BENEFIT PLANS

9 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2019

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

(8)

BENEFIT PLANS

Pension Plan

The Company has a defined benefit pension plan for which accumulated benefits were frozen and future service credits were curtailed as of March 1, 2004. Refer to Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements contained in the 2018 Form 10-K for additional detail regarding the Company’s agreements with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the “PBGC”). The agreements with the PBGC terminated by their terms in August 2018 with the PBGC being deemed to have released and discharged the Company and all other members of its controlled group from any claims under such agreements.

The Company recognizes the known changes in the funded status of the pension plan in the period in which the changes occur through other comprehensive income, net of the related deferred income tax effect. The Company recognized other comprehensive income of $157,000 and $471,000 for the third quarter and first nine months of 2019 and $225,000 and $674,000 for the third quarter and first nine months of 2018, related to the amortization of the plan’s unrecognized net loss included in Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net in the accompanying financial statements.

The Company funds the pension plan in compliance with IRS funding requirements. The Company made contributions of $2,000,000 and $1,040,000 to the pension plan during first nine months of 2019 and 2018.

Equity Compensation Plan

Refer to Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements contained in the 2018 Form 10-K for additional detail regarding the AMREP Corporation 2016 Equity Compensation Plan (the “2016 Equity Plan”) and the AMREP Corporation 2006 Equity Compensation Plan (together with the 2016 Equity Plan, the “Equity Plans”). The Company issued 29,200 shares of restricted common stock under the 2016 Equity Plan during the first nine months of 2019. During the first nine months of 2019, 16,583 shares of restricted common stock previously issued under the Equity Plans vested leaving 47,367 restricted shares issued under the Equity Plans that had not vested as of January 31, 2019. For the third quarter and first nine months of 2019, the Company recognized $43,000 and $124,000 of non-cash compensation expense related to the vesting of restricted shares of common stock, and $31,000 and $76,000 for the same periods of 2018. As of January 31, 2019, there was $178,000 of unrecognized compensation expense related to restricted shares of common stock issued under the Equity Plans which had not vested as of that date, which is expected to be recognized over the remaining vesting term not to exceed three years.

On the last trading day of calendar year 2018, each non-employee member of the Company’s Board of Directors was issued the number of deferred common share units of the Company under the 2016 Equity Plan equal to $20,000 divided by the closing price per share of common stock reported on the New York Stock Exchange on such date. Based on the closing price per share of $5.95 on December 31, 2018, the Company issued a total of 13,444 deferred common share units to members of the Company’s Board of Directors. Director compensation expense is recognized for the annual grant of deferred common share units ratably over the director’s service in office during the calendar year. The Company recognized $20,000 and $60,000 of non-cash director fee compensation during the third quarter and first nine months of 2019 related to deferred common share units issued to non-employee members of the Company’s Board of Directors on December 31, 2018 and expected to be issued to non-employee members of the Company’s Board of Directors in December 2019.