(1) General- The
legal name, address and Federal employer identification
number of the Employer are:
Spears World Travel Service, Inc.
500 S. Keeler
Bartlesville, OK 74003
The Employer has established a retirements plan to
supplement your income upon retirement. In
addition to retirement benefits, the Plan may provide
benefits in the event of your death or disability or in
the event of your termination of employment prior to
normal retirement. If after reading this summary
you have any questions, please ask the Plan
Administrator. We emphasize this summary plan
description is a highlight of the more important
provisions of the Plan. If there is a
conflict between a statement in this summary plan
description and in the Plan, the terms of the Plan
control.
(2) Identification of Plan - The Plan is known
as:
Spears World Travel Service, Inc. 401(k) Plan
The Employer has assigned 001 as the Plan
identification number. The plan year is the period
on which the Plan maintains its records: the twelve
consecutive month period ending every December 31.
(3) Type of Plan - The Plan is commonly known
as a Code Section 401(k) profit sharing plan.
Section (8), "Employer's Contributions,"
explains how you share in the Employer's annual
contributions to the trust fund and the extent to which
the Employer has an obligation to make annual
contributions to the trust fund.
Under this plan, there is no fixed dollar amount of
retirement benefits. Your actual retirement
benefit will depend on the amount of your account
balance at the time of retirement. Your account
balance will reflect the annual allocations, the period
of time you participate in the Plan and the success of
the Plan in investing and reinvesting the assets of the
trust fund. Furthermore, a governmental agency
known as the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
insures the benefits payable under plans which provide
for fixed and determinable retirement benefits.
The Plan does not provide a fixed and determinable
retirement benefit. Therefore, the PBGC does not
include this plan within its insurance program.
(4) Plan Administrator - The Employer is the
Plan Administrator. The Employer's telephone
number is (918) 336-2360. The Employer has
designated Gary Spears to assist the Employer
with the duties of Plan Administrator. You may
contact Gary Spears at the Employer's address.
The Plan Administrator is responsible for providing you
and other participants information regarding your rights
and benefits under the Plan.
The Plan Administrator also has the primary authority
for filing the various reports, forms and returns with
the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue
Service.
The name of the person designated as agent for
service of legal process and the address where a
processor may serve legal process upon the Plan are:
Spears World Travel Service, Inc.
500 S. Keeler
Bartlesville, OK 74003
A legal processor may also serve the Trustee of the
Plan or the Plan Administrator.
The Plan permits the Employer to appoint an Advisory
Committee to assist in the administration of the Plan.
The Advisory Committee has the responsibility for making
all discretionary determinations under the Plan and for
giving distribution directions to the Trustee. If
the Employer does not appoint an Advisory Committee, the
Plan Administrator assumes these responsibilities.
The members of the Advisory Committee may change from
time to time. You may obtain the names of the
current members of the Advisory Committee from the Plan
Administrator.
(5) Trustee/Trust Fund - The Employer has
appointed:
Gary Spears
Greg Spears
to hold the office of Trustee. The Trustee will
hold all amounts the Employer contributes to it in a
trust fund. Upon the direction of the Advisory
Committee, the Trustee will make all distribution and
benefit payments from the trust fund to participants and
beneficiaries. The Trustee will maintain trust
fund records on a plan year basis.
(6) Hours of Service - The Plan and this
summary plan description include references to hours of
service. To become eligible to participate in the
Plan, to advance on the vesting schedule or to share in
the allocation of Employer contributions for a plan
year, the Plan requires you to complete a minimum number
of hours of service during a specified period. The
sections covering eligibility to participate, vesting
and employer contributions explain this aspect of the
Plan in the context of those topics. However, hour
of service has the same meaning for all purposes of the
Plan.
The Department of Labor, in its regulations, has
prescribed various methods under which the Employer may
credit hours of service. The Employer has selected
the "actual" method for crediting hours of
service. Under the actual method, you will receive
credit for each hour for which the Employer pays you,
directly or indirectly, or for which you are entitled to
payment, for the performance of your employment duties.
You also will receive credit for certain hours during
which you do not work if the Employer pays you for those
hours, such as paid vacation.
If an employee's absence from employment is due to
maternity or paternity leave, the employee will receive
credit for unpaid hours of service related to his leave,
not to exceed 501 hours. The Advisory Committee
will credit these hours of service to the first period
during which the employee otherwise would incur a 1-year
break in service as a result of the unpaid absence.
