(8) Employee Benefit Plans

Employee Benefits

Employee benefits charged to operating expenses are summarized in the table below for the periods indicated.

	Threee Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands)	2014		2013
Payroll taxes	$	293	$	304
Medical plans	518		491
401k match and profit sharing	153		75
Pension plan	236		286
Other	11		47
Total employee benefits	$	1,211	$	1,203

The Company’s profit-sharing plan includes a matching 401k portion, in which the Company matches the first 3% of eligible employee contributions. The Company made annual contributions in an amount up to 6% of income before income taxes and before contributions to the profit-sharing and pension plans for all participants, limited to the maximum amount deductible for federal income tax purposes, for each of the periods shown. In addition, employees were able to make additional tax-deferred contributions.

Pension

The Company provides a noncontributory defined benefit pension plan for all full-time employees. An employer is required to recognize the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan as an asset or liability in its balance sheet and to recognize changes in that funded status in the year in which the changes occur through comprehensive income. Under the Company’s funding policy for the defined benefit pension plan, contributions are made to a trust as necessary to provide for current service and for any unfunded accrued actuarial liabilities over a reasonable period. To the extent that these requirements are fully covered by assets in the trust, a contribution might not be made in a particular year. The Company has not made any contributions to the defined benefit plan for the current plan year. The minimum required contribution for the 2014 plan year is estimated to be $1.3 million. The Company has not determined whether it will make any contributions other than the minimum required funding contribution for 2014.

Components of Net Pension Cost and Other Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The following items are components of net pension cost for the periods indicated:

	Estimated			Actual
(in thousands)	2014			2013
Service cost - benefits earned during the year	$	981		$	1,174
Interest costs on projected benefit obligations	732			646
Expected return on plan assets	(887		)	(797		)
Expected administrative expenses	40			40
Amortization of prior service cost	79			79
Amortization of unrecognized net loss	0			31
Net periodic pension expense	$	945		$	1,173

Pension expense - three months ended March 31 (actual)	$	236		$	286