NOTE M — RETIREMENT PLANS

401(k) plan

The Company maintains a defined contribution retirement plan for eligible employees under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Participants can make voluntary contributions up to the Internal Revenue Service limit of $18,000 ($24,000 for employees 50 years or over) for 2017. The Company suspended its matching contribution in 2009 as an expense savings measure. The Company’s United Kingdom-based subsidiaries also maintain defined contribution pension plans.

Retirement benefit obligations

The Company assumed retirement benefit obligations, which are paid to certain former executives of a business acquired in 2006. These obligations under the agreements with these former executives are unfunded and amounted to $7.3 million at December 31, 2017 and $6.9 million at December 31, 2016.

The discount rate used to calculate the retirement benefit obligations was 3.33% at December 31, 2017 and 3.76% at December 31, 2016. The retirement benefit obligations are included in accrued expenses and deferred rent and other long-term liabilities.

The Company expects to recognize $119,000 of actuarial losses included in accumulated other comprehensive loss in net periodic benefit cost in 2018.

Expected benefit payments for each of the next five fiscal years and in the aggregate for the five fiscal years thereafter are as follows (in thousands):


Year ending December 31,
2018	$	422
2019		407
2020		392
2021		393
2022		435
2023 through 2027		1,944