(7) Eligibility to Participate - To become a
participant, an employee must complete one year of
service and attain age 21. You do not have to
complete any form for entry into the Plan. You
will become a Participant on the January 15th &
July 15th immediately following your completion of
the age and service requirement. It is
the Employees responsibility to fill out the proper
papers. You will need to contact Gary Spears for
the proper forms needed.
The Plan defines "year of service" as a
12-month period in which you work 1,000 hours of service
for the Employer. The first eligibility service
period starts on your first day of employment with the
Employer. For example, if you begin work on
February 15 and work 1,000 hours from that February 15
through the following February 14, you would enter the
Plan on the enrollment form immediately following the
completion of the one year of service. After the
first 12-month eligibility service period, the Plan will
measure your eligibility service period on a plan year
basis. In the prior example, on a plan year basis,
the second 12-month period would begin with the first
plan year starting after your February 15 employment
date and other 12-month periods would be the following
plan years. The Plan will need to measure more
than one 12-month period, for example, if you do not
complete a year of service in the first 12 month period.
The example in the prior paragraph assumes you are at
least 21 when you complete the service requirement.
If you have not attained age 21 when you complete the
service requirement, then you will become a participant
in the Plan on the January 15th and July 15th
immediately following your attainment of age 21.
If you terminate employment after becoming a
Participant in the Plan and later return to employment,
you will re-enter the Plan on your re-employment date,
unless the "one year break in service rule"
applies to you. Also, if you terminate employment
after satisfying the Plan's eligibility conditions but
before actually becoming a participant in the Plan, you
will become a participant in the Plan on the later of
your scheduled entry date or your reemployment date,
unless the "one year break in service rule"
applies to you. Under the "one year break in
service rule", if you have a break in service after
you complete the eligibility service condition, you must
complete another year of service after that break in
service or the Plan will not treat you as having
satisfied the service condition. Your failure to
complete one year of service in the 12-month period
following your reemployment will delay your
reparticipation in the Plan. The "one year
break in service rule" also will suspend your right
to participate in the Plan if you incur a break in
service while continuing in employment with the
Employer. The suspension continues until you have
completed another year of service. A "one
year break in service" is an eligibility service
period in which you complete 500 or less hours of
service.
(8) Employer's Contributions - 401K Arrangement.
This Plan includes a "401(k) arrangement,"
under which you may elect to have the employer
contribute a portion of your compensation to the Plan.
The contributions the Employer makes under your election
are "elective deferrals." The Advisory
Committee will allocate your elective deferrals to a
separate account by the Plan as your Deferral
Contributions Account.
As a participant in the Plan, you may enter into a
salary reduction agreement with the Employer. The
Advisory Committee will give you a salary reduction
agreement form which will explain your salary reduction
options. The Employer will withhold from your pay
the amount you have agreed to have the Employer
contribute as elective deferrals.
Your salary reduction agreement remains in effect
until you revoke the agreement. You may revoke
your salary reduction agreement as of the first day of
any month. If you revoke your salary reduction
agreement, you may file a new agreement with an
effective date as of the first day of any month
subsequent to the month in which you revoked your
agreement. You may increase or decrease your
salary reduction percentage or dollar amount as of the
first day of each month. Your salary reduction
contributions may not exceed 15% of your Compensation
for the Plan Year.
For any calendar year, your elective deferrals may
not exceed a specific dollar amount determined by the
Internal Revenue Service. If your elective
deferrals for a particular calendar year exceed the
dollar limitation in effect for that calendar year, the
Plan will refund the excess amount, plus any earnings
(or loss) allocated to that excess amount. If you
participate in another "401(k) arrangement" or
in similar arrangements under which you elect to have an
employer contribute on your behalf, your total elective
deferrals may not exceed the dollar limitation in effect
for that calendar year. The Form W-2 you receive
from each employer for the calendar year will report the
amount of your elective deferrals for that calendar year
under that employer's plan. If your total exceeds
the dollar limitation in effect for that calendar year
you should decide which plan you wish to designate as
that plan with the excess amount. If you designate
this Plan as holding the excess amount for a calendar
year, you must notify the Advisory Committee of that
designation by March 1 of the following calendar year.
The Trustee then will distribute the excess amount to
you, plus earnings (or loss) allocated to that excess
amount.
Matching Contributions: For each plan
year, the Employer will contribute to the Plan an amount
of matching contributions determined by the Employer at
its discretion. The Employer may choose not to
make matching contributions for a particular plan year.
The Employer will determine a separate amount of
matching contributions for each level of the
participant's "eligible contributions."
