AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
AUXILIARY RASP PLAN
AS OF JANUARY 1, 1997
AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
AUXILIARY RASP PLAN
As of January 1, 1997
Page
ARTICLE 1. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE 1
ARTICLE 2. DEFINITIONS 1
2.1 "Account" 1
2.2 "Administrator" 1
2.3 "AFG" 1
2.4 "AFG RASP" 1
2.5 "Agreement" 1
2.6 "American Financial Group" 1
2.7 "Code" 1
2.8 "Employee" 2
2.9 "Employer" 2
2.10 "ERISA" 2
2.11 "Expiration Date" 2
2.12 "Hour of Service" 2
2.13 "One Year Period of Severance" 2
2.14 "Participant" 2
2.15 "Plan Year" 2
2.16 "RASP" 2
2.17 "Retirement Contribution" 2
2.18 "Year of Service" 2
ARTICLE 3. PARTICIPATION 2
3.1 Eligibility 2
3.2 Participation in the Plan 2
3.3 Vesting 3
ARTICLE 4. COMPENSATION ALLOCATED 4
4.1 AFG Auxiliary RASP Account 4
4.2 Amount of Allocation 4
4.3 Term of Deferral 5
4.4 Investment Performance 5
4.5 Statement of Account 5
ARTICLE 5. PAYMENT OF ACCOUNT 5
5.1 Payment After the Expiration Date, Death,
Retirement or Disability. 5
5.2 Hardship Distribution 6
5.3 Beneficiary Designation and Payment 7
ARTICLE 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS 7
6.1 Employee's Rights Unsecured 7
6.2 Non-Assignability 7
6.3 Administration 7
6.4 Amendment and Termination 8
6.5 Construction 8
6.6 Limitations 8
6.7 Subsidiaries. 8
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX II
AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
AUXILIARY RASP PLAN
As of January 1, 1997
ARTICLE 1. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE
The American Financial Group, Inc. Auxiliary RASP
Plan ("Plan") is established as of January 1,
1997. The purpose of the Plan is to enable
eligible Employees of American Financial Group,
Inc. ("AFG"), and certain of its subsidiaries and
affiliates (collectively "Employers" and
singularly "Employer"), who are eligible to
participate in the Retirement Contribution portion
of the American Financial Group Retirement and
Savings Plan (the "RASP") or any other defined
contribution plan sponsored by an AFG subsidiary
to have an alternative to the RASP or such other plan.
The Plan is being established by AFG and the other
Employers for the benefit of their respective
eligible Employees who are not eligible for
another nonqualified Plan of AFG or any other
Employer. With respect to Employees not directly
employed by AFG, such Employers shall annually
forward the amount necessary to fund the
contributions for the Account of each eligible
Employee as determined pursuant to Section 4.2 and
thereafter the Account (the investment performance
as determined pursuant to Section 4.4) of each
Employee is the obligation of AFG.
ARTICLE 2. DEFINITIONS
2.1 "Account" means the account established by the
Administrator pursuant to Section 3.1.
2.2 "Administrator" means the person or committee
appointed by the President of AFG responsible for
the administration of the Plan.
2.3 "AFG" means American Financial Group.
2.4 "AFG RASP" means the American Financial Group
Retirement and Savings Plan.
2.5 "Agreement" means the written election of a
Participant to participate in the Plan in the form
attached hereto as Appendix I.
2.6 "American Financial Group" means American
Financial Group, Inc., its successors and assigns.
2.7 "Code"means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.
2.8 "Employee" means all common law employees of an
Employer as further described in the AFG RASP.
2.9 "Employer" means AFG and certain of its
subsidiaries and affiliates who have adopted the
Plan.
2.10 "ERISA" means the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, as amended.
2.11 "Expiration Date" means the date in which a
Participant incurs five consecutive One Year
Periods of Severance.
2.12 "Hour of Service" means each hour an Employee is
entitled to payment by an Employer as further
described in the AFG RASP.
2.13 "One Year Period of Severance" means any 12-month
period during which a Participant does not
complete a month of service pursuant to the terms
of the RASP.
2.14 "Participant" means an Employee who becomes
eligible pursuant to Article 3.
2.15 "Plan Year" means the twelve month period
beginning each January 1 and ending December 31 on
which the records of the Plan are kept.
2.16 "RASP" means the AFG RASP.
2.17 "Retirement Contribution" means the employer
retirement contribution made by an Employer
pursuant to the terms of the AFG RASP.
