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| 6.01 | Commencement of Distributions |
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| | (a) | Automatic Lump Sum Distribution upon Termination. Subject to Section 6.01(b) below, when a Participant’s employment |
with the Company terminates, such Participant’s vested Account shall be distributed effective as of the first January 1, April 1, July 1 or September 1 (or the immediately following business day if such date is not a business day) which is at least two weeks after the effective date of the termination. Such distribution shall be made to the Participant as soon as practical after such date. |
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| | | (i) | | At the time of the Participant’s initial Deferred Compensation Election, the Participant may choose, upon termination on or after the date such Participant reaches age 55, distribution of his or her Account in five (5) annual installments, with the first installment paid effective as of the date applicable for distribution per Section 6.01(a) above and the subsequent installments paid effective as of the first through fourth anniversaries of such date. Each installment shall be made as soon as practicable after the applicable date. |
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| | (b) | Periodic Distribution Option. |
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| | | (ii) | | Each such installment payment shall equal the quotient of (A) the then-current Account balance, divided by (B) the number of installment payments remaining to be made. In illustration, the first installment will be calculated by dividing the then-current Account balance by five (5); the second installment will be calculated by dividing the then-current Account balance by four (4); the third installment will be calculated by dividing the then-current Account balance by three (3); the fourth installment will be calculated by dividing the then-current Account balance by two (2); and the last installment will equal the full remaining balance of the Account. |
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| | | (iii) | | Any Account balance which remains in the Plan after termination of the Participant’s employment due to a Participant’s election for periodic distributions (or due to the six (6)-month delay pursuant to Section 6.01(d) below), shall continue to track the performance of the Company Stock Investment Option. |
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| | (c) | Changes to Distribution Elections. A Participant may not change his or her distribution election. |
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| | (d) | Key Employee. If a Participant is to receive distribution due to termination of employment and such Participant is a Key |
Employee, then such distribution may not be made prior to the date which is six (6) months after the date of such Participant’s termination of employment. |
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6.02 Form of Payment
Distribution of a Participant’s Account shall be in the form of, Company Stock.
6.03 Distributions in the Event of Death
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of a Participant’s death, the Participant’s Beneficiary shall receive the Participant’s vested Account in a lump-sum within ninety (90) days following the date of death.
6.04 Designation of Beneficiary
(a) Each Participant shall have the right to designate a beneficiary to receive payment of his or her Account balance in the event of his or her death. A beneficiary designation shall be made by properly completing, executing and filing the beneficiary designation form prescribed by the Plan Committee. Any such designation may be changed at any time by the proper completion, execution and filing of a new designation in accordance with this Section 6.04.
(b) If no such designation is on file with the Plan Committee at the time of the death of the Participant, or such designation is not effective for any reason as determined by the Plan Committee, then the beneficiary to receive such benefit shall be the Participant’s surviving spouse, if any; otherwise, the Plan Committee shall designate a Beneficiary or Beneficiaries from among the following in the order named: (1) Participant’s surviving lineal descendants, per stirpes, in equal parts, (2) the Participant’s surviving parents, in equal parts, (3) the Participant’s estate.
6.05 Unclaimed Benefits
If the Plan Committee is unable to locate a Participant or Beneficiary to whom a benefit is payable, such benefit may be forfeited to the Company upon the Plan Committee’s determination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if within the five (5) years following any such forfeiture the Participant or Beneficiary to whom such benefit is payable makes a valid claim for such benefit, such forfeited benefit shall be restored to the Plan and paid by the Company, with interim interest credited in the sole discretion of the Plan Committee.
6.06 Hardship Withdrawals
(a) A Participant may apply in writing to the Plan Committee for, and the Plan Committee may grant, a hardship withdrawal of all or any part of a Participant’s Account if the Plan Committee, in its sole discretion, determines that the Participant has incurred an unforeseeable severe financial emergency.
(b) The Plan Committee shall determine whether an event qualifies as an unforeseeable severe financial emergency within this Section 6.06, in its sole and absolute discretion; provided, however, that severe financial hardship resulting from: (a) an illness or accident of the Participant, the Participant’s spouse or tax dependent; (b) loss of the Participant’s property due to casualty; or (c) other similar extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of events beyond the control of the Participant will normally satisfy the requirement for an unforeseeable severe financial hardship. The request for distribution pursuant to this Section 6.06 shall be made i n a time and manner determined by the Plan Committee. The payment made from a Participant’s Account pursuant to the provisions of this Section 6.06 shall not be in excess of the amount necessary to meet such unforeseeable severe financial emergency of the Participant, including amounts necessary to pay any federal, state or local income taxes with respect to the payment.
ARTICLE 7
ADMINISTRATION
7.01 Plan Committee
The Plan shall be administered by the Compensation and Stock Option Committee of the Board. The Plan Committee shall be responsible for the general operation and administration of the Plan and for carrying out the provisions thereof. The Plan Committee may delegate to others certain aspects of the management and operations of the Plan including the employment of advisors and the delegation of ministerial duties to qualified individuals, provided that such delegation is in writing. The Plan Committee shall be a “named fiduciary” as that term is defined in Section 402(a)(2) of ERISA.
