Exhibit 10.3
ALLIANCE ONE INTERNATIONAL,
INC.
SUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT
PLAN
ALLIANCE ONE INTERNATIONAL,
INC. (the
“Company”) hereby establishes this SUPPLEMENTAL
RETIREMENT ACCOUNT PLAN (the “Plan”) effective
April 1, 2007.
Section 1
Purpose of the
Plan
The Plan is a non-qualified
supplemental retirement plan established to provide deferred
compensation for a select group of management or highly compensated
employees of the Company and certain of its affiliates. The Plan is
intended to be an unfunded plan within the meaning of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended and the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
Section 2
Definitions
|
2.1
|
“Accounting Firm” shall mean the
accounting or consulting firm designated by the
Administrator.
|
|
2.2
|
“Accrued
Benefit” shall mean the balance credited to the
Participant’s Supplemental Account as of the Benefit
Settlement Date or the most recent Adjustment Date, following
adjustment to such Account as of such Benefit Settlement Date or
Adjustment Date as provided in Section 3.
|
|
2.3
|
“Adjustment Date” shall mean the
last day of each Plan Year.
|
|
2.4
|
“Adjustment Rate” shall mean, for
each Plan Year, the lesser of (a) the Moody’s Rate in
effect as of the first business day of the Plan Year, or
(b) the Applicable Federal Rate in effect for the first month
of the Plan Year.
|
|
2.5
|
“Administrator” shall mean an
administrative committee composed of the Company’s Senior
Vice President – Human Resources and Vice President –
Compensation and Benefits, provided that no member of such
committee shall take part in any discretionary administrative
decision with respect to such member’s benefits under the
Plan. The Administrator shall be the named fiduciary with respect
to this Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Compensation
Committee in its discretion may remove or replace any member of the
administrative committee, or name a different committee or an
individual to serve as Administrator hereunder.
|
|
2.6
|
“Affiliate” shall mean any related
person or entity that along with the Company would be considered a
single employer under Code Section 414(b) or (c). A person or
entity shall be considered an Affiliate only during the time it
would be considered a single employer with the Company under such
provisions.
|
|
2.7
|
“Applicable Federal Rate” shall mean
120% of the applicable federal long-term rate for annual
compounding prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury from time
to time pursuant to Code Section 1274(d).
|
|
2.8
|
“Beneficiary” shall mean the person,
persons, entity or entities designated or determined pursuant to
the provisions of Section 5.5.
|
|
2.9
|
“Benefit
Settlement Date” shall mean the date as of which a
Participant’s Supplemental Account is valued for purposes of
determining payments pursuant to Section 5.1 or
5.2.
|
|
2.10
|
“Capped
Parachute Payments” shall mean the largest amount of
Parachute Payments that may be paid to the Participant without
liability under Code Section 4999.
|
|
2.11
|
“Change
in Control” shall mean that (i) any “person”
(as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d)(2) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) becomes the beneficial
owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company
representing more than 30% of the aggregate voting power of all
classes of the Company’s voting securities on a fully diluted
basis, after giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding
warrants, options and other securities of the Company convertible
into or exercisable for voting securities of the Company (whether
or not such securities are then exercisable); (ii) the
shareholders of the Company approve (A) a plan of merger,
consolidation or share exchange between the Company and an entity
other than a direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Company or (B) a proposal with respect to the sale, lease,
exchange or other disposal of all, or substantially all, of the
Company’s property; or (iii) during any period of two
consecutive years (which period may be deemed to begin prior to the
date of this agreement), individuals who at the beginning of such
period constituted the Company’s Board of Directors, together
with any new members of the Board of Directors whose election by
the Board of Directors or whose nomination for election by the
shareholders of the Company was approved by a majority of the
members of the Board of Directors then still in office who either
were directors at the beginning of such period or whose election or
nomination for election was previously so approved, cease for any
reason to constitute a majority of the Board of
Directors.
|
|
2.12
|
“Code” shall mean the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
|
|
2.13
|
“Company” shall mean Alliance One
International, Inc.
|
|
2.14
|
“Compensation” shall mean the base
salary and annual bonus (without reduction for amounts withheld for
taxes, contributions to benefit plans, or other required or
voluntary deductions) actually paid by the Company and its
Affiliates to the Participant during the Plan Year.