A participant's "eligible contributions" equal
the participant's elective deferrals for the plan year
(other than any elective deferrals which exceed the
dollar limitation determined by the Internal Revenue
Service). A participant's first level of
eligible contributions is the amount of eligible
contributions not exceeding FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS.
The subsequent tiers of eligible contributions are:
MORE THAN FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS. A participant's
share of the matching contributions made for each level
of eligible contributions is equal to his share of the
total eligible contributions in that level made by all
participants. For example, if your eligible
contributions under the first level equal 10% of the
total eligible contributions in the first level made by
all participants, your account would receive an
allocation of 10% of the total amount of matching
contributions made by the Employer for the first level
of eligible contributions. The Advisory Committee
allocates your share of these matching contributions to
your Regular Matching Contributions Account.
The Employer will determine the amount of matching
contribution as of each December 31, ON EACH PAYDATE.
As of each allocation date during the plan year, the
Advisory Committee will allocate to your account your
share of the matching contributions made for that
allocation period. Any limitations on eligible
contributions or on matching contributions apply
separately for each allocation period.
Current matching level from Spears
Travel is 5%. (Subject to change).
Qualified nonelective contributions: The
Plan permits the Employer to contribute a discretionary
amount for a plan year which the Employer will designate
as qualified nonelective contributions. If the
Employer makes qualified nonelective contributions for a
plan year, the Advisory Committee will allocate those
contributions to the separate accounts of those
participants who are eligible for an allocation for the
plan year but who are not highly compensated employees
for that plan year. The law defines highly
compensated employees to include most owners and
officers of the Employer and employees whose
compensation for the plan year exceeds certain dollar
limitations prescribed by the Internal Revenue Service.
Also, a family member of a highly compensated employee
may be a highly compensated employee under the Plan.
The Advisory Committee will base a participant's
allocation of qualified nonelective contributions upon
the participant's share of the total compensation paid
during that plan year to all participants eligible for
the allocation. For example, if your compensation
for a particular plan year equals 10% of total
compensation for all participants eligible for the
allocation, the Advisory Committee would allocate 10% of
the total qualified nonelective contributions to your
Qualified Nonelective Contributions Account.
Employer's nonelective contributions:
Each plan year, the Employer will make nonelective
contributions to the Plan in the amount determined by
the Employer at its discretion. The Employer may
choose not to make nonelective contributions to the Plan
for a particular plan year.
The Plan as adopted by the Employer is an integrated
profit sharing plan. "Integrated profit
sharing plan" means the Plan takes into account
contributions the Employer makes for employees under the
Federal Social Security Act in making Employer
contribution allocations. For each plan year the
Employer makes nonelective contributions to the Plan,
the Advisory Committee will allocate this contribution
to the separate accounts maintained for the
participants. The Advisory Committee completes
this allocation using a four step formula.
Under the first step, the Employer will allocate to
each participant 3% of his total compensation paid
during the plan year. If the Employer's
nonelective contribution is not sufficient to provide
this 3% allocation percentage, the Advisory Committee
will reduce the allocation to each participant so all
participants receive the same reduced allocation
percentage under the first step.
The second step applies if any Employer nonelective
contributions for the plan year remain unallocated after
the first step. Under the second step, the
Advisory Committee will allocate to each participant 3%
of his excess compensation. Excess compensation is
a participant's compensation in excess of the designated
integration level. This designated integration
level is 100% of the taxable wage base in effect at the
beginning of the plan year. The Federal government
annually adjusts the taxable wage base. If the
Employer's nonelective contribution is not sufficient to
provide this 3% allocation percentage, the Advisory
Committee will reduce the allocation to each participant
so all participants with excess compensation receive the
same reduced allocation percentage under the second
step.
The third step applies if any Employer nonelective
contributions for the plan year remain unallocated after
the second step. Under the third step, the
Advisory Committee will allocate to each participant
2.7% of his total compensation paid during the plan year
and, at the same time, will allocate to each participant
2.7% of his excess compensation. If the Employer's
nonelective contribution is not sufficient to provide
these allocation percentages, the Advisory Committee
will reduce the allocation so the allocation percentage
based on total compensation is the same as the
allocation percentage based on excess compensation.
The fourth step applies if any Employer nonelective
contributions for the plan year remain unallocated after
the third step. Under the fourth step, the
Advisory Committee will allocate the balance based on
each participant's share of the total compensation paid
during the plan year to all participants in the Plan.
