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Defined Benefit Pension Plan
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Defined Benefit Pension Plan Defined Benefit Pension Plan
Certain employees of Liquidity Services UK Limited ("GoIndustry"), which the Company acquired in July 2012, are covered by the Henry Butcher Pension Fund and Life Assurance Scheme (the "Scheme"), a qualified defined benefit pension plan. The Company guarantees GoIndustry's performance on all present and future obligations to make payments to the Scheme for up to a maximum of £10 million British pounds. The Scheme was closed to new members on January 1, 2002.
The Company recognizes the funded status of its postretirement benefit plans, with a corresponding noncash adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax, in stockholders' equity. The funded status is measured as the difference between the fair value of the Scheme's assets and the benefit obligation of the Scheme.
The net periodic benefit cost is recognized within Interest and other income, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, and for the years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, included the following components:
 Year Ended September 30,
 202120202019
 (in thousands)
Interest cost$438 $431 $618 
Expected return on plan assets(793)(797)(965)
Amortization of prior service cost21 19 — 
Total net periodic benefit$(334)$(347)$(347)
The following table provides a reconciliation of benefit obligations, plan assets, and funded status related to the Company's qualified defined benefit pension plan for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020:
 Year Ended September 30,
 20212020
 (in thousands)
Change in benefit obligation  
Beginning balance$26,047 $23,240 
Interest cost438 431 
Benefits paid(781)(597)
Actuarial loss/(gain)152 1,803 
Foreign currency exchange rate changes1,099 1,170 
Ending balance$26,955 $26,047 
 Year Ended September 30,
 20212020
 (in thousands)
Change in plan assets  
Beginning balance at fair value$26,771 $25,779 
Actual return on plan assets1,077 297 
Benefits paid(781)(597)
Foreign currency exchange rate changes1,141 1,292 
Ending balance at fair value$28,208 $26,771 
Overfunded status of the Scheme$1,253 $724 
The pension asset of $1.3 million is recorded in Other long-term assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Because the Scheme is closed to new participants, the accumulated benefit obligation is equal to the projected benefit obligation, which was $27.0 million and $26.0 million at September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
During the year ended September 30, 2021, the Company extended early settlement offers to all members of the Scheme. There was no material impact to the consolidated financial statements as a result of the early settlement offers.
The amounts recognized in other comprehensive (income) loss related to the Company's qualified defined benefit pension plan, net of taxes, and the related foreign currency translation adjustments, for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, is shown in the following table:
 Year Ended September 30,
 20212020
 (in thousands)
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income at beginning of year$(1,971)$303 
Net actuarial gain (loss)170 (2,293)
Foreign currency translation adjustments(84)19 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss at end of year$(1,885)$(1,971)
The plan complies with the funding provisions of the UK Pensions Act 2004 and the Occupational Pension Schemes Regulations Act 2005. The Company does not plan to make contributions to the plan in the near future.
Actuarial Assumptions
The actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations at September 30, 2021 and 2020, and to determine the net periodic (benefit) cost for the year were as follows:
September 30, 2021September 30, 2020
Discount rate to determine net periodic (benefit) cost1.60 %1.80 %
Expected return on plan assets2.82 %3.00 %
Discount rate to determine benefit obligations2.00 %1.60 %
Rate of increases to deferred CPI linked benefits3.10 %2.50 %
Rate of increases to deferred RPI linked benefits3.60 %3.00 %
Mortality—105% for males and females of S2PxA mortality tables, projected in line with the 2020 Continuous Mortality Investigation projection model and a 1.3% per annum long-term rate of improvement.
Estimated Future Benefit Payments
The Company's pension plan expects to make the following benefit payments to participants over the next 10 years:
 Pension Benefits
 (in thousands)
Year ending September 30, 
2022$904 
2023789 
20241,213 
20251,052 
20271,010 
2027 through 20304,390 
Total$9,358 
Fair Value Measurements
The investment policy and strategy of the plan assets, as established by the Trustees (the "Trustees") of the plan, strive to maximize the likelihood of achieving primary objectives of the investment policy established for the plan, which are:
•Funding—to ensure that the Plan is fully funded using assumptions that contain a modest margin for prudence. Where an actuarial valuation reveals a deficit, a recovery plan will be put in place which will take into account the financial covenant of the employer;
•Stability—to have due regard to the likely level and volatility of required contributions when setting the Plan's investment strategy; and
•Security—to ensure that the solvency position of the Scheme is expected to improve. The Trustees will take into account the strength of employer's covenant when determining the expected improvement in the solvency position of the Plan.
The assets are allocated among equity securities, corporate bonds, and diversified funds. The assets are not rebalanced, but the allocation is reviewed on a periodic basis to ensure that the investments are appropriate to the Scheme's circumstances. The Trustees review the investment policy on an ongoing basis, to determine whether a change in the policy or asset allocation targets is necessary. The Company has elected to use a bid value of Scheme assets to calculate the expected return on assets in the net periodic benefit cost. The assets consisted of the following as of September 30, 2021 and 2020:
 20212020
Equity securities21.0 %20.6 %
Corporate bonds53.0 %53.0 %
Diversified fund26.0 %26.0 %
Cash— %0.4 %
Total100.0 %100.0 %
The expected long-term rate of return for the plan's total assets is based on the expected returns of each of the above categories, weighted based on the current target allocation for each class. The Trustees evaluate whether adjustments are needed based on historical returns to more accurately reflect expectations of future returns.
The Company is required to present certain fair value disclosures related to its postretirement benefit plan assets, even though those assets are not included in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets. The following table presents the fair value of the assets of the Company's qualified defined benefit pension plan by asset category and their level within the fair value hierarchy.

Balance as of September 30, 2021Level 1Level 2Level 3Total
 (in thousands)
Equity securities$— $5,860 $— $5,860 
Corporate bonds— 14,878 — 14,878 
Diversified fund— 7,279 — 7,279 
Cash191 — — 191 
Total$191 $28,017 $— $28,208 

Balance as of September 30, 2020Level 1Level 2Level 3Total
 (in thousands)
Equity securities$— $5,526 $— $5,526 
Corporate bonds— 14,194 — 14,194 
Diversified fund— 6,957 — 6,957 
Cash94 — — 94 
Total$94 $26,677 $— $26,771 

Valuation Techniques
The Company relies on pricing inputs from investment fund managers to value investments. The fund manager prices the underlying securities using independent external pricing sources.