Performance Period, prorated for the portion of the Performance Period during which the Participant was employed. Such prorated Award shall be paid at the time and in the manner described in Section 2.2(b) above. If a Participant dies without a valid, written beneficiary designation on file with the Company, payments under the Plan shall be made to the Participant’s estate. For purposes of the Plan, “retirement” shall mean either (1) termination of employment on or after attaining age 55 and completion of at least five (5) years of service with the Company or a subsidiary (provided that retirement shall not include termination of employment for cause), or (2) retirement within the meaning of the Company’s non-qualified supplemental retirement plan; “disability” shall mean the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months within the meaning of Code Section 22(e)(3); and “cause” shall have the meaning set forth in any employment, severance or other written agreement between the Participant and the Company or its subsidiaries.
ARTICLE III
MISCELLANEOUS
SECTION 3.1 Restriction on Transfer. No Award shall be transferable other than by will, the laws of descent and distribution. Any attempt to transfer or otherwise dispose of an Award shall be null and void.
SECTION 3.2 Tax Withholding. The Company shall deduct from all payments made under the Plan to a Participant (or, in the event of the Participant’s death, to the Participant’s beneficiary or estate, as applicable) any Federal, state or local taxes required by law to be withheld with respect to such payments. Participants shall be solely responsible for all other taxes associated with the amounts payable under an Award or the Plan.
SECTION 3.3 Source of Payments. This Plan shall be unfunded and constitutes a an unvested promise by the Company to make payments in accordance with the terms of the Plan. The Company shall not have any obligation to establish any separate fund or trust or other segregation of assets to provide for payments under the Plan. To the extent any person acquires any rights to receive payments hereunder from the Company, such rights shall be no greater than those of an unsecured creditor.
SECTION 3.4 Employment Rights and Other Benefit Programs. The provisions of the Plan shall not give any Participant any right to be retained in the employment of the Company. In the absence of any specific agreement to the contrary, the Plan shall not affect any right of the Company, or of any affiliate of the Company, to terminate, with or without cause, any Participant’s employment at any time. The Plan shall not replace any contract of employment between the Company and any Participant, but shall be considered a supplement thereto. The Plan is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other employee benefit plan or program in which any Participant may be or become eligible to participate by reason of employment with the Company.
SECTION 3.5 Amendment and Termination. The Board of Directors may at any time and from time to time alter, amend, suspend or terminate the Plan in whole or in part, subject to any requirement of stockholder approval required by applicable law, rule or regulation. No termination or amendment of the Plan or an Award may, without the consent of the Participant, adversely affect the rights of a Participant with respect to an Award for which the certifications and adjustments (if any) described in Section 2.2(a) have been determined, nor shall any amendment increase the amount payable to a Participant under an outstanding Award after the date on which the terms of the Award have been determined by the Committee pursuant to Section 2.1.
SECTION 3.6. Governing Law. The Plan and all rights and Awards hereunder shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Delaware without giving effect to principles of conflicts of laws. The jurisdiction and venue for any disputes arising under, or any action brought to enforce (or otherwise relating to), this Plan shall be exclusively in the courts in the State of Illinois, County of Cook, including the Federal Courts located therein (should Federal jurisdiction exist).
SECTION 3.7 Severability. If any provision of the Plan is or becomes or is deemed to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction such provision shall be construed or deemed amended to conform to applicable laws, or if it cannot be so construed or deemed amended without, in the determination of the Committee, materially altering the purpose or intent of the Plan, such provision shall be stricken as to such jurisdiction, and the remainder of the Plan shall remain in full force and effect.