Example #1: Assume your compensation
exceeds the designated integration level by $5,000 for a
plan year and the Employer nonelective contribution is
sufficient to provide the maximum 3% allocation
percentage in the first step and the maximum 3%
allocation percentage in the second step and the maximum
2.7% allocation percentage in the third step. You
would receive an allocation of 3% of your total
compensation under the first step, the 3% X $5,000, or
$150, under the second step, and then 2.7% X $5,000, or
$135.00, plus 2.7% of your total compensation under the
third step. If, after the first three steps,
$10,000 of Employer nonelective contributions remained
unallocated, and your total compensation equals 10% of
the total compensation paid to all participants for that
plan year, then you would receive a fourth allocation of
10% X $10,000, or &1,000, in addition to the prior
allocations.
Example #2: Suppose in Example #1 the
Employer's nonelective contribution provided only a 1%
allocation in the third step. Then your allocation
would equal 3% of your total compensation under the
first step, then 3% X $5,000, or $150 under the second
step, and then 1% X $5,000, or $50, plus 1% of your
total compensation under the third step. There
would not be a fourth step allocation because the 1%
third step allocation would result in the allocation of
the Employer's nonelective contribution remaining after
the second step allocation.
Example #3: Suppose in Example #1 the
Employer's nonelective contribution provided only a 2%
allocation in the second step. Then your
allocation would equal 3% of your total compensation
under the first step plus 2% X $5,000, or $100,
under the second step. There would not be a third
step nor a fourth step allocation because the 2%
allocation under the second step would result in the
allocation of the Employer's entire nonelective
contribution.
If, under Examples #1, #2, and #3, your compensation
does not exceed the designated integration level, you
would not receive a second step allocation because you
would not have excess compensation.
Allocation of forfeitures: The Plan
allocates participant forfeitures as if the forfeitures
were additional Employer nonelective contributions for
the plan year in which the forfeitures occur.
Compensation: The Plan defines
compensation as the total compensation paid to the
employee for services rendered to the Employer,
excluding compensation in excess of $150,000.
With limited exceptions, the Plan includes an
employee's compensation only for the part of the plan
year in which he actually is a participant.
Conditions for allocation: Generally,
your account is entitled to an allocation of Employer
contributions for each plan year in which you are a
participant. However, in the year you terminate
employment with the Employer, with limited exceptions,
you must complete at least 500 hours of service to be
entitled to an allocation.
The contribution allocations described in the Section
(8) may vary for certain employees if the Plan is top
heavy. Generally, the Plan is top heavy if more
than 60% of the Plan's assets are allocated to the
accounts of key employees (certain owners and officers).
If the Plan is top heavy, any participant who is not a
key employee and who is employed on the last day of the
plan year, may not receive a contribution allocation
which is less than a certain minimum. Usually that
minimum is 3%, but if the contribution allocation for
the plan year is less than 3% for all the key employees,
the top heavy minimum is the smaller allocation rate.
If you are a participant in the Plan, your allocation
described in this Section (8) in most cases will be
equal to or greater than the top heavy minimum
contribution allocation. The Plan also may vary
the definition of the top heavy minimum contribution to
take into account another plan maintained by the
Employer.
The law limits the amount of "additions"
(other than trust earnings) which the Plan may allocate
to your account under the Plan. Your additions may
never exceed 25% of your compensation for a particular
plan year, but may be less if 25% of your compensation
exceeds a dollar amount announced by the Internal
Revenue Service each year. The Plan may need to
reduce this limitation if you participate (or have
participated) in any other plans maintained by the
Employer. The discussion of Plan allocations in
this Section (8) is subject to this limitation.
(9) Employee Contributions: The Plan
does not permit nor require you to make employee
contributions to the trust fund. "Employee
contributions" are contributions made by an
employee for which the employee does not receive an
income tax deduction. The only source of
contributions under the Plan is the annual Employer
contribution, including the "elective
deferrals" made at your election under the 401(k)
arrangement described in Section (8).
"Elective deferrals" are not "employee
contributions" for purposes of the Plan.
(10) Vesting in Employer Contributions:
Your interest in the contributions the Employer makes to
the Plan for your benefit becomes 100% vested when you
attain normal retirement age (as defined in Sections
(11)). Prior to normal retirement age, your
interest in the contributions the employer makes on your
behalf become vested in accordance with the following
schedule:
Percent of
Years of Service
Nonforfeitable Interest
Less than 2..........................................
0%
1
..........................................
25%
2
..........................................
50%
3
..........................................
75%
4
..........................................
