GOLDEN STATE WATER
COMPANY
PENSION RESTORATION
PLAN
THIS PLAN,
originally effective the 1st day of January, 1997, is hereby
amended and restated effective December 31, 2008, by Golden State
Water Company, a California corporation (“Company”),
and evidences the terms of a Pension Restoration Plan for certain
executives.
W I T N E S S E T H
ARTICLE I
TITLE, PURPOSE AND
DEFINITIONS
This plan shall be known as the “Golden
State Water Company Pension Restoration Plan.”
The purpose of this Plan is to supplement
retirement benefits payable to certain participants in the Golden
State Water Company Pension Plan, as amended and in effect from
time to time (the “Pension Plan”) by making up benefits
which are reduced by virtue of Sections 401(a)(17) or 415 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986. No payment shall be made
under this Plan which duplicates a benefit payable under any other
deferred compensation plan or employment agreement of the
Company.
Unless defined herein, any word, phrase or term
used in this Plan with initial capitals shall have he meaning given
therefor in the Pension Plan.
“Actuarial Equivalent” shall mean an
equivalent value compared using the interest rate and mortality
assumptions used under the Pension Plan for purposes of determining
actuarially equivalent benefits.
“Company” means Golden State Water
Company or any successor corporation by merger, consolidation, or
otherwise.
“Employer” means the Company and any
subsidiary or any other member of its consolidated group (for
federal tax purposes) designated by the Board of Directors to
participate in the Plan.
“Eligible Employee” means each
individual who meets each of the following
requirements: (1) he or she is an officer of the
Employer; (2) he or she is a participant in the Pension Plan;
(3) his or her Pension Plan benefits are reduced by the
application of Sections 401(a)(17) or 415 of the Code; and
(4) he or she is designated as an Eligible Employee by the
Board of Directors.
“Participant” means any Eligible
Employee who is eligible for participation in this Plan as
specified in Section 2.1.
“Plan” means the Golden State Water
Company Pension Restoration Plan as set forth in this Agreement and
all subsequent amendments hereto.
“Plan Year” means the calendar
year.
“Separation from Service” means a
Participant’s death, retirement or other termination of
employment from the Employer that constitutes a “separation
from service” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations
Section 1.409A-1(h), without regard to the optional alternative
definitions available thereunder.
“Similar Plan” means a plan required
to be aggregated with this Plan under Treasury Regulations
Section 1.409A-1(c)(2)(i)(A).
“Specified Employee” means a
“Specified Employee,” under Section 409A of the Code
and the regulations thereunder, as determined by the
Committee.
ARTICLE II
PARTICIPATION
2.1 -
Eligibility Requirements.
An Employee who is an Eligible Employee shall
become a Participant on the later of the date he or she becomes
vested under the Pension Plan or becomes an Eligible
Employee.
ARTICLE III
PAYMENT OF BENEFITS
There shall be no funding of any benefit which
may become payable hereunder. The Company may, but is
not obligated to, invest in any assets or in life insurance
policies which it deems desirable to provide assets for payments
under this Plan but all such assets or life insurance policies
shall remain the general assets of the Company. In
connection with any such investments and as a condition of further
participation in this Plan, Participants shall execute any
documentation reasonably requested by the Company.
ARTICLE IV
RETIREMENT BENEFITS
4.1 -
Retirement Benefit.