2.18 "Year of Service" means each 12-month period
beginning on the Employee's employment
commencement date during which a Participant
completes at least one Hour of Service, as
determined pursuant to the RASP.
ARTICLE 3. PARTICIPATION
3.1 Eligibility. The Employees who are eligible to
become a Participant in the Plan are those
officers and other key employees of an Employer
who are authorized by the Board of Directors of
AFG to participate in the Plan or have been
specifically authorized to participate in the Plan
by an employment agreement between an Employer and
a person employed by an Employer.
3.2 Participation in the Plan. A Participant elects,
subject to the provisions of the Plan, to
participate in the Plan by delivering before March
15, or such earlier time as may be directed by the
Plan Administrator, of the first Plan Year the
Participant is eligible to participate, a properly
executed Agreement to the Administrator. The
Agreement shall conform to the terms and
conditions of the Plan and shall include an
election not to participate in the Retirement
Contribution of the AFG RASP or any other defined
contribution plan sponsored by an AFG subsidiary.
An Employee's election to participate in the Plan
may not be revoked during the Plan Year. An
employee may only revoke this election by
notifying the Plan Administrator in writing by
December 1 of the Plan Year for the termination to
be effective in the next following Plan Year. All
Employees who were participants of the AFC
Auxiliary ESORP shall automatically be
participants in this Plan subject to the elections
made under such plan without executing a new Agreement.
3.3 Vesting.
(a) A Participant's interest in his Account shall
become vested and nonforfeitable to the
extent of the following percentages based
upon full Years of Service with an Employer:
Percentage Percentage
Year of Service Vested Forfeited
Fewer than five years 0% 100%
At least five years 100% 0%
An Employee forfeits all non-vested rights to an Account
after the Plan Year after five consecutive One Year
Periods of Severance have occurred.
(b) For purposes of vesting, a Year of Service shall
be credited for each 12-month period beginning on the
Employee's employment commencement date during which
an Employee completes a month of service. In
addition, each Employee participating in the Plan
shall be credited, for Service purposes, for his
employment with any subsidiary or affiliate of AFG.
(c) In computing full Years of Service hereunder, any
Employee who has a One Year Period of Severance shall
not receive credit for Years of Service prior to such
break until one full Year of Service has been
completed after return to service. In addition,
Years of Service by any Employee after any five
consecutive One Year Periods of Severance shall not
be taken into account for purposes of determining the
nonforfeitable percentage of an Employee's interest
derived from compensation deferred by the Employee
which accrued before such five consecutive One Year
Periods of Severance.
Further, when computing full Years of Service
hereunder, the Employer shall establish and
maintain a separate Account for each Employee
who has incurred a One Year Period of
Severance and has subsequently returned to
the employment of an Employer. The purpose of
maintaining such separate Accounts will be to
insure that allocations to any Employee are
properly made to determine the nonforfeitable
percentage of accrued interest in accordance
with the above.
(d) Participation in the Plan will continue until
an Employee terminates his employment as
provided for in Section or for as long as he
has an interest in the Plan that has not been
distributed to him or for his benefit.
ARTICLE 4. COMPENSATION ALLOCATED
4.1 AFG Auxiliary RASP Account. An Account will be
established for each Employee who elects to
participate in the Plan. The Account will be
maintained by the Administrator. All allocations
on behalf of an Employee shall be deferred and all
increases or decreases in the Account due to
investment performance of the Retirement
Contributions in the AFG RASP (see Section ), all
distributions to the Employee or beneficiary or
estate, and any other interest earned on the
balance thereof, shall be reflected in the Account.
4.2 Amount of Allocation.
(a) The amount allocated to an Employee's Account
shall be deferred and shall be the same
percentage of an Employee's gross income (as
defined in Section 61(a) of the Code) paid by
any Employer as would have been allocated to
an Employee's Retirement Contributions
account in the AFG RASP (or any other defined
contribution plan sponsored by an AFG
subsidiary) up to a maximum of $30,000, which
amount shall be increased (but not decreased)
with respect to adjustments allowed by
Section 415 of the Code.
Provided, however, that the initial amount
of compensation allocated and deferred shall
include an amount equivalent to the amount
that would have been allocated in an
Employee's Retirement Contributions account
or predecessor defined contribution plan
account for the Plan Year prior to
participation in this Plan but for
limitations and rules existing in the Code as
of the date hereof.
(b) Allocations under this Plan for any Plan Year
shall be credited to an Employee's Account as
of December 31 of such Plan Year.