100%
5
..........................................
100%
6 or more....................................
100%
100% vesting for Deferral Contributions Account:
The vesting schedule does not apply to your Deferral
Contributions Account described in Section (8).
Instead, you are 100% vested at all times in your
Deferral Contributions Account.
Special vesting rule for death: If you
die while still employed by the Employer, your entire
Plan interest becomes 100% vested, even if you otherwise
would have a vested interest less than 100%.
Year of service: To determine your percentage
under a vesting schedule, a year of service means a
12-month vesting period in which you complete at least
1,000 hours of service. The Plan measures the
vesting service period as the plan year. If you
complete at least 1,000 hours of service during a plan
year, you will receive credit for a year of service even
though your are not employed by the Employer on the last
day of that plan year.
You will receive credit for all years of service with
the Employer, except any service prior to the time the
Employer established the Plan.
The Plan provides two methods of vesting forfeiture
which may apply before a participant becomes 100%
vested in his entire interest under the Plan. The
primary method of vesting forfeiture is the
"forfeiture break in services" rule. The
secondary method of forfeiture is the "cash
out" rule. Also see Section (15) relating to
loss or denial of benefits.
Forfeiture Break in Service Rule:
Termination of employment alone will not result in
forfeiture under the Plan unless you do not return to
employment with the Employer before incurring a
"forfeiture break in service." A
"forfeiture break in service" is a period of
5 consecutive vesting service periods in which you do
not work more than 500 hours in each vesting service
period comprising the 5 year period.
Example: Assume you are 60% vested in your
account balance. After working 400 hours during a
particular vesting service period, you terminate
employment and perform no further service for the
Employer during the next 4 vesting service periods.
Under this example, you would have a "forfeiture
break in service" during the fourth vesting service
period following the vesting service period in which you
terminated employment because you did not work more than
500 hours during each vesting service period of 5
consecutive vesting service periods. Consequently,
you would forfeit the 40% non-vested portion of your
account. If you had returned to employment with
the Employer at any time during the 5 consecutive
vesting service periods and worked more than 500 hours
during any vesting service period within that 5-year
period, you would not incur a forfeiture under the
"forfeiture break in service" rule.
Cash Out Rule: The cash out rule applies
if you terminate employment and receive a total
distribution of the vested portion of your account
balance before you incur a forfeiture break in service.
For example, assume you terminated employment during a
particular vesting service period after completing 800
hours of service. Assume further the total value
of your account balance is $6,000 in which you have a
60% vested interest. Before you incur a forfeiture
break in service, you receive a distribution of the
$3,600 vested portion ($6,000 X 60%) of your account
balance. Upon payment of the $3,600 vested portion
of your account balance, you would forfeit the $2,400
nonvested portion. If you return to employment
before you incur a "forfeiture break in
service," you may have the Plan restore your
"cash out" forfeiture by repaying the amount
of the distribution you received attributable to
Employer contributions. This repayment right
applies only if you do not incur a "forfeiture
break in service." You must make this
repayment no later than the date 5 years after you
return to employment with the Employer. Upon your
reemployment with the Employer, you may request the
Advisory Committee to provide you a full explanation of
your rights regarding this repayment option. If
the vested portion of your account balance does not
exceed $3,500, the Plan will distribute that vested
portion to you in a lump sum, without your consent.
This involuntary cash-out distribution will result in
the forfeiture of your nonvested account balance, in the
same manner as an employee who voluntarily elects a
cash-out distribution. Also, upon reemployment you
would have the same repayment option as an employee who
elected a cash-out distribution, if you return to
employment before incurring a "forfeiture break in
service."
If you are 0% vested in your entire interest in the
Plan, the Plan will treat you as having received a
cash-out distribution of $0. This
"distribution" results in a forfeiture of your
entire Plan interest. Normally, this forfeiture
occurs on the date you terminate employment with the
Employer. However, if you are entitled to an
allocation of Employer contributions for the plan year
in which you terminate employment with the Employer,
this forfeiture occurs as of the first day of the next
plan year. If you return to employment before you
incur a forfeiture break in service, the Plan will
restore this forfeiture, as if you repaid a cash-out
distribution.
(11) Payment of Benefits After Termination of
Employment: After you terminate employment
with the Employer, the time at which the Plan will
commence distribution to you and the form of that
distribution depends on whether your vested account
balance exceeds $3,500. If you receive a
distribution from the Plan before you attain age 59 1/2,
the law imposes a 10% penalty on the amount of the
distribution you receive to the extent you must include
the distribution in your gross income, unless you
qualify for an exception from this penalty. You
should consult a tax advisor regarding this 10% penalty.
