PENSION PLAN

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Employee Benefits and Share-based Compensation, Noncash [Abstract]

PENSION PLAN

One of the Company’s dormant foreign subsidiaries maintains a defined benefit pension plan that provides benefits based on length of service and final average earnings. The following table sets forth the benefit obligation, fair value of plan assets, and the funded status of the Company’s plan; amounts recognized in the Company’s consolidated financial statements; and the assumptions used in determining the actuarial present value of the benefit obligations as of December 31:

($ in thousands)	2018			2017
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	3,830		$	3,540
Service cost		—			—
Interest cost		72			64
Actuarial (gain) loss		(34	)		(167	)
Effect of exchange rate changes		(174	)		473
Effect of curtailment		—			—
Benefits paid		(84	)		(80	)
Benefit obligation at end of year		3,610			3,830
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year		1,806			1,645
Actual return of plan assets		82			7
Company contributions		13			12
Benefits paid		(84	)		(80	)
Effect of exchange rate changes		(83	)		222
Fair value of plan assets at end of year		1,734			1,806
Funded status		(1,876	)		(2,024	)
Unrecognized actuarial loss (gain)		1,542			1,629
Unrecognized prior service (benefit) cost		—			—
Additional minimum liability		(1,542	)		(1,629	)
Unrecognized transition (asset) liability		—			—
Net amount recognized	$	(1,876	)	$	(2,024	)
Components of net periodic benefit cost are as follows:
Service cost	$	—		$	—
Interest cost on projected benefit obligations		72			64
Expected return on plan assets		(56	)		(70	)
Amortization of prior service costs					—
Amortization of actuarial loss		102			104
Net periodic benefit costs	$	118		$	98
The weighted average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for the years ended December 31, were
Discount rate		2.0	%		1.9	%
Expected return on plan assets		3.2	%		3.2	%
Rate of pension increases		2.0	%		2.0	%
Rate of compensation increase		N/A			N/A
The following discloses information about the Company’s defined benefit pension plan that had an accumulated benefit obligation in excess of plan assets as of December 31,
Projected benefit obligation	$	3,610		$	3,830
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	3,610		$	3,830
Fair value of plan assets	$	1,733		$	1,806

As of December 31, 2018, the following benefit payments are expected to be paid as follows (in thousands):

2019	$	82
2020	$	83
2021	$	97
2022	$	99
2023	$	106
2024 — 2028	$	679

The Company made contributions to the plan of approximately $13,000 during the year ended December 31, 2018, and $12,000 during the year ended December 31, 2017. The company anticipates to make contributions at similar levels during the next fiscal year.

In accordance with the Company’s adoption of ASU 2017-07, the components of net periodic pension expense is shown in the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 under the caption “Other components of net periodic pension expense”.

The Company’s German pension plan is funded by insurance contract policies whereby the insurance company guarantees a fixed minimum return. The Company has determined that the pension assets are more appropriately classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using actuarial valuation methodologies which approximate cash surrender value. Accordingly, the Company has reclassified the classification level of the pension plan insurance contracts to Level 3 for all periods presented. Such pension plan insurance contracts were previously classified by the Company as Level 1. All plan assets are managed in a policyholder pool in Germany by outside investment managers. The investment manager is responsible for the investment strategy of the insurance premiums that Company submits and does not hold individual assets per participating employer. The German Federal Financial Supervisory oversees and supervises the insurance contracts.

The measurement date used to determine the benefit information of the plan was January 1, 2019.