Subject to Section 4.3, a Participant’s
retirement benefit under this Plan shall equal the excess of (1)
over (2) where:
(1) equals the Participant’s vested
retirement benefit under the Pension Plan, commencing on the date
set forth in Section 4.3, and payable in the form of benefit
elected by the Participant (and spouse, if applicable) in
accordance with Section 4.3 of this Plan, calculated by (i)
ignoring Sections 401(a)(17) and 415 of the Code (and the Pension
Plan provisions implementing those Code sections);
(ii) including in the definition of “Compensation”
payments made to a Participant pursuant to any “cash
pay” annual performance incentive plan of the Company (other
than any extraordinary bonus, including any holiday, year end,
anniversary or signing bonus) and dividend equivalents paid in cash
to the Participant in connection with awards granted prior to 2006
under an equity incentive plan of the Company; and
(iii) treating “A” in Section 4.2 of the
Pension Plan as equaling 2% per year of Credited Service (including
partial years) prior to 2006 (or, if later, the date the individual
becomes a Plan Participant) and 3% per year of Credited Service
(including partial years) after 2005 (or, if later, the date the
individual becomes a Plan Participant) up to a combined maximum of
60% for the total sum. This modified formula is
calculated as 2% times X plus 3% times Y (up to a maximum of 60%
for the total sum) minus Z where X is the Participant’s years
of Credited Service (including partial years) before 2006 (or, if
later, the date the individual becomes a Plan Participant) and Y is
the Participant’s years of Credited Service (including
partial years) after 2005 (or, if later, the date the individual
becomes a Plan Participant) and Z is the lesser of 1.67% of the
Participant’s Old Age Retirement Benefit (as defined in the
Pension Plan) or 1% of Compensation times the Participant’s
years of Credited Service (including partial years); and
(2) equals the vested retirement benefit that
would be payable under the Pension Plan if such benefit began on
the date set forth in Section 4.3 and was payable in the form of
benefit elected by the Participant (and spouse, if applicable)
under the Plan.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to
Participants employed on January 1, 2006, if greater, the
amount under (1) above will equal the Participant’s
vested retirement benefit under the Pension Plan (based on the
normal retirement benefit formula described in Section 4.2 of
the Pension Plan), commencing on the date set forth in Section 4.3,
and payable in the form of benefit elected by the Participant (and
spouse, if applicable) in accordance with Section 4.3 of this
Plan, calculated by ignoring Section 401(a)(17) and 415 of the
Code (and the Pension Plan provisions implementing those Code
Sections) and including in the definition of
“Compensation” payments made to a Participant pursuant
to any “cash pay” annual performance incentive plan of
the Company (other than any extraordinary bonus, including any
holiday, year end, anniversary or signing bonus) and dividend
equivalents paid in cash to the Participant in connection with
awards granted prior to 2006 under an equity incentive plan of the
Company.
4.2 - Benefit
Limitation .
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Plan,
in the event that any benefit provided under this agreement would,
in the opinion of counsel for the Company, not be deductible in
whole or in part in the calculation of the federal income tax of
the Company by reason of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (the “Code”), the aggregate benefits provided
hereunder shall be reduced so that no portion of any amount which
is paid to the Participant or Beneficiary is not deductible for tax
purposes by reason of Section 280G of the Code.
4.3 - Time
and Form of Retirement Benefits .
(A) Within
60 days following the later of (1) the Participant’s
Separation from Service or (2) the date the Participant attains age
55, the Employer shall commence to pay to such retired Participant
(or beneficiary, if applicable, after the Participant’s
death) the monthly retirement benefit to which the Participant is
entitled under this Plan, and payable in the form of benefit
elected by the Participant (and spouse, if
applicable). No benefits shall be payable under this
Plan before a Participant’s Separation from
Service. An Eligible Employee who is an active
Participant on December 31, 2008 may elect, on a form
prescribed by the Committee, that such Participant’s benefits
under this Plan will begin within 60 days following the later of
(1) the Participant’s Separation from Service or
(2) the Participant’s attainment of an age that is 55 or
later or the beginning of a specified year after the Participant
turns age 55. If such a written election is not
submitted to the Company by December 31, 2008, then such
Participant’s benefit shall begin as specified in the first
sentence of this Section 4.3(A). A former Eligible
Employee who has not started receiving benefits under the Plan as
of December 31, 2008, may elect, on a form prescribed by the
Committee, to begin receiving benefits on the later of (1) July 1,
2009 or (2) the Participant’s attainment of an age that
is 55 or later or the beginning of a specified year after the
Participant turns age 55. If such a written
el