Nicor Inc.
Form 8-K
Nicor Inc.
Salary Deferral
Plan
(As Amended and Restated for
Post-2004 Benefits, Effective January 1, 2008)
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Page
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SECTION
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2 Participant
Elections
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2
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2.7
Plan Not Contract of Employment
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5
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SECTION
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3 Plan Accounting
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5
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SECTION
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4 Termination
Date
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6
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SECTION
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5 Distribution of
Benefits
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7
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SECTION
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6 Claim For Benefit
Procedure
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12
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7.5
Committee’s Decision Final
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14
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SECTION
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8 Amendment and
Termination
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Nicor Inc.
Salary Deferral
Plan
(As Amended and Restated for
Post-2004 Benefits, Effective January 1, 2008)
SECTION 1
General
1.1 Purpose
. Nicor Inc. Salary Deferral Plan (the
“Plan”) has been established by Nicor Inc. (the
“Company”) so that it, and each of its Affiliates
which, with the consent of the Company, adopts the Plan may provide
its eligible key management employees with an opportunity to build
additional financial security, thereby aiding such companies in
attracting and retaining employees of exceptional
ability.
1.2 Effective Date,
Grandfathering . The “Effective Date” of
the amended and restated Plan is January 1, 2008, but the terms of
this amended and restated Plan shall apply only to amounts deferred
under this Plan after December 31, 2004 (and the interest earned
thereon) and amounts earned but not vested as of December 31,
2004. Notwithstanding any provisions of the Plan to the
contrary, the provisions of the Plan in effect on October 3, 2004
and not the provisions of this amended and restated Plan shall
apply to those amounts that were earned and vested under the Plan
within the meaning of Treas. Reg. §§1.409A-6(a) as of
December 31, 2004, as well as the interest earned thereon
(“Grandfathered Benefits”). The terms
applicable to the Grandfathered Benefits have not been materially
modified within the meaning of Treas. Reg.
§§1.409A-6(a)(1) and (4) on or after October 3,
2004.
1.3 Affiliates and
Employers . The term “Affiliate” means
any corporation, trade or business during any period during which
it is, along with the Company (or, before the Company was
established, Northern Illinois Gas Company now doing business as
Nicor Gas (“Nicor Gas”)), a member of a controlled
group of corporations or a controlled group of trades or
businesses, as described in Section 414(b) and 414(c) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the
“Code”). The Company and each Affiliate that
adopts the Plan for the benefit of its eligible employees are
referred to below collectively as the “Employers” and
individually as an “Employer”.
1.4 Plan
Administration, Source of Benefit Payments . The
authority to control and manage the operation and administration of
the Plan shall be vested in the compensation committee (the
“Committee”) of the Board of Directors of the Company
(the “Board”). In controlling and managing
the operation and administration of the Plan, the Committee shall
have the rights, powers and duties set forth in Section
7. The amount of any benefit payable under the Plan
shall be paid from the general assets of the Employer with respect
to whose employee or former employee the benefit is
payable. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the
liability of an Employer (the “Original Employer”) with
respect to a Participant on account of reduction in the
Participant’s cash remuneration from the Original Employer
pursuant to a Deferral Election shall not be affected by the
Participant’s leaving the employ of such Original Employer to
become an employee of another Employer or an Affiliate (the
“New Employer”); provided, however, that, with the
consent of the Original Employer and the New Employer, but without
the consent of the Participant, the liability of the Original
Employer may be transferred to the New
Employer. In
the event of
such transfer (a) the Original Employer shall thereafter have no
obligation to the Participant under the Plan, and (b) the New
Employer’s rights and obligations with respect to the
Participant shall be governed by the terms of the Plan, with the
New Employer substituted for the Original Employer under the
Plan. Neither the Participant nor any other person shall
acquire by reason of the Plan any right in or title to any assets,
funds or property of the Employers whatsoever, including, without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, any specific funds,
assets, or other property which the Employers, in their sole
discretion, may set aside in anticipation of a liability under the
Plan. The Participant shall have only a contractual
right to the amounts, if any, payable under the Plan, unsecured by
any assets of the Employers. Nothing contained in the
Plan shall constitute a guarantee by any of the Employers that the
assets of the Employers shall be sufficient to pay any benefits to
any person.
