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Pension and Retirement Plans
 3 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Pension and Retirement Plans  
Pension and Retirement Plans

10.          Pension and Retirement Plans

The Company’s operations have defined benefit and defined contribution plans in the U.K. and in the U.S. In the U.K., the Company provides defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution plans for some of its employees. In the U.S., the Company provides benefits through supplemental retirement plans to certain former employees. The U.S. supplemental retirement plans have life insurance policies which are not plan assets but were purchased by the Company as a vehicle to fund the costs of the plan. The Company also provides for officer death benefits through post-retirement plans to certain current officers of the Company in the U.S. All the Company’s defined benefit plans are closed to newly hired employees and have been since September 2009.

The Company funds its pension plans in amounts sufficient to meet the requirements set forth in applicable employee benefits laws and local tax laws. Liabilities for amounts in excess of these funding levels are accrued and reported in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The Company’s pension plan in the U.K. is the only pension plan with plan assets. In October 2024 in connection with the planned termination of our defined benefit pension plan in the U.K. we entered into a buy-in bulk annuity insurance policy in exchange for a premium payment of 8.9 million Great British Pounds (equivalent to approximately $11.2 million as of December 31, 2024), which is subject to adjustment as a result of subsequent data cleansing activities. Under the terms of this buy-in insurance policy, the insurer is liable to pay the benefits of the plan, but the Company still retains full legal responsibility to pay the benefits to members using the insurance payments. The buy-in policy will be treated as a plan asset going forward until the buy-in policy is converted to a buy-out policy, which is when individual

insurance policies will be assigned to each member of the plan and the Company will no longer have legal responsibility to pay the benefits to the members. In accordance with US GAAP the buy-in does not trigger a remeasurement at an interim period. Therefore, accounting entries to reflect this will be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending September 30, 2025. The buy-in policy will be treated as a plan asset going forward until such time as the buy-in policy is converted to a buy-out policy, which is when individual insurance policies will be assigned to each member of the plan and the Company will no longer have legal responsibility to pay the benefits to the members. The plan assets were converted to all cash during the first quarter of fiscal year 2025.

The components of net periodic benefit costs related to the U.S. and U.K. plans are as follows:

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Three Months Ended December 31, 

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2024

​

2023

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U.K.

    

U.S.

    

Total

    

U.K.

    

U.S.

    

Total

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​

(Amounts in thousands)

Pension:

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​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Interest cost

​

$

105

​

$

2

​

$

107

​

$

112

​

$

3

​

$

115

Expected return on plan assets

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(122)

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—

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(122)

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(150)

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—

​

 

(150)

Amortization of past service costs

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2

​

​

—

​

​

2

​

​

2

​

​

—

​

​

2

Amortization of net gain

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—

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(2)

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(2)

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—

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(1)

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(1)

Net periodic (benefit) cost

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$

(15)

​

$

—

​

$

(15)

​

$

(36)

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$

2

​

$

(34)

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Post Retirement:

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Service cost

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$

—

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$

7

​

$

7

​

$

—

​

$

6

​

$

6

Interest cost

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—

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15

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15

​

 

—

​

 

16

​

 

16

Amortization of net gain

​

 

—

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(30)

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(30)

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—

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(43)

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(43)

Net periodic benefit

​

$

—

​

$

(8)

​

$

(8)

​

$

—

​

$

(21)

​

$

(21)

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The fair value of the assets held by the U.K. pension plan by asset category are as follows:

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Fair Values as of

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December 31, 2024

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September 30, 2024

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Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as

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Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as

Asset Category

    

Total

    

Level 1

    

Level 2

    

Level 3

    

Total

    

Level 1

    

Level 2

    

Level 3

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​

(Amounts in thousands)

Cash on deposit

​

$

11,592

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$

11,592

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$

—

​

$

—

​

$

65

​

$

65

​

$

—

​

$

—

Fixed income

​

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—

​

​

—

​

​

—

​

​

—

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​

10,388

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​

8,714

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​

1,674

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​

—

Equity

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—

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—

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​

—

​

​

—

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913

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263

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​

650

​

​

—

Total plan assets

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$

11,592

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$

11,592

​

$

—

​

$

—

​

$

11,366

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$

9,042

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$

2,324

​

$

—

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​