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| Employer contributions upon completion of three years of vesting service or upon attainment of age 65 while an employee of the Employer or an affiliated company. In addition, a participant’s account will become 100 percent vested if the participant’s termination with the Employer or an affiliated company was due to any one of the following (i) retirement under the terms of a Employer pension plan in which the participant participates; (ii) disability (as defined under the plan provisions); (iii) death; (iv) a reduction in force or layoff (as determined by the Employer); or (v) a participant’s business unit is sold or divested. |
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| A participant will also become 100 percent vested in the event the Employer permanently discontinues contributions to or terminates the Plan. |
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| Participant Accounts |
| Each participant’s account is credited with the participant’s contribution and allocations of (1) the Employer’s matching contribution, if applicable, and (2) investment earnings, and charged with an allocation of investment losses and certain administrative expenses that are not paid by the Company. The allocation is based on participants’ account balances as defined in the Plan document. The benefit to which a participant is entitled is the benefit that can be provided from the participant’s vested account. |
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| Notes Receivable from Participants |
| Effective July 1, 2011, no new loans were permitted from the Plan. |
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| Prior to July 1, 2011, loans were made to participants from their account balances in the following order (1) before-tax contributions and earnings, (2) after-tax contributions and earnings, (3) rollover contributions and earnings, (4) prior employer contributions and earnings, and (5) vested Employer matching contributions and earnings. |
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| The maximum loan amount to a participant was the lesser of (1) $50,000, reduced by the participant's highest combined outstanding loan balance and accrued interest during the preceding twelve month period, or (2) 50% of the vested portion of a participant's account including loan balance(s) less any current outstanding loan balance(s). The interest rate on the loans was generally the published prime rate plus 1% for the month preceding the effective date of the loan. The term of any loan could not be less than 1 month or more than 60 months unless used to acquire a principal residence for which the term could be up to 25 years. |
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| Interest rates for loans outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were approximately 4.25%. |
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| Termination |
| Although it has not expressed intent to do so, the Employer has the right under the Plan document to discontinue its contributions at any time and to terminate the Plan subject to the provisions of ERISA. In the event of a partial or full Plan termination, all Plan funds must be used in accordance with the terms of the Plan. |
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| Distribution of Benefits |
| Upon termination of service with the Employer, if a participant’s vested account balance is $1,000 or less (including any rollover contributions), the entire vested amount in the participant's account can be distributed to the participant in a single payment, without his or her consent, unless the participant affirmatively elects to have the benefit rolled over to an eligible retirement plan. If the participant’s vested account balance exceeds $1,000 (excluding any rollover contributions), the balance in the account will remain in the Plan and shall be distributed (1) at the participant’s request, or (2) upon the participant’s death, whichever is earlier. When a participant dies, if his or her spouse is the beneficiary, the spouse may remain in the Plan until December 31 of the calendar year following the calendar year of the participant’s death. If the value of the participant’s account is $1,000 or less, the |