This summary makes references to your normal retirement
age. Normal retirement age under this Plan is 65.
If your vested account balance does not exceed
$3,500, the Plan will distribute that portion to you, in
a lump sum, on MARCH 1st of the FIRST plan year
beginning after you terminate employment with the
Employer, or as soon as administratively practicable
following that date. If you already have attainted
normal retirement age when you terminate employment, the
Plan must make this distributions no later than the 60th
day following the close of the plan year in which your
employment terminates, even if the normal distribution
date would occur later. The Plan does not permit
you to receive distribution in any form other than a
lump sum if your vested account balance does not exceed
$3,500.
If your vested account balance exceeds $3,500, the
Plan will commence distribution to you at the time you
elect to commence distribution. The Plan permits
you to elect distribution:
as of any distribution date following your termination
of employment with the Employer.
A "distribution date" under the Plan means
MARCH 1ST. You may not actually receive
distribution on the distribution date you elect.
The Plan provides the Trustee an administratively
reasonable time following a particular distribution date
to make actual distribution to a participant.
No later than 30 days prior to your earliest possible
distribution date, the Advisory Committee will provide
you a notice explaining your right to elect distribution
from the Plan and the forms necessary to make your
election. If you do not make a distribution
election, the Plan will commence distribution to you on
the 60th day following the close of the plan year in
which the latest of three events occurs: (1) your
attainment of normal retirement age; (2) your attainment
of age 62; or (3) your termination of employment with
the Employer. To determine whether your vested
account balance exceeds $3,500, the Plan normally looks
to the last valuation of your account prior to the
scheduled distribution date.
With limited exceptions, you may not commence
distributions of your vested account balance later than
April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year
in which you attain age 70 1/2, even if you have not
terminated employment with the Employer. This
required distribution date overrides any contrary
distribution date described in this summary. If
the Employer terminates the Plan before you receive
complete distribution of your vested benefits, the Plan
might make distribution to you before you otherwise
would elect distribution. Upon Plan termination,
if your vested account balance exceeds $3,500 you will
receive an explanation of your distribution rights.
For purposes of making a distribution of any portion
of your vested account balance, the Plan refers to the
latest valuation of your account balance. The Plan
requires valuation of the trust fund, and adjustment of
participant's accounts, as of the last day of each plan
year. The Advisory Committee also may require a
valuation on any other date. You will not receive
any adjustment to your account balance for trust fund
earnings after the latest valuation date. In
general, the Plan allocates trust fund earnings, gains
or losses for a valuation period on the basis of each
participant's opening account balance at the beginning
of the valuation period, less any distributions and
charges to each participant's account during the
valuation period.
Forms of Benefit Payment: If your vested
account balance exceeds $3,500, the Plan permits you to
elect distribution under any one of the following
methods:
(a) Lump sum.
(b) Part lump sum and part installments, as described in
(c).
(c) Installment payments (annually, quarterly or
monthly) over a specified period of time, not exceeding
your life expectancy or the joint life expectancy of you
and your designated beneficiary.
Under an installment distribution, the Advisory
Committee may direct to have the Plan segregate the
amount owed to you in a separate account apart from
other trust fund assets. Your separate account
will continue to draw interest during the period the
Plan is making retirement payments to you. If the
Plan does not segregate the amount owed to you in a
separate account, your retirement account will remain a
part of the trust fund and continue to share in trust
fund earnings, gains or losses.
The benefit payment rules described in Sections (11)
through (14) reflect the current Plan provisions.
If an Employer amends its Plan to change benefit payment
options, some options may continue for those
participants or beneficiaries who have account balances
at the time of the change. If an eliminated option
continues to apply to you, the information you receive
from the Advisory Committee at the time you are first
eligible for distribution from the Plan will include an
explanation of that option.
(12) Payment of Benefits Prior to Termination of
Employment: Other than the post-age 70 1/2
distribution requirement described in Section (11), the
Plan does not permit you to receive payment of any
portion of your account balance, unless you terminate
employment with the Employer.
(13) Disability Benefits: If you terminate
employment because of disability, the Plan will pay your
vested account balance to you in lump sum at the same
time as it would pay your vested account balance for any
other termination of employment. However, if your
vested account balance exceeds $3,500, the disability
distribution rules are subject to any election
requirements described in Section (11). In
general, disability under the Plan means because of a
physical or mental disability you are unable to perform
the duties of your customary position of employment for
an indefinite period which, in the opinion of the
Advisory Committee, will be of long continued duration.
