Regulations IC Pension Plan

Caisse de pensions Philip Morris en Suisse

Regulations - IC Pension Plan

page I

Introduction

  1

1.

Membership in the IC Plan

  1

Article 1 - General Principle

  1

Art. 2 - Start of Membership

  1

Art. 3 - Termination of Membership

  1

2.

Definitions

  2

Art. 4 - Normal retirement

  2

Art. 5 - Contributory salary

  2

Art. 6 - Retirement savings capital

  2

Art. 7 - Retirement credits

  3

Art. 8 - Voluntary contributions

  3

Art. 9 - Loss of benefits

  4

Art. 10 - Interest

  4

3.

IC Pension Plan benefits

  4

General Principles

  4

Art. 11 - Insured benefits

  4

Art. 12 - Payment

  5

Art. 13 - Rights in Case of Third Party Liability

  5

Art. 14 - Contributory negligence

  5

Art. 15 - Assignment, Pledge and Compensation

  5

Art. 16 - Statute of limitations

  6

Retirement Pension or Lump-sum Retirement Capital

  6

Art. 17 - Entitlement

  6

Art. 18 - Amount

  6

Art. 19 - Deferral

  7

Lump-sum disability benefit

  7

Art. 20 - Recognition of Disability

  7

Caisse de pensions Philip Morris en Suisse

Regulations - IC Pension Plan

page II

Art. 21 - Entitlement and amount

  7

Lump-sum death benefit

  8

Art. 22 - Entitlement and amount

  8

Art. 23 - Beneficiaries

  8

Benefits in Case of Divorce

  8

Art. 24 - Transfer of Termination Benefit in Case of Divorce

  8

Vested Termination Benefit

  9

Art. 25 - Termination of employment

  9

Art. 26 - Amount of the Vested Termination Benefit

  9

Art. 27 - Minimum Amount of Vested Termination Benefit

  9

Art. 28 - Transfer of the Vested Termination Benefit

10

Art. 29 - Cash Payment

10

Art. 30 - End of insurance

10

Maintenance of Insurance Coverage

11

Art. 31 - Maintenance of Insurance as an External Member

11

Encouragement of Home Ownership

11

Art. 32 - General Provisions

11

Art. 33 - Definition of a Residence for the Member’s Own Use

12

Art. 34 - Forms of Encouragement

12

Art. 35 - Proof

13

Art. 36 - Withdrawal - Entitlement

13

Art. 37 - Amount

13

Art. 38 - Consequences

14

Art. 39 - Implementation

14

Art. 40 - Repayment

15

Art. 41 - Sale of the Residential Property

15

Art. 42 - Pledge - Principle

16

Art. 43 - Consequences of Enforcing a Lien

16

Art. 44 - Consent of the Mortgagee

17

Caisse de pensions Philip Morris en Suisse

Regulations - IC Pension Plan

page III

Art. 45 - Tax Provisions on the Encouragement of Home Ownership

17

4.

IC Pension Plan Resources

18

Art. 46 - General Resources

18

Art. 47 - Member’s Contributions

18

Art. 48 - Employer’s contribution

18

Art. 49 - Remedial measures

19

Art. 50 - Assets

19

5.

Administration

19

Art. 51 - Pension Board

19

Art. 52 - Term of Office

20

Art. 53 - Duties, Powers, Convening, Resolutions

20

Art. 54 - Meetings and Resolutions

20

Art. 55 - Auditors

20

Art. 56 - Accredited Pension Actuary

21

Art. 57 - Liability, Confidentiality

21

Art. 58 - Information

21

6.

Transitional Provisions

22

Art. 59 - Voluntary Contributions on the Entry into Effect of the IC Plan

22

Art. 60 - Early retirement age

22

Art. 61 - Disability Benefits

22

7.

Final Provisions

22

Art. 62 - Amendment of the Regulations

22

Art. 63 - Interpretation

22

Art. 64 - Disputes

23

Art. 65 - Translations

23

Art. 66 - Supplementary Regulations

23

Art. 67 - Effective Date

23

Caisse de pensions Philip Morris en Suisse

Règlement IC Pension Plan

1.

Membership in the IC Plan

1.

Membership in the IC Plan is compulsory for all grade I employees or higher (banded) who are members of the Pension Fund’s Main Plan.

1.

Membership in the IC Plan commences on the first day of the month in which a bonus is paid. As a result, the employee acquires the status of insured member.

1.

Membership in the IC Pension Plan ceases at the date of termination of employment

Caisse de pensions Philip Morris en Suisse

Règlement IC Pension Plan

2.

Termination of membership in the IC Plan entails the loss member status, subject, however, to Article 30 (end of insurance) and Article 31 (maintenance of insurance cover as external member) and to the Pension Fund’s obligation to provide the individual concerned with all necessary information.

2.

Definitions

1.

Normal retirement begins on the first day of the month following a member’s 65th birthday, irrespective of gender.

1.

The contributory salary of members in salary bands A to E is equal to the contributory salary of the Main Plan. This salary is hereafter referred to as “contributory salary I”.

2.

The contributory salary of members in salary bands G to I is equal to the bonus (IC). This salary is hereafter referred to as “contributory salary II”.

3.

The contributory salary of members in salary band F is equal to the contributory salary I when the contributory salary insured in the Main Plan plus the bonus (IC) exceeds ten times the upper amount defined in Article 8(1) LPP. In all other cases, the contributory salary is equal to the contributory salary II.