1.5 Plan Year
. The term “Plan Year” means the
twelve-consecutive-month period beginning on each January
1.
1.6 Applicable
Laws . The Plan shall be construed and administered
in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois to the extent
that such laws are not preempted by the laws of the United States
of America.
1.7 Gender and
Number . Where the context admits, words in any
gender shall include any other gender, words in the singular shall
include the plural and the plural shall include the
singular.
1.8 Notices
. Any notice or document required to be filed with the
Committee under the Plan will be properly filed if delivered or
mailed by registered mail, postage prepaid, to the Committee, in
care of the Company, at its principal executive
offices. Any notice required under the Plan may be
waived by the person entitled to notice.
1.9 Form and Time
of Elections . Unless otherwise specified herein,
each election permitted to be made by any Participant or other
person entitled to benefits under the Plan, and any permitted
modification or revocation thereof, shall be in writing filed with
the Committee at such times and in such form as the Committee shall
require.
1.10 Evidence
. Evidence required of anyone under the Plan may be by
certificate, affidavit, document or other information which the
person acting on it considers pertinent and reliable, and signed,
made or presented by the proper party or parties.
1.11 Action by
Employers . Any action required or permitted to be
taken by any Employer shall be by resolution of its Board of
Directors, or by a duly authorized officer of the
Employer.
1.12 Defined
Terms . Terms used frequently with the same meaning
are indicated by initial capital letters, and are defined
throughout the Plan. Appendix A contains an alphabetical
listing of all such terms and the subsections in which they are
defined.
SECTION 2
Participant
Elections
2.1 Eligible
Participants . Employees of any Employer who shall
be eligible to participate in the Plan shall be determined by the
compensation committee of that Employer. Notwithstanding
the foregoing provisions of this subsection 2.1, participation in
the Plan shall be
limited to a
select group of management or highly compensated employees within
the meaning of Sections 201, 301 and 401 of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), as
determined by the Committee.
2.2 Deferral
Elections . An individual’s participation in
the Plan shall be subject to the following:
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An employee of
an Employer who, prior to the beginning of any Plan Year, has been
designated by the compensation committee of such Employer as
eligible to participate in the Plan for the Plan Year shall become
a Participant for that year by filing an election (“Deferral
Election”) before the first day of that year.
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The Participant
shall elect, by his Deferral Election, to have the amount of Salary
that would otherwise be payable to him from the Employer during
each pay period during the Plan Year for which the Deferral
Election is in effect reduced by an amount that is not less than 2
percent nor more than 10 percent (in multiples of 1 percent) of his
Salary for each such pay period. If a
Participant’s rate of Salary changes from pay period to pay
period, there shall be a corresponding change in the amount of the
reduction in his cash remuneration pursuant to his Deferral
Election, so that the percentage of Salary subject to such election
remains constant.
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The Participant
shall elect, by his Deferral Election, to have the amount of Bonus
that would otherwise be payable to him from the Employer after the
end of the Plan Year for which the Deferral Election is in effect
reduced by an amount that is not less than 10 percent nor more than
20 percent (in multiples of 1 percent) of his Bonus for such Plan
Year.
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In the event
that a Participant ceases to be a member of the group of employees
to which the Plan is then extended, then Salary and Bonus
reductions as previously elected will continue for the remainder of
the Plan Year; however, the former Participant will not be
permitted to file a Deferral Election for subsequent years unless
he again becomes a member of the group of employees to which the
Plan is extended.