The Advisory Committee also considers you disabled if
you terminate employment because of a permanent loss or
loss of use of a member or function or your body or a
permanent disfigurement. The Advisory Committee
may require a physical examination in order to confirm
the disability.
(14) Payment of Benefits upon Death: If
you die prior to receiving all of your benefits under
the Plan, the Plan will pay the balance of your account
to your beneficiary. If the Employer permits the
Trustee to purchase life insurance on your life with a
portion of your account balance, your account balance
also will receive any life insurance proceeds payable by
reason of your death.
The Advisory Committee will provide you with an
appropriate form for naming a beneficiary. If you
are married, your spouse must consent to the designation
of any non-spouse beneficiary. If your vested
account balance payable to your designated beneficiary
does not exceed $3,500, the Plan will pay the benefit in
a lump sum, to your designated beneficiary as soon as
administratively practicable after your death. If
your vested account balance payable to your designated
beneficiary exceeds $3,500, the Plan will pay the
benefit to your designated beneficiary, in the form and
at the time elected by the beneficiary, unless, prior to
your death, you specify the timing and the form of the
beneficiary's distribution. The benefit payment
election generally must complete distribution of your
account balance within five years of your death, unless
distribution commences within one year of your death to
your designated beneficiary or unless benefits had
commenced prior to your death under the mandatory
post-age 70 1/2 distribution requirements described in
Section (11).
(15) Disqualification of Participant Status - Loss
or Denial of Benefits: There are no specific
Plan provisions which disqualify you as a participant or
which cause you to lose plan benefits, except as
provided in Sections (7) and (10). However, if you
become disabled and do not receive compensation from the
Employer, you will not receive an allocation of the
Employer's contribution to the Plan during the period of
disability. In addition, if your Plan benefits
become payable after termination of employment and
the Advisory Committee is unable to locate you at your
last address of record, you may forfeit your benefits
under the Plan. Therefore, it is very important
that you keep the Employer apprised of your mailing
address even after you have terminated employment.
Finally, if the Employer terminates the Plan, which it
has the right to do, you would receive benefits under
the Plan based on your account balance accumulated to
the date of the termination of the Plan.
Termination of the Plan could occur before you attain
normal retirement age. If the Employer terminates
the Plan, your account will become 100% vested, if not
already 100% vested, unless you forfeited the nonvested
portion prior to the termination date.
The termination of the Plan does not permit you to
receive a distribution from your account unless: (1) you
otherwise have the right to a distribution, as described
in Sections (11) and (12); or (2) the Employer does not
maintain a successor defined contribution plan. If
you are able to receive a distribution only because the
Employer does not maintain a successor defined
contribution plan, you must agree to take that
distribution as part of a lump sum payment of your
entire account balance under the Plan. The Trustee
will transfer to the successor defined contribution plan
any portion of your interest the Plan is unable to
distribute to you.
The fact that the Employer has established this Plan
does not confer any right to future employment with the
Employer. Furthermore, you may not assign your
interest in the Plan to another person or use your Plan
interest as collateral for a loan from a commercial
lender.
(16) Claims Procedure: You need not file
a formal claim with the Advisory Committee in order to
receive your benefits under the Plan. When an
event occurs which entitles you to a distribution of
your benefits under the Plan, the Advisory Committee
automatically will notify you regarding your
distribution rights. However, if you disagree with
the Advisory Committee's determination of the amount of
your benefits under the Plan or with respect to any
other decision the Advisory Committee may make regarding
your interest in the Plan, the Plan contains the appeal
procedure you should follow. In brief, if the
Advisory Committee of the Plan determines it should deny
benefits to you, the Plan Administrator will give you
written notice of the specific reasons for the denial.
The notice will refer you to the pertinent provisions of
the Plan supporting the Advisory Committee's decision.
If you disagree with the Advisory Committee, you, or a
duly authorized representative, must appeal the adverse
determination in writing to the Advisory Committee
within 75 days after the receipt of the notice of denial
of benefits. If you fail to appeal a denial within
the 75-day period, the Advisory Committee's
determination will be final and binding.
If you appeal to the Advisory Committee, you, or your
duly authorized representative, must submit the issues
and comments you feel are pertinent to permit the
Advisory Committee to re-examine all facts and make a
final determination with respect to the denial.