(c) A Participant's Accounts shall also include
amounts previously credited under the AFC
Auxiliary ESORP, if any.
4.3 Term of Deferral. The Agreement shall provide
that all amounts posted to the Account shall be
paid upon the earlier of (1) retirement or
termination of employment at age 60 or over, (2)
death, (3) Total Disability or (4) the Expiration
Date. Commencing in the first quarter of the year
following an Expiration Date, payments from the
Account shall be made in accordance with the
provisions specified in Section hereof.
4.4 Investment Performance. The Participant's Account
shall be credited (or charged) with interest at a
rate determined by the Treasurer of AFG to be the
same rate as earned on the Retirement
Contributions accounts under the RASP (investment
income plus or minus "investment performance"
under the Retirement Contributions account of the
RASP) as of each December 31 prior to the
Expiration Date. Such determination shall be
final, binding and conclusive on all parties.
4.5 Statement of Account. A statement of Account for the
preceding calendar year will be sent to each Participant
annually no later than February 28 until the complete
distribution of the Participant's Account.
ARTICLE 5. PAYMENT OF ACCOUNT
5.1 Payment After the Expiration Date, Death,
Retirement or Disability.
(a) Within 90 days following the end of the year
in which Expiration Date occurs, termination
of employment after age 60, death or
disability, the Participant, or in the event
of death, the Beneficiary, shall choose
payment or distribution of the Account under
one of the following payment options:
(1) The Account may be applied to the
purchase of an immediate or deferred
life annuity contract, on the sole life
of the Participant, or jointly on the
lives of the Participant and a
beneficiary named by the Participant.
The annuity contract shall be purchased
from an insurance company to be
determined at the sole discretion of AFG
provided that such insurance company
shall have a current rating of A
(Excellent) or better from Bests'
Insurance Reports.
(2) The Account may be paid out as if the
Participant purchased an immediate or
deferred life annuity contract, on the
sole life of the Participant, or jointly
on the lives of the Participant and the
beneficiary named by the Participant.
Such payment of the Account shall be as
if AFG purchased an annuity contract
from an insurance company to be
determined at the sole discretion of AFG
provided that such insurance company
shall have a rating of A (Excellent) or
better from Bests' Insurance Reports and
using as the interest rate assumption,
the same interest rate as such insurance
company would provide.
(3) The Account may be paid in a lump sum in
cash.
The Employer may take into consideration, but
is not bound by, the Employee's preference as
to the payment options.
The annuity contract provided for in
paragraph 5.l(a)(l) shall provide for, and
payments provided for in paragraph 5.l(a)(2)
shall be made, in equal installments over the
expected life span of Participant which shall
be determined by standard actuarial tables
then in existence.
(b) Within 30 days of AFG's choice of payment
option, AFG will purchase such annuity, begin
to make payments or make the lump sum
payment.
(c) Notwithstanding the payment option chosen by
AFG, after the commencement of payments from
the Account, the Administrator, at his sole
discretion, may accelerate payment of any
amount remaining in the Account to the extent
that the amounts being paid are not
sufficiently large to warrant the
administrative expense then being incurred to
administer such payments.
(d) Any applicable federal, state and local taxes
will be withheld from the gross amounts paid.
Neither the Participant nor any designated
beneficiary shall have any right, directly or
indirectly, to alienate, assign, pledge or in
any way encumber any amount that is payable
from the Account.
5.2 Hardship Distribution. Distribution of payments
from a Participant's Account prior to the
Expiration Date shall be made only if the
Administrator, after consideration of an
application by the Participant, determines that
the Participant has sustained financial hardship
caused by events beyond the Participant's control.
In such event, the Administrator may, at his sole
discretion, direct that all or a portion of the
Account be paid to the Participant in such manner,
and at such times as determined by the Administrator.
5.3 Beneficiary Designation and Payment.
(a) The Participant shall have the right to
designate a beneficiary hereunder and to
change any beneficiary previously designated.
Such designation shall be made by the
Participant delivering to the Administrator a
writing setting forth the name and address of
the person or persons so designated with a
statement by the Participant of the intention
that the person or persons so designated be
the beneficiary or beneficiaries hereunder.
The last-dated and filed beneficiary
designation shall cancel all earlier filed
designations. (Appendix II provides the
acceptable form of beneficiary designation.)
(b) In the event of the Participant's death
before or after the commencement of payments
from the Account, then the amount otherwise
payable to the Participant shall be paid to
the designated beneficiary or, if none, to
the estate, which beneficiary or estate shall
have all the rights conferred by Section above.
