EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The Company and its subsidiaries have an established retirement savings plan (401K Plan). All full-time employees are eligible to participate, and all employer contributions are fully vested for employees who have completed 1,000 hours of service in the year of contribution. Company matching contributions for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 amounted to $201,000 and $187,000, respectively. The Company contributes dollar-for-dollar matching contributions up to 5% of compensation subject to government limits.

The Company established a non-qualified plan under which Company directors are allowed to defer all or a portion of directors' fees into various investment options. A supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP) covers named executive officers, with the Company contributing 15% of executive compensation to the plan. Contributions to the plan are fully vested upon the earlier of death, disability, change in control, or ten years of participation in the plan. Costs for amounts related to the non-qualified deferred compensation plans for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 amounted to an approximate decrease of $128,000 and increase of $215,000 in employee benefit related expenses, respectively.

The Company and its subsidiaries established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in January 2010, to enable eligible employees to acquire a proprietary interest in the Company's common stock and to provide retirement and other benefits to such employees. There were contributions of $232,000 during the year ended December 31, 2018 and contributions of $268,000 during the year ended December 31, 2017. All contributions were made in cash for purchase of Company shares in the open market. The Company has not allocated newly issued shares directly to the plan and the plan has no debt.