7.02 General Powers of Administration
The Plan Committee shall have the exclusive responsibility and complete discretionary authority to control the operation, management and administration of the Plan, with all powers necessary to enable it properly to carry out such responsibilities, including, but not limited to, the power to interpret the Plan and any related documents, to establish procedures for making any elections called for under the Plan, to make factual determinations regarding any and all matters arising hereunder, including, but not limited to, the right to determine eligibility for benefits, the right to construe the terms of the Plan, the right to remedy possible ambiguities, inequities, inconsistencies or omissions, and the right to resolve all interpretive, equitable or other questions arising under the Plan. The decisions of the Plan Committee or such other party as is authorized under the terms of any grantor trust on all matters shall be final, binding and conclusive on all persons to the extent permitted by law. The Plan Committee shall have all powers necessary or appropriate to enable it to carry out its administrative duties. Not in limitation, but in application of the foregoing, the Plan Committee shall have the duty and power to interpret the Plan and determine all questions that may raise hereunder as to the status and rights of Employees, Participants, Beneficiaries, and any other person. The Plan Committee may exercise the powers hereby granted in its sole and absolute discretion.
7.03 Costs of Administration
The costs of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company unless and until the Participant receives written notice of the imposition of such administrative costs, with such costs to begin with the next Plan Year, and none may be assessed retroactively for prior Plan Years. Such costs shall be charged against the Participant’s Account and shall be uniform or proportional for all Plan Participants. Such costs shall not exceed the standard rates for similarly designed nonqualified plans under administration by high quality third party administrators at the time such costs are initially imposed and thereafter.
7.04 Indemnification
(a) Each person who is or shall have been (a) a member of the Board, (b) a member of the Plan Committee or other committee appointed by the Board, or (c) an officer of the Company (or agent who is an employee of the Company) to whom authority was delegated in relation to the administration of this Plan, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company against and from any loss, cost, liability or expense that may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit or proceeding to which he or she may be a party or in which he or she may be involved by reason of any action taken or failure to act under the Plan and against and from any and all amounts paid by him or her in settlement thereof, with the Company’s approval, or paid by him or her in satisfaction of any judgment in any such claim, action, suit or proceeding against him or her; provided, however, that he or she shall give the Company an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before he or she undertakes to handle and defend it on his or her own behalf, unless such loss, cost, liability or expense is a result of his or her own willful misconduct or except as expressly provided by statute.
(b) The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such persons may be entitled under the Company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, any contract with the Company, as a matter of law, or otherwise, or of any power that the Company may have to indemnify them or hold them harmless.
ARTICLE 8
CLAIMS PROCEDURE
8.01 Claims
A person who believes that they are being denied a benefit to which they are entitled to under the Plan (hereinafter referred to as a “Claimant”) may file a written request for such benefit with the Plan Committee, setting forth their claim. The request must be addressed to the Plan Committee at the Company’s then principal place of business.
8.02 Claim Decision
Upon receipt of a claim, the Plan Committee shall advise the Claimant that a reply will be forthcoming within ninety (90) days and shall, in fact, deliver such reply within such period. The Plan Committee may, however, extend the reply period for an additional ninety (90) days for reasonable cause.
If the claim is denied in whole or in part, the Plan Committee shall adopt a written decision using language calculated to be understood by the Claimant, setting forth all of the following:
(a) the specific reason or reasons for such denial.
(b) the specific reference to pertinent provisions of the Plan on which such denial is based.
(c) a description of any additional material or information necessary for the Claimant to perfect their claim and an explanation why such material or such information is necessary.
(d) appropriate information as to the steps to be taken if the Claimant wishes to submit the claim for review.
(e) the time limits for requesting a review under this Section.
8.03 Request for Review
Within sixty (60) days after the receipt by the Claimant of the written opinion described above, the Claimant may request in writing that the Company review the determination of the Plan Committee. Such request must be addressed to the Secretary of the Company, at its then principal place of business. The Claimant or their duly authorized representative may, but need not, review the pertinent documents and submit issues and comments in writing for consideration by the Company. If the Claimant does not request a review of the Plan Committee’s determination by the Company within such sixty (60) day period, he or she shall be barred and stopped from challenging the Plan Committee’s determination.
8.04 Review of Decision
Within sixty (60) days after the Secretary’s receipt of a request for review, the Claimant will review the Plan Committee’s determination. After considering all materials presented by the Claimant, the Secretary will render a written decision, written in a manner calculated to be understood by the Claimant, setting forth the specific reasons for the decision and containing specific references to the pertinent provisions of this Plan on which the decision is based. If special circumstances require that the sixty (60) day time period be extended, the Secretary will so notify the Claimant and will render the decision as soon as possible, but no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after receipt of the request for review.