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Notwithstanding
any provision of the Plan to the contrary, a Deferral Election
shall be automatically cancelled on the Participant’s
Termination Date (as defined in Section 4) and shall be without
effect thereafter.
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No new Deferral
Election shall be accepted after a Change in Control.
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A
Participant’s Deferral Election for any Plan Year shall be
applicable to Salary paid in that Plan Year and to Bonus for that
Plan Year, but such Bonus is paid after the end of the Plan
Year. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5.5, a
Participant’s Deferral Election shall be irrevocable as of
the day immediately before the Plan Year to which it
applies.
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2.3 Distribution
Elections . Distribution of a Participant’s
Account under the Plan shall be subject to the
following:
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Each
Participant shall file a Distribution Election prior to the first
day of each Plan Year in which deferrals are made on his behalf
under the Plan (or under the transition rules of Code Section 409A,
prior to January 1, 2009). Such Distribution Election
shall apply for the deferrals made on his behalf under the Plan
with respect to such Plan Year, and shall be irrevocable as of the
day immediately preceding such Plan Year.
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A Participant
may change his Distribution Election after it has become
irrevocable for a Plan Year by submitting a modified Distribution
Election to the Committee under the rules of the Plan, and in
accordance with the following criteria:
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(i)
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The election of
the new form of payment or payment schedule shall have no effect
until at least 12 months after the date on which the election is
made;
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(ii)
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The initial
payment date under the modified Distribution Election must be the
first day of a calendar year that is no sooner than five (5) years
after the previously designated initial payment date (unless
the modified election is with respect to benefits payable upon
death, in accordance with subsection 4(d)); and
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(iii)
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The election
must be made at least 12 months prior to the
Participant's previously designated initial payment
date.
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A
Participant’s modified Distribution Election shall not be
considered to be made until the date on which the election becomes
irrevocable. Such an election shall become irrevocable
no later than the date that is 12 months prior to the
Participant’s previously designated initial payment
date. Any such modified Distribution Election must
comply with the requirements of subsections 5.7 and 5.8, including,
without limitation, with respect to the period of time during which
benefits may be payable. Installment payments shall be
treated as a single payment for purposes of Code Section
409A.
2.4 Prior Plan
Elections . Participant elections with respect to
Grandfathered Benefits shall be governed by the terms of the Plan
as in effect on October 3, 2004.
2.5 Salary
. For purposes of the Plan, a Participant’s
“Salary” from any Employer means the regular basic cash
remuneration paid to him for such period by reason of his
employment with that Employer as a Participant, excluding bonuses,
overtime pay, and all other kind of remuneration of any kind
including, but not limited to pre-paid salary increase advances and
lump sum raise payments, and including vacation pay, reductions in
cash remuneration under this Plan, reductions to reflect
contributions under a plan described in Section 125 of the Code and
contributions under a cash or deferred arrangement described in
Section 401(k) of the Code.
2.6 Bonus
. For purposes of the Plan, a Participant’s
“Bonus” from any Employer means the gross annual bonus
amount(s) payable to a Participant from the Employer’s annual
incentive plan(s), if any, in effect for the Employer’s
fiscal year coinciding with the Plan Year (but payable
after the end
of the Plan Year) otherwise payable in cash, and considered
“wages” for FICA and federal income tax withholding;
provided, however, that a participant’s bonus shall be
determined without regard to any reduction to reflect contributions
under a plan described in Section 125 of the Code or contributions
under a cash or deferred arrangement described in Section 401(k) of
the Code, or any amount deferred under an unfunded, nonqualified
plan maintained by the Employer.
2.7 Plan Not
Contract of Employment . The Plan does not
constitute a contract of employment, and participation in the Plan
will not give any employee or Participant the right to be retained
in the employ of any Employer nor any right or claim to any benefit
under the Plan, unless such right or claim has specifically accrued
under the terms of the Plan.