ARTICLE 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS
6.1 Employee's Rights Unsecured. The right of any
Employee to receive payments under the provisions
of the Plan shall be an unsecured claim against
the general assets of the Employers. It is not
required or intended that the amounts credited to
the Employee's Account be segregated on the books
of AFG or be held by the Employers in trust for
the Employee. All credits to the Account are for
bookkeeping purposes only.
6.2 Non-Assignability. The right to receive payments
hereunder shall not be transferable or assignable
by an Employee, except by will or by the laws of
descent and distribution. Any other attempted
assignment or alienation of payments hereunder
shall be void and of no force or effect.
6.3 Administration. The Administrator shall have the
authority to adopt rules, regulations and
interpret, construe and implement the provisions
of the Plan according to the laws of the State of
Ohio, to the extent not preempted by ERISA.
6.4 Amendment and Termination. The Plan may at any
time or from time to time be amended or terminated
by AFG. No amendment, modification or termination
shall adversely affect the Employee's accrued
rights under the Plan. Any such amendment,
modification or termination shall be in a writing
signed by an officer of AFG and approved by the
Board of Directors of AFG.
6.5 Construction. The masculine gender, where
appearing in this Plan, shall be deemed to also
include the feminine and neuter genders. The
singular shall also include the plural, and the
plural, the singular, where appropriate.
6.6 Limitations. The Plan does not constitute a
contract of employment, and participation in the
Plan will not give any Employee the right to be
retained in the employ of an Employer or any right
or claim to any benefit under the terms of the
Plan, unless such right or claim has specifically
accrued pursuant to the provisions of his
Agreement with the Employer. This Plan does not
confer the right for an Employee to receive a
bonus.
6.7 Subsidiaries. Each subsidiary of AFG who employs
an Employee shall be obligated to make payments to
AFG to fund each eligible Employee's Account. The
amount paid to AFG shall be in the proportion that
such subsidiary's compensation paid to an Employee
bears to an Employee's gross income determined
under Section .
AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
BY:
Its:
APPENDIX I
PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT
American Financial Group, Inc.
One East Fourth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Attention: Secretary
Gentlemen:
I am in receipt of the American Financial Group, Inc.
Auxiliary RASP Plan (the "Plan"), as adopted by the Board of
Directors of American Financial Group, Inc.. I have read and
reviewed the Plan, and I hereby elect to participate in the Plan
and agree to be bound by and fully comply with the terms and
conditions of the Plan. I acknowledge that my election to
participate in the Plan means that I am not going to participate,
beginning _________________ and forward, in the [American
Financial Group Retirement and Savings Plan] or [subsidiary
defined contribution plan].
I acknowledge that it is my obligation to notify the Administrator
of the Plan in writing by December 1 of any year in the event I wish to
terminate participation in the Plan for the following Plan Year and
re-activate participation in the American Financial Group Retirement
and Savings Plan or [subsidiary defined contribution plan].
I hereby acknowledge that I am not relying on any tax advice
given to me by American Financial Group, Inc. or by any
affiliate, employee, contractee, agent, director or officer
thereof regarding federal or state income or estate tax
consequences arising to me or my estate, heirs or devisees as a
result of my participation in the Plan. I further hereby
acknowledge that I have been advised to consult with my own tax
advisors regarding any such tax consequences to me.
Very truly yours, Employee
_______________________________
Signature
_______________________________
Name typed or printed
S.S. No.________________________
Date:__________________________
APPENDIX II
AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
AUXILIARY RASP
DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARY
___________________________
TO: The Board of Directors
American Financial Group, Inc.
I hereby direct that upon my death all or any payments to be
made or remaining to be paid in accordance with rights granted to
me under the Auxiliary RASP Plan shall be paid as follows:
(A) Primary Beneficiary
Name or Names of Persons or
Trust:
Address:
Date of Birth or of Trust:
Name of Trustee if applicable:
Telephone Number:
Social Security Number or
T.I.N.:
(B) Alternative Beneficiary (in the event of the death or
non-existence of the Primary Beneficiary listed above):
Name:
Address:
Date of Birth or of Trust:
Name of Trustee if applicable:
Telephone Number:
Social Security Number or
T.I.N.:
The undersigned hereby reserves the right to change the
beneficiary or beneficiaries designated herein at any time by
filing in writing a new Designation of Beneficiary form with the
Plan Administrator.
WITNESS:
EMPLOYEE:
Date:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
Date: By:
S1-8