“Compensation” shall not include extra pay (for
temporary foreign service or otherwise), commissions, severance
pay, long-term bonuses based on performance over a period greater
than one year, or any other form of remuneration that is not
characterized by the Company or Affiliate as base salary or annual
bonus.
|
Page 2 of 18
|
2.15
|
“Compensation Committee” shall mean
the Executive Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board
of Directors.
|
|
2.16
|
“Competes” shall mean that the
Participant, either directly or indirectly, either as principal,
agent, employee, employer, owner, stockholder (owning more than 5%
of the value of a corporation’s outstanding stock), partner,
contractor, consultant or in any other individual or representative
capacity, engages in the business of a tobacco dealer, importer or
exporter or any other business in which the Company or an Affiliate
is engaged at such time. If any provision of the preceding sentence
or Section 4.3(a) is ever deemed to exceed the time,
geographic area, or activity limitations permitted by applicable
law, the Company and Participant (by virtue of his participation in
the Plan), agree that such provisions must be and are reformed to
the maximum time, geographic area and activity limitations
permitted by applicable law, and expressly authorize a court having
jurisdiction to reform the provisions to the maximum time,
geographic area and activity limitations permitted by applicable
law.
|
|
2.17
|
“Control
Change Date” shall mean the date on which all of the events
necessary for a Change in Control have occurred.
|
|
2.18
|
“Disability” shall mean a disability
that would entitle the Participant to collect benefits under the
Company’s group long-term disability program, as determined
by the Administrator and disregarding any exclusion period. The
insurance carrier’s determination of disability shall not be
binding on the Administrator with respect to this Plan.
|
|
2.19
|
“Employee” shall mean a common-law
employee of the Company or an Affiliate, as determined from the
payroll records of the Company and its Affiliates.
|
|
2.20
|
“ERISA” shall mean the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
|
|
2.21
|
“Excess
Parachute Payment Amount” shall mean the excess of the total
amount of Parachute Payments over the amount of Capped Parachute
Payments.
|
|
2.22
|
“Five
Years of Service” shall mean sixty (60) months of active
service as an Employee of the Company and its Affiliates, whether
or not consecutive. An Employee shall receive credit for one
(1) month of active service for each calendar month in which
he performs substantial services for the Company or an Affiliate,
as determined by the Administrator.
|
|
2.23
|
“Moody’s Rate” shall mean the
Moody’s Aa Corporate Bond Yield Average for maturities 20
years and above, as determined from time to time.
|
Page 3 of 18
|
2.24
|
“Net
After-Tax Amount” shall mean the amount of any Parachute
Payments or Capped Parachute Payments, as applicable, net of taxes
imposed under Code Sections 1, 3101(b) and 4999 and any State or
local income taxes applicable to the Participant as in effect on
the date of the first payment under this Plan after the event
giving rise to the Parachute Payments. The determination of the Net
After-Tax Amount shall be made using the highest combined effective
rate imposed by the foregoing taxes on income of the same character
as the Parachute Payments or Capped Parachute Payments, as
applicable, in effect for the year in which the determination is
made.
|
|
2.25
|
“Parachute Payment” shall mean a
payment that is described in Code Section 280G(b)(2) (without
regard to whether the aggregate present value of such payments
exceeds the limit prescribed by Code
Section 280G(b)(2)(A)(ii)). The amount of any Parachute
Payment shall be determined in accordance with Code
Section 280G and the regulations promulgated
thereunder.
|
|
2.26
|
“Participant” shall mean a member of
a select group of management or highly compensated employees of the
Company and its Affiliates who is designated by the Compensation
Committee as a Participant in this Plan.
|
|
2.27
|
“Plan” shall mean the Alliance One
International, Inc. Supplemental Retirement Account Plan as set
forth herein and as it may be amended from time to time.