ARTICLE 9
MISCELLANEOUS
9.01 Not Contract of Employment
The adoption and maintenance of the Plan shall not be deemed to be a contract between the Company and any person and shall not be consideration for the employment of any person. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to give any person the right to be retained in the employ of the Company or to restrict the right of the Company to discharge any person at any time nor shall the Plan be deemed to give the Company the right to require any person to remain in the employ of the Company or to restrict any person’s right to terminate their employment at any time.
9.02 Non-Assignability of Benefits
No Participant, Beneficiary or distributee of benefits under the Plan shall have any power or right to transfer, assign, anticipate, hypothecate or otherwise encumber any part or all of the amounts payable hereunder, which are expressly declared to be unassignable and nontransferable. Any such attempted assignment or transfer shall be void. No amount payable hereunder shall, prior to actual payment thereof, be subject to seizure by any creditor of any such Participant, Beneficiary or other distributee for the payment of any debt, judgment or other obligation, by a proceeding at law or in equity, nor transferable by operation of law in the event of the bankruptcy, insolvency or death of such Participant, Beneficiary or other distributee hereunder.
9.03 Withholding
All deferrals and payments provided for hereunder shall be subject to applicable withholding and other deductions as shall be required of the Company under any applicable federal, state or local law.
9.04 Amendment and Termination
The Plan Committee may from time to time, in its sole discretion, amend, in whole or in part, any or all of the provisions of the Plan; provided, however, that no amendment may be made that would impair the rights of a Participant with respect to amounts already allocated to his or her Account. The Plan Committee may terminate the Plan at any time. In the event that the Plan is terminated, the balance in a Participant’s Account shall be paid to such Participant or Beneficiary in Company’s common stock, in full satisfaction of all such Participant’s or Beneficiary’s benefits hereunder. Any such amendment to or termination of the Plan shall be in writing and signed by a member of the Plan Committee.
9.05 Compliance with Securities and Other Laws
Notwithstanding any Plan provision to the contrary, the Plan Committee may at any time impose such restrictions on the Plan and participation therein, including limiting the amount of any deferral or the timing thereof, as the Plan Committee may deem advisable from time to time in order to comply or preserve compliance with any applicable laws, including any applicable state and federal securities laws and exemptions from registration available thereunder.
9.06 No Trust Created
Nothing contained in this Plan and no action taken pursuant to its provisions by the Company or any person, shall create, nor be construed to create, a trust of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between the Company and the Participant, Beneficiary, or any other person.
9.07 Unsecured General Creditor Status of Employee
(a) The payments to the Participant, Beneficiary or any other distributee hereunder shall be made from assets which shall continue, for all purposes, to be a part of the general, unrestricted assets of the Company. No person shall have nor acquire any interest in any such assets by virtue of the provisions of this Plan. The Company’s obligation hereunder shall be an unfunded and unsecured promise to pay money in the future. To the extent that the Participant, Beneficiary or other distributee acquires a right to receive payments from the Company under the provisions hereof, such right shall be no greater than the right of any unsecured general creditor of the Company. No such person shall have nor acquire any legal or equitable right, interest or claim in or to any property or assets of the Company.
(b) In the event that, in its sole discretion, the Company purchases an insurance policy, or policies, insuring the life of the Employee, or any other property, to allow the Company to recover the cost of providing the benefits, in whole, or in part, hereunder, neither the Participant, Beneficiary nor other distributee shall have or acquire any rights whatsoever therein or in the proceeds therefrom. The Company shall be the sole owner and beneficiary of any such policy or policies and, as such, shall possess and, may exercise all incidents of ownership therein. No such policy, policies or other property shall be held in any trust for a Participant, Beneficiary or other distributee or be held as collateral security for any obligation of the Company hereunder. An Employee’s participation in the underwriting or other steps necessary to acquire such policy or policies may be required by the Company and, if required, shall not be a suggestion of any beneficial interest in such policy or policies to a Participant.
9.08 Payment to Minors and Incompetents
If any Participant, spouse, or Beneficiary entitled to receive any benefits hereunder is a minor or is deemed by the Plan Committee or is adjudicated to be legally incapable of giving a valid receipt and discharge for such benefits, the benefits will be paid to such person or institution as the Plan Committee may designate or to the duly appointed guardian of such person. Such payment shall, to the extent made, be deemed a complete discharge of any such payment under the Plan.
9.09 Severability
If any provision of this Plan shall be held illegal or invalid for any reason, said illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions hereof; instead, each provision shall be fully severable and the Plan shall be construed and enforced as if said illegal or invalid provision had never been included herein.
9.10 409A Compliance. The Plan is designed to comply with Code Section 409A.
9.11 Governing Laws
All provisions of the Plan shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, except to the extent preempted by federal law.
9.12 Binding Effect
This Plan shall be binding on each Participant and his or her heirs and legal representatives and on the Company and its successors and assigns.
9.13 Entire Plan
This document and any amendments contain all the terms and provisions of the Plan and shall constitute the entire Plan, any other alleged terms or provisions being of no effect.