The Advisory Committee, in most cases, will make a
decision within 60 days of a request on appeal unless
special circumstances would make the rendering of a
decision within the 60-day period unfeasible. In
any event, the Advisory Committee must render a
decision within 120 days after its receipt of a request
for review. The same procedures apply if, after
your death, your beneficiary makes a claim for benefits
under the Plan.
(17) Retired Participant, Separated Participant
with Vested Benefit, Beneficiary Receiving Benefits:
If you are a retired participant or beneficiary
receiving benefits, the benefits you presently are
receiving will continue in the same amount and for the
same period provided in the mode of settlement selected
at retirement. If you are a separate participant
with a vested benefit, you may obtain a statement of the
dollar amount of your vested benefit upon request to the
Plan Administrator. There is no Plan provision
which reduces, changes, terminates, forfeits, or
suspends the benefits of a retired participant, a
beneficiary receiving benefits or a separated
participant's vested benefit amount, except as provided
in Section (15).
(18) Participant's Rights under ERISA:
As a participant in the Plan, you are entitled to
certain rights and protections under the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
ERISA provides that all Plan participants are entitled
to:
(a) Examine without charge, at the Plan
Administrator's office and at other specified locations
(such as worksites), all Plan documents, including
insurance contracts and copies of all documents filed by
the Plan with the U.S. Department of Labor, such as
detailed annual reports and plan descriptions.
(b) Obtain copies of all Plan documents and
other Plan information upon written request to the Plan
Administrator. The Plan Administrator may make a
reasonable charge or the copies.
(c) Receive a summary of the Plan's annual financial
report. ERISA requires the Plan Administrator to
furnish each participant with a copy of this summary
annual report.
(d) Obtain a statement telling you that you
have a right to receive a retirement benefit at the
normal retirement age under the Plan and what your
benefit could be at normal retirement age if you stop
working under the Plan now. If you do not have a
right to a retirement benefit, the statement will advise
you of the number of additional years you must work to
receive a retirement benefit. You must request
this statement in writing. The law does not
require the Plan Administrator to give this statement
more than once a year. The Plan must provide the
statement free of charge.
In addition to creating rights for Plan participants,
ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible
for the operation of the employee benefit plan.
The people who operate this Plan, called
"fiduciaries" of the Plan, have a duty to do
so prudently and in the interest of you and other Plan
participants and beneficiaries. No one, including
your Employer, your union or any other person may fire
you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to
prevent you from obtaining a retirement benefit or from
exercising your rights under ERISA.
If your claim for a retirement benefit is denied in
whole or in part, you must receive a written explanation
of the reason for the denial. You have the right
to have the Plan review and reconsider your claim.
Under ERISA, there are steps you can take to enforce
the above rights. For instance, if you request
materials from the Plan and do not receive the materials
within 30 days, you may file suit in a Federal court.
In such a case, the court may require the Plan
Administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to
$100 a day until you receive the materials, unless the
materials were not sent because of reasons beyond the
control of the Plan Administrator. If you have a
claim for benefits which is denied or ignored, in whole
or in part, you may file suit in a state or Federal
court. If it should happen that Plan fiduciaries
misuse the Plan's money, or if you are discriminated
against for asserting your rights, you may seek
assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, or you may
file suit in a Federal court. The court will
decide who should pay court costs and legal fees.
If you are successful, the court may order the person
you have sued to pay these costs and fees. If you
lose, the court may order you to pay these costs and
fees, for example, if it finds your claim is frivolous.
If you have any questions about your Plan, you should
contact the Plan Administrator. If you have any
questions about this statement or about your rights
under ERISA, you should contact the nearest Area Office
of the U.S. Labor-Management Services Administration,
Department of Labor.
(19) Federal Income Taxation of Benefits Paid:
Existing Federal income tax laws do not require you to
report as income the portion of the annual Employer
contribution allocated to your account. However,
when the Plan later distributes your annual account
balance to you, such as upon your retirement, you must
report as income the Plan distributions you receive.
The Federal tax laws may permit you to report a Plan
distribution under a special averaging provision.
Also, if may be possible for you to defer Federal income
taxation of a distribution by making a
"rollover" contribution to your own individual
retirement account.
Mandatory income tax withholding rules apply to some
distributions you do not rollover directly to an
individual retirement account or to another plan.
At the time you receive a distribution, you also will
receive a notice discussing withholding requirement and
the options available to you. We emphasize you
should consult your own tax advisor with respect to the
proper method of reporting any distribution you receive
from the Plan.
(20) Participant Loans: Not applicable