SECTION 3
Plan Accounting
3.1 Accounts
. For each Participant who has filed a Deferral
Election, the Committee shall establish an Account. A
Participant’s Account balance as of any date shall be equal
to the amount determined in accordance with the following
provisions of this subsection 3.1 based on the Interest Yield then
applicable to such Account balance:
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first, credit
to the Account balance the applicable Interest Yield based on the
average Account balance for the previous day;
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then, charge to
the Account balance the amount of any distributions under the Plan
with respect to that Account balance as of that date;
and
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then, credit to
the Account balance the amount to be credited as of that date in
accordance with subsection 3.4.
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The foregoing
provisions shall apply so long as a Participant has an account
balance under the Plan, even if the Participant is no longer
eligible to file a Deferral Election pursuant to subsections 2.2 or
5.5.
The Committee
may establish lump sum and installment distribution subaccounts
under a Participant’s Account to reflect those amounts
pursuant to which the Participant has made an election to receive
lump sum or installment distributions as provided in subsections
5.7 and 5.8 pursuant to an applicable Distribution
Election.
A distribution
to a Participant pursuant to the provisions of subsection 5.5 shall
not affect the Interest Yield used to determine the
Participant’s Account balance as of any subsequent
date. Accordingly, if any amounts are distributed to or
on behalf of a Participant under the Plan at a time when the
Account balance is to be determined in accordance with the
Termination Interest Yield, then the Participant’s Account
balance shall be recomputed using the Termination Interest Yield
from the date each such deferral was first made. If any
amounts are distributed to or on behalf of a participant under the
Plan at a time when the Account balance is to be determined in
accordance with the Retirement Interest Yield, the
Participant’s Account balance shall be recomputed from the
date such deferrals were first made, using the Retirement Interest
Yield.
3.2 Limit on
Crediting of Interest . Notwithstanding the
foregoing provisions of this Section 3, a Participant’s
Account balance shall not be credited with interest in accordance
with the provisions of paragraph 3.1(a) with respect to the amount
of any payment or distribution for the period occurring after the
date as of which such amount is to be paid in accordance with the
provisions of the Plan (such payment date calculated to include any
delay due to regulatory requirements), regardless of the date on
which payment is actually made.
3.3 Interest
Yield . The applicable “Interest Yield”
for any date in any calendar quarter shall be equal to:
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for any portion
of the Account balance to be determined on the basis of the
Termination Interest Yield, the applicable Interest Yield shall be
100% of the Bond Rate for the next preceding calendar quarter (or
other time period deemed appropriate by the Committee);
and
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for any portion
of the Account balance to be determined on the basis of the
Retirement Interest Yield, the applicable Interest Yield shall be
130% of the Bond Rate for the next preceding calendar quarter (or
other time period deemed appropriate by the Committee).
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The “Bond
Rate” for any calendar quarter (or other time period deemed
appropriate by the Committee) shall be the composite average yield
of industrial and public utility bonds, rated Aaa through Baa for
that period, as determined from Mergent Bond Record published
monthly by Mergent FIS, Inc. (or any successor thereto) or, if such
yield is no longer available, a substantially similar average
selected by the Committee.
3.4 Crediting Under
Deferral Election . A Participant’s Account
balance shall be credited, in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph 3.1(c), with the amount by which his Salary and/or Bonus
from his Employer is reduced pursuant to a Deferral Election, as of
the date on which such Salary and/or Bonus would otherwise have
been paid to the Participant by the Employer were it not for the
reduction made pursuant to the Deferral Election.
3.5 Limit on
Distributions . In no event shall the amount
distributed under the Plan with respect to any Participant as of
any date exceed the amount of his Account balance as of that
date.
SECTION 4
Termination Date
A Participant’s “Termination
Date” is the first to occur of the following
dates:
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Normal
Retirement . The date of the Participant’s
Separation from Service after the Participant has attained age
65. For purposes of the Plan, a Participant’s
“Separation from Service” is the date of termination of
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