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EXHIBIT 10.5
SANDERSON FARMS, INC.
AND
AFFILIATES
EMPLOYEE STOCK
OWNERSHIP PLAN
(AMENDED AND RESTATED EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1,1997)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ARTICLE 1
PURPOSE
ARTICLE 2
DEFINITIONS
ARTICLE 3
NAMED FIDUCIARIES AND ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 3.1 Named
Fiduciaries.............................................................
11
Section 3.2 Allocation of
Responsibilities, Powers and Duties Among Named Fiduciaries.....
11
Section 3.3 No Joint Fiduciary
Responsibility.............................................
12
Section 3.4 Delegation of Responsibility
and Employment of Advisors....................... 12
Section 3.5 Establishment of Funding
Procedures........................................... 12
Section 3.6 Payment of
Expenses...........................................................
13
Section 3.7 Indemnification for
Liability.................................................
13
ARTICLE 4
ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
Section 4.1 Eligible
Employee.............................................................
14
Section 4.2
Participation.................................................................
14
Section 4.3 Notification of
Participation.................................................
14
ARTICLE 5
CONTRIBUTIONS
Section 5.1 By
Employers..................................................................
15
Section 5.2 Amount of
Contribution........................................................
15
Section 5.3 Time and Method of
Contribution...............................................
15
Section 5.4 Limitation on Allocations
and Contributions................................... 15
ARTICLE 6
ACCOUNTS ALLOCATION OF BENEFITS AND ACCOUNTING
Section 6.1 Membership of
Participants....................................................
18
Section 6.2 Participants'
Accounts........................................................
18
Section 6.3 Allocation of
Contributions...................................................
18
Section 6.4 Investment of
Cash............................................................
18
Section 6.5 Income, Losses and
Expenses...................................................
18
Section 6.6 Voting of
Shares..............................................................
19
Section 6.7 General
Accounts..............................................................
19
Section 6.8 Annual
Statements..................
.......................................... 21
ARTICLE 7
THE TRUST FUND
Section 7.1
Investments...................................................................
22
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Section 7.2 Stock Dividends, Splits,
Options.............................................. 22
ARTICLE 8
VESTING
Section 8.1
General.......................................................................
23
Section 8.2 Retirement, Death and
Disability..............................................
24
Section 8.3 Termination of Service for
Other Reasons...................................... 24
Section 8.4 Termination of or
Discontinuance of Contributions to Plan.....................
24
Section 8.5 Increase in
Vesting...........................................................
24
ARTICLE 9
DISTRIBUTIONS
Section 9.1
Retirement....................................................................
25
Section 9.2
Disability....................................................................
25
Section 9.3
Death.........................................................................
25
Section 9.4 Other Termination of
Employment...............................................
26
Section 9.5 Method and Time of
Distribution...............................................
27
Section 9.6 Rollover
Treatment............................................................
32
Section 9.7 Effect of
Rehiring............................................................
33
Section 9.8 Hardship
Distributions........................................................
34
Section 9.9 Early Distributions Due to
Normal Retirement, Death or Disability............. 34
Section 9.10 Missing
Persons...............................................................
34
Section 9.11 Diversification of
Investments..................................................
35
Section 9.12 Cancellations of
Accounts.....................................................
36
Section 9.13 No Benefit Reduction due to Plan
Amendment.................................... 36
Section 9.14 In-Service
Distributions......................................................
36
ARTICLE 10
VALUATION
Section 10.1 Valuation of Qualifying Employers'
Securities................................. 39
ARTICLE 11
SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO LOANS
ARTICLE 12
CLAIMS PROCEDURE AND REVIEW
Section 12.1 Claims for
Benefits...........................................................
45
Section 12.2 Review of
Claims..............................................................
45
Section 12.3
Miscellaneous.................................................................
45
ARTICLE 13
TRUST FUND AND TRUSTEES
ARTICLE 14
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
Section 14.1 Appointment of
Committee......................................................
48
Section 14.2 Powers of Administrative
Committee............................................ 48
Section 14.3 Organization and Operation of
Administrative Committee........................ 48
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Section 14.4 Expenses of Administrative
Committee.......................................... 48
Section 14.5
Indemnity.....................................................................
49
ARTICLE 15
DOMESTIC AFFILIATE(S)
Section 15.1 Joinder of
Plan...............................................................
50
ARTICLE 16
MODIFICATIONS FOR TOP HEAVY PLANS
Section 16.1 Application of
Article........................................................
51
Section 16.2
Definitions...................................................................
51
Section 16.3 Amounts Included for Computation
Purposes..................................... 52
Section 16.4 Accelerated
Vesting...........................................................
52
Section 16.5 Minimum
Contributions.........................................................
52
ARTICLE 17
AMENDMENT; MERGER, CONSOLIDATION