Note 8 - Employee Benefit Plans

6 Months Ended

Apr. 01, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

(8)

Employee Benefit Plans

Retirement plans.

We had

one

defined benefit pension plan, the Insteel Wire Products Company Retirement Income Plan for Hourly Employees, Wilmington, Delaware (the “Delaware Plan”). The Delaware Plan provided benefits for eligible employees based primarily upon years of service and compensation levels. The Delaware Plan was frozen effective

September

30,

2008

whereby participants no longer earned additional benefits.

During the

second

quarter of fiscal

2016,

we notified plan participants of our intent to terminate the Delaware Plan effective

May

1,

2016.

During

September

2016,

the Delaware Plan settled plan liabilities through either lump sum distributions to plan participants or annuity contracts purchased from a

third

-party insurance company that provided for the payment of vested benefits to those participants that did not elect the lump sum option. As of

October

1,

2016,

there were

no

remaining plan assets.

Net periodic pension cost for the Delaware Plan in the prior year included the following components:

		Three Months Ended		Six Months Ended
(In thousands)	April 2, 2016			April 2, 2016
Interest cost	$	37		$	74
Expected return on plan assets		(44	)		(88	)
Recognized net actuarial loss		19			38
Net periodic pension cost	$	12		$	24

Supplemental employee retirement plan

.

We have Retirement Security Agreements (each, a “SERP”) with certain of our employees (each, a “Participant”). Under the SERPs, if the Participant remains in continuous service with us for a period of at least

30

 years, we will pay them a supplemental retirement benefit for the

15

-year period following their retirement equal to

50%

of their highest average annual base salary for

five

consecutive years in the

10

-year period preceding their retirement. If the Participant retires prior to the later of age

65

or the completion of

30

 years of continuous service with us, but has completed at least

10

years of continuous service, the amount of their supplemental retirement benefit will be reduced by

1/360th

for each month short of

30

 years that they were employed by us.

Net periodic pension cost for the SERPs includes the following components:

	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	April 1,		April 2,		April 1,		April 2,
(In thousands)	2017		2016		2017		2016
Service cost	$	86	$	66	$	172	$	132
Interest cost		85		81		170		162
Recognized net actuarial loss		43		21		86		42
Net periodic pension cost	$	214	$	168	$	428	$	336