected
		2012
Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost	$	9,396
Amortization of unrecognized loss		681
Net periodic benefit cost at end of year	$	10,077

     Assumed health care cost trend rates do have an effect on the amounts reported for the postretirement benefit obligations. The following illustrates the effects on the net periodic postretirement benefit cost ("NPPBC") and the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation ("APBO") of a one percentage point increase and one percentage point decrease in the assumed health care cost trend rate as of December 31, 2011:

		One-		One-
		Percentage		Percentage
		Point		Point
		Increase		Decrease
Net periodic postretirement benefit cost
Effect on the service cost component	$	3,506	$	(2,619	)
Effect on interest cost		6,216		(4,745	)
Total effect on the net periodic postretirement benefit cost	$	9,722	$	(7,364	)
Accumulated postretirement benefit obligation (including active
employees who are not fully eligible)
Effect on those currently receiving benefits (retirees and spouses)	$	-	$	-
Effect on active fully eligible		65,623		(51,191	)
Effect on actives not yet eligible		65,235		(48,702	)
Total effect on the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation	$	130,858	$	(99,893	)