4.

The contributory salary never includes any compensation earned from employment with a third party.

1.

A retirement savings capital is created for each member, consisting of:

-

retirement credits in accordance with Article 7 below;

-

the member’s voluntary contributions;

-

possible repayments of amounts lost in implementation of Article 9 (loss of benefits); and

-

interest accrued on the above amounts.

Caisse de pensions Philip Morris en Suisse

Règlement IC Pension Plan

1.

The retirement credits calculated on a yearly basis and expressed as a percentage of the contributory salary are equal to:

a.

contributory salary I:

-

salary bands A to D: 3 %

-

salary band E: 7.2 %

-

salary band F: 6.8 %

b.

contributory salary II: 12 %

1.

An active member who has accrued the maximum duration specified in Article 10(1) of the Main Plan regulations may purchase pension benefits at any time by means of a voluntary contribution.

2.

Vested termination benefits that are not entirely absorbed by the Main Plan in accordance with Article 10(5) of its regulations may be applied to the purchase of benefits in the IC Pension Plan.

3.

Voluntary contributions are limited to the difference between:

a.

contributory salary I:

-

3 % of the contributory salary I, multiplied by the difference in years between the year of the member’s 30th birthday and the current calendar year, and

-

the retirement savings capital accrued at the date of the voluntary contribution:

b.

contributory salary II:

-

12 % of the contributory salary, multiplied by the difference in years between the year of the member’s 30th birthday and the current calendar year, and

-

the retirement savings capital accrued at the date of the voluntary contribution.

5.

Members can only make a voluntary contribution if they have fully repaid any previous withdrawals obtained for the financing of home ownership (subject to Article 40(1)(a).

6.

The maximum amount that may be allocated to the voluntary purchase is reduced by any vested termination benefit that has not been transferred to the Fund plus that portion of the member’s 3a pillar assets which exceeds the sum of the maximum annual tax deductible contributions from age 24, plus interest, in accordance with Article 7(1)(a) OPP 3.

7.

In the case of members arriving from abroad who have never belonged to a pension plan in Switzerland, the maximum annual voluntary contribution is limited, during the first 5 years of membership, to 20 % of the contributory salary.

Caisse de pensions Philip Morris en Suisse

Règlement IC Pension Plan

8.

Benefits deriving from a member’s voluntary contributions may not be paid out in the form of capital for at least three years.

9.

If one of the Employers finances all or part of a purchase of benefits in the context of a member’s international transfer within the Altria Group, an agreement will be concluded between the Fund, the Employer and the member.

1.

If Article 24 (transfer of vested termination benefits in case of divorce) is applied following a divorce, the member’s retirement savings capital will be reduced and his voluntary and regulatory contributions accounts will be adjusted accordingly.

2.

If a member makes a withdrawal for the financing of home ownership and an amount is transferred from the IC Pension Plan, the member’s retirement savings capital will also be reduced and his voluntary and regulatory contributions accounts will be adjusted accordingly.

1.

The interest rate payable on the retirement savings capital is set by the Pension Board.

2.

Interest is credited at the end of each calendar year or on the date the member leaves the IC Pension Plan if an insured event occurs during the year.

3.

Retirement credits bear interest from the 1st day of the month following their payment; voluntary contributions bear interest from the date they are paid in.

4.

The default interest rate is the minimum interest rate set in the LPP plus one percentage point.

3.

IC Pension Plan benefits

1.

General principles

1.

Subject to the conditions set out below, the IC Pension Plan insures benefits in the form of:

a)

retirement pension or lump-sum retirement capital;

b)

lump-sum disability benefit;

c)

lump-sum death benefit

d)

benefits in case of divorce;

e)

vested termination benefit;

Caisse de pensions Philip Morris en Suisse

Règlement IC Pension Plan

f)

encouragement of home ownership.

1.

IC Pension Plan benefits are payable as follows:

a)

lump-sum capital: within 30 days after falling due, but not before the legal beneficiaries are identified with certainty;

b)

termination benefits: on the date the member leaves the Pension Fund.

2.

IC Pension Plan benefits are payable at the Pension Fund’s registered office. They are payable in Switzerland in Swiss francs, to a bank or postal account at the address provided by the beneficiary. The Fund reserves the right to refuse a payment address if electronic payment is not possible. The provisions of international treaties remain applicable

3.

The Fund may require written proof of benefit entitlement; if the beneficiary fails to produce such proof, the Fund may suspend benefit payments.

4.

The Pension Fund can request repayment of any benefits wrongly paid or received. Repayment may be waived where the beneficiary acted in good faith and repayment would cause great hardship.

1.

If the Fund is not subrogated to the rights of the member, his survivors and other beneficiaries defined in Art. 46 pursuant to the LPP, it may require a disabled member or the survivors of a deceased member to assign their rights against any third party liable for the death or disability, up to the amount of the benefits payable by the Fund.

2.

The Fund may suspend benefits until it receives such assignment.

1.

If the AVS/AI//AHV/IV reduces, withdraws, or denies benefits on the grounds that the death or disability of the member was caused through gross negligence on the part of the beneficiary, or if the member refuses rehabilitation measures imposed by the AI/IV, the Pension Board may reduce Fund benefits in an amount not exceeding the measure imposed by the AVS/AI//AHV/IV.

1.

Benefit entitlements may not be assigned or pledged before they fall due. However, Article 42 (pledge) remains applicable.