9. BENEFIT PLAN

We sponsor a 401(k) savings plan for eligible employees. We provide a contribution of 3% of applicable salary to the plan for all employees with greater than six months of service. Additionally, we match eligible employee contributions at a rate of 0.25%, per one percent of applicable salary contributed to the plan by the employee. This matching contribution will be made by us up to a maximum of 1% of the employee’s applicable salary for all qualified employees.

Our approximate contributions to the 401(k) Plan were as follows:


($ in thousands)		2019		2018
401k plan sponsor contributions	$	955	$	836

Deferred Compensation Plan

The Deferred Compensation Plan, which became effective January 1, 2019, is an unfunded nonqualified deferred compensation plan in which certain executives are eligible to participate.

Under the Deferred Compensation Plan, participants may elect to defer up to 75% of their base compensation and up to 100% of their bonuses, commissions, and other compensation. The deferred amounts are paid in accordance with each participant’s elections made on or before December 31 of the prior year. In addition to elective deferrals, the Deferred Compensation Plan permits the Company to make discretionary contributions to eligible participants, provided that any participant who is employed on the last day of a plan year will receive a Company contribution equal to no less than 3% of the participant’s base compensation, bonus earned, and non-equity incentive plan compensation in the plan year. Company contributions will vest in accordance with the vesting schedule determined by the Committee, except in the event of the participant’s death, disability or retirement, in which case the contributions will vest 100% upon such event. Participants may elect to receive payment in a lump sum cash payment or, in the event of the participant’s retirement, in annual installments for a period of up to ten years. In the event of a participant’s termination of employment, deferred amounts will generally be paid within 60 days following the later of the date (i) of such termination or (ii) the participant attains age 60, except where such termination is due to such participant’s death, in which case deferred amounts will be paid to such participant’s beneficiary within 30 days of confirmation of the participant’s death.

The deferrals are held in a separate trust, which has been established by the Company to administer the Deferred Compensation Plan. The assets of the trust are subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors in the event that the Company becomes insolvent. Consequently, the trust qualifies as a grantor trust for income tax purposes (i.e., a “Rabbi Trust”). The assets held by the trust were approximately $40,000 as of December 31, 2019 and are classified as trading securities within prepaid expenses and other current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, with changes in the deferred compensation charged to operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.