Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Employee Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

K.    Employee Benefit Plans

401(k) Plan

We have a defined employee contribution 401(k) plan for substantially all of our U.S. employees. We match 100% of employee contributions up to an employee contribution of 4% of each employee’s salary. We recognized expenses of $3.4 million, $2.9 million and $3.0 million in fiscal years 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, under this plan primarily related to matching contributions.

Deferred Compensation

We offer an unfunded, non-qualified deferred compensation plan to a select group of management and highly compensated individuals. The plan permits the deferral of up to 50% of a participant’s base salary and/or 100% of a participant’s annual incentive bonus. The deferrals are held in a separate trust, which has been established to administer the plan. The assets of the trust are subject to the claims of our creditors in the event that we become insolvent. Consequently, the trust qualifies as a grantor trust for income tax purposes (a Rabbi Trust). The assets and liabilities of the plan are recorded in other assets and deferred compensation in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets, respectively. Changes in the deferred compensation balance are charged to compensation expense. The plan is not qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue code. There was no compensation expense related to this plan in fiscal year 2011. Total assets held by the trustee and deferred compensation liabilities were $2.3 million at September 30, 2011.

Certain executives were provided an executive benefit plan which provides for fixed payments upon normal retirement on or after age 65 and the completion of at least 10 years of continuous employment. The estimated present value of these payments were accrued over the service life of these individuals, and $1.0 million is recorded in deferred compensation in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets related to this executive benefit plan. To assist in funding the deferred compensation liability, we have invested in corporate-owned life insurance policies. The cash surrender value of these policies is presented in other assets in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. The cash surrender value of life insurance policies was $4.0 million at September 30, 2011.

Retiree Medical Plan

We have a plan to extend to retirees health benefits which are available to active employees under our existing health plans. This plan is unfunded. The plan provides coverage for employees with at least 10 years of service, age 55 or older but less than 65, who retired on or after January 1, 2000. The retiree is required to pay the COBRA rate less a subsidy provided by us based on years of service at the time of retirement.

For the year ended September 30, 2011, the measurement of postretirement benefit expense was based on assumptions used to value the postretirement benefit liability as of October 1, 2010, our measurement date.

Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income as of September 30, 2011 and 2010, consisted of the following on a pretax basis (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2011			2010
Net actuarial gain	$	(827	)	$	(1,113	)
Prior service cost		51			167
Total recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income	$	(776	)	$	(946	)

Amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income as of September 30, 2011, expected to be recognized as components of net periodic postretirement benefit cost in 2012 were as follows (in thousands):

Net actuarial gain	$	(44	)
Prior service cost		115
Total	$	71

The following table illustrates the changes in accumulated postretirement benefit obligation, changes in fair value of assets and the funded status of the postretirement benefit plan (in thousands):

	September 30,
	2011			2010
Changes in postretirement benefit obligation:
Balance at beginning of year	$	663		$	741
Service cost		40			33
Interest cost		39			39
Actuarial loss (gain)		248			(95	)
Benefits paid		(95	)		(55	)
Balance at end of year	$	895		$	663
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of assets at beginning of year	$	—		$	—
Employer contributions		95			55
Benefits paid		(95	)		(55	)
Fair value of assets at end of year	$	—		$	—
Reconciliation of funded status:
Unfunded liability	$	(895	)	$	(663	)
Unrecognized prior service cost		51			167
Unrecognized net actuarial gain		(827	)		(1,113	)
Net liability recognized	$	(1,671	)	$	(1,609	)

	2011			2010
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at September 30:
Discount rate pre-retirement		0.00	%		0.00	%
Discount rate post-retirement		4.24			4.56
Current year trend rate		10.00			9.00
Ultimate trend rate		5.00			5.00
Year ultimate trend rate reached		2014			2013

If the medical care cost trend rate assumptions were increased or decreased by 1% as of September 30, 2011, the effect of this change on the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation and service and interest costs would be an increase of $64,000 and $10,000 or a decrease of $35,000 and $6,000, respectively.

	Year Ended September 30,
	2011			2010			2009
Components of net periodic postretirement benefit cost:
Service cost	$	40		$	33		$	60
Interest cost		39			39			59
Prior service cost		115			115			115
Net gain recognized		(37	)		(49	)		(75	)
Net periodic postretirement benefit cost	$	157		$	138		$	159

	2011			2010
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit costs at September 30:
Discount rate pre-retirement		0.00	%		0.00	%
Discount rate post-retirement		4.56			5.45
Current year trend rate		10.00			9.00
Ultimate trend rate		5.00			5.00
Year ultimate trend rate reached		2013			2012

Future expected benefit payments as of September 30, 2011, related to postretirement benefits for the subsequent five years were as follows (in thousands):

Year Ending September 30,	Expected Benefit Payments
2012	$	110
2013		92
2014		79
2015		68
2016		61
2016 through 2021		364