ARTICLE 10. MISCELLANEOUS
10.01 Hypothetical Accounts.
Each account,sub-account and investment established under the Plan shall be hypothetical in nature and shall be maintained for bookkeeping purposes only. The accounts andsub-accounts established under the Plan shall hold no actual funds or assets. Any liability of the Company to any Participant, former Participant, or Beneficiary with respect to a right to payment shall be based solely upon contractual obligations created by the Plan. Neither the Company, the Board, nor any other person shall be deemed to be a trustee of any amounts to be paid under the Plan. Nothing contained in the Plan, and no action taken pursuant to its provisions, shall create or be construed to create a trust of any kind, or a fiduciary relationship, between or among the Company, a Participant, or any other person.
10.02 Company Obligation.
The Company shall not be required to fund any obligations under the Plan. Except as provided in Section 10.03, any assets that may be accumulated by the Company to meet its obligations under the Plan (including any annuity or other insurance contracts) shall for all purposes be part of the general assets of the Company. To the extent that any Participant or Beneficiary acquires a right to receive payments under the Plan for which the Company is liable, such rights shall be no greater than the rights of any unsecured general creditor of the Company.
10.03 Trust Fund.
The Company shall be responsible for the payment of all benefits provided under the Plan. Before a Change in Control, at its discretion, the Company may establish one (1) or more trusts, with such trustees as the Committee may approve, for the purpose of assisting in the payment of such benefits. Following a Change in Control, the Company shall establish one (1) or more trusts, with such trustees as the Committee may approve, for the purpose of assisting in the payment of such benefits, and shall fund such trust with the full amount necessary to pay all benefits that are reasonably expected to be payable under the Plan. If, as a result of a Change in Control, Shares will no longer exist, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, allocate the value of each Participant’s Shares to an alternative investment fund. Although such a trust shall be irrevocable, its assets shall be held for payment of all of the Company’s general creditors in the event of insolvency and shall not be located or transferred outside the United States. To the extent any benefits provided under the Plan are paid from any such trust, the Company shall have no further obligation to pay them. If not paid from the trust, such benefits shall remain the obligation of Company. No assets of the trust or the Company shall become restricted to provide benefits under the Plan in connection with a change in the Company’s financial health.
10.04 Nonassignability.
Neither a Participant nor any other person shall have any right to commute, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, anticipate, mortgage or otherwise encumber, transfer, hypothecate or convey in advance of actual receipt the amounts, if any, payable hereunder, or any part thereof, which are, and all rights to which are, expressly declared to be unassignable
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AMETEK, Inc. Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan | | Page 17 |