|
|
2.28
|
“Plan
Year” shall mean each twelve-month period ending on
March 31.
|
|
2.29
|
“Retirement” shall mean a
Participant’s voluntary Separation from Service after
attaining age fifty-five (55) and completion of Ten Years of
Service.
|
|
2.30
|
“Separation from Service” shall mean
the Participant’s “separation from service” with
the Company and its Affiliates within the meaning of Code
Section 409A(a)(2)(A)(i) and applicable regulations and other
guidance thereunder. A Separation from Service shall not have
occurred so long as the Participant continues to provide more than
insignificant services as an employee, consultant or other service
provider to the Company or any Affiliate.
|
|
2.31
|
“Spouse” or “Surviving
Spouse” shall mean, except as otherwise provided in this
Plan, the legally married spouse or surviving spouse of the
Participant.
|
|
2.32
|
“Supplemental Account” shall mean
the separate bookkeeping account maintained for the purpose of
tracking the Participant’s Accrued Benefit. The opening
balance of each Participant’s Supplemental Account as of
April 1, 2007 shall be $0.00.
|
|
2.33
|
“Ten
Years of Service” shall mean one hundred twenty
(120) months of active service as an Employee of the Company
and its Affiliates, whether or not consecutive. An Employee shall
receive credit for one (1) month of active service for each
calendar month in which he performs substantial services for the
Company or an Affiliate, as determined by the
Administrator.
|
Page 4 of 18
Section 3
Supplemental
Account
|
3.1
|
Establishment of Account . The Administrator shall establish a notional
account, entitled the “Supplemental Account”, on behalf
of each Participant. Each Participant’s Supplemental Account
shall be credited with notional Company pay credits pursuant to the
provisions of Section 3.2 and notional interest credits
pursuant to the provisions of Section 3.3.
|
|
3.2
|
Company Pay
Credits .
|
|
|
(a)
|
As of the last
day of each Plan Year, the Administrator shall credit to the
Supplemental Account of each Participant who is actively employed
by the Company or an Affiliate on such last day a notional Company
pay credit equal to a percentage of the Participant’s
Compensation for the Plan Year, as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Company Pay
Credit Percentage
|
|
Executive Vice Presidents (and
above)
|
|
10%
|
|
Senior Vice Presidents
|
|
7.5%
|
|
All other Participants
|
|
Per § 3.2(b)
|
|
|
(b)
|
If a
Participant’s pay credit percentage is not specified in the
preceding paragraph, the Compensation Committee in its discretion
shall set the pay credit percentage at the time the Participant
joins the Plan. The Compensation Committee shall also have the
power to change such Participant’s pay credit percentage from
time to time in its discretion, provided that no such change shall
be effective for any Plan Year prior to the date of the
Compensation Committee’s decision to make the
change.
|
|
|
(c)
|
The provisions
of Section 3.2(a) requiring a Participant to be actively
employed by the Company or an Affiliate on the last day of the Plan
Year in order to receive a Company pay credit shall not apply to a
Participant who dies or who Separates from Service on account of
Retirement or Disability during the Plan Year. The Administrator
shall credit the Company pay credit to such Participant’s
Supplemental Account as of the earlier of the last day of such Plan
Year or the Participant’s Benefit Settlement Date.
|
Page 5 of 18
|
|
(a)
|
The
Administrator shall credit each Participant’s Supplemental
Account as of each Adjustment Date with a notional interest credit
equal to the balance of Participant’s Supplemental Account as
of the first day of the Plan Year multiplied by the Adjustment Rate
for the Plan Year.
|
|
|
(b)
|
If a
Participant’s Benefit Settlement Date is not an Adjustment
Date, the Administrator shall credit such Participant’s
Supplemental Account as of his Benefit Settlement Date with a
notional interest credit equal to the balance of
Participant’s Supplemental Account as of the first day of the
Plan Year multiplied by the pro-rated Adjustment Rate. The
pro-rated Adjustment Rate shall be equal to the Adjustment Rate for
the Plan Year times a fraction, the numerator of which is the
number of months in the Plan Year prior to the Benefit Settlement
Date (including the month containing the Benefit Settlement Date),
and the denominator of which is twelve (12).
|
|
|
(c)
|
No interest
credits shall be credited to the Participant’s Supplemental
Account after the Participant’s Benefit Settlement
Date.
|
Section 4
Vesting
|
4.1
|
Vesting
Events . Subject to
Section 4.3, a Participant shall be fully vested in his
Accrued Benefit under this Plan upon the first to occur of the
following dates while the Participant remains actively employed by
the Company or an Affiliate:
|
|
|
(a)
|
The date of his
death;
|
|
|
(b)
|
The date of his
Separation from Service on account of Disability;
|
|
|
(c)
|
The date the
Company terminates the Plan; or
|
|
|
(d)
|
Subject to
Sections 4.3(b) and 11.1, the occurrence of a Change in
Control.
|
|
4.2
|
Vesting
Schedule . Prior to the
date of full vesting pursuant to Section 4.1 above, and
subject to Section 4.3, a Participant shall become 100% vested
in his Accrued Benefit upon completion of Five Years of
Service.
|
|
|
(a)
|
A Participant
shall cease to be a Participant on, and no benefits shall be
payable under the Plan to a Participant or the Participant’s
Surviving Spouse or other Beneficiary after, the date that
Participant engages in conduct that Competes with the Corporation
or an Affiliate. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply
on or after a Control Change Date.
|
Page 6 of 18
|
|
(b)
|
In the event
that the Participant’s employment with the Company or an
Affiliate is terminated for cause, all rights of the Participant
and any Beneficiary or other person claiming under or through him
hereunder shall be forfeited and no further payments hereunder
(pursuant to Section 5 or otherwise) shall be made to the
Participant or any Beneficiary or other person claiming under or
through him. For purposes of this paragraph, Participant’s
termination of employment will be deemed to have been “for
cause” if the Committee determines that the
Participant’s employment was terminated in whole or in part
by reason of (i) one or more violations of the Company’s
Code of Conduct (as in effect from time to time) or (ii) one
or more violations of law (other than misdemeanor traffic
violations) that injure or damage the business reputation or
prospects of the Company or an Affiliate.
|
Section 5
Payment of
Benefits
|
5.1
|
Payment of
Benefits Following Separation from Service . If the Participant is or becomes vested in his
Accrued Benefit upon his Separation from Service (including but not
limited to Separation from Service on account of Disability),
benefits shall be payable to the Participant in accordance with
this Section 5.1.
|
|
|
(a)
|
For purposes of
this Section 5.1, the Participant’s Benefit Settlement
Date shall be the last day of the sixth full calendar month
following the Participant’s Separation from
Service.
|
|
|
(b)
|
The Company
shall pay the Participant’s benefits in one hundred twenty
(120) equal monthly installments of principal and interest
commencing in the month immediately following the Benefit
Settlement Date and continuing for one hundred nineteen
(119) consecutive months thereafter. The monthly installment
amount shall be computed as follows:
|
|
|
(i)
|
The balance of
the Participant’s Supplemental Account as of the Benefit
Settlement Date shall be treated as the principal amount due to the
Participant under this Section 5.1. The principal amount due
shall accrue interest until fully paid to the Participant at an
annual rate equal to the Adjustment Rate in effect for the Plan
Year that includes the Benefit Settlement Date.
|
|
|
(ii)
|
The Company
shall amortize the principal and interest due over a one hundred
twenty (120) month period so that each month the Participant
shall receive the same amount of cash. For purposes of calculating
the monthly payment, it is assumed that all payments are made on
the last day of the month in which they are due.
|
Page 7 of 18
|
|
|
See Appendix I
for an example of the calculation of the monthly installment
amount.
|
|
|
(c)
|
If the
Participant dies after installment payments have commenced pursuant
to this Section 5.1 but before all such installments have been
paid, the remaining installments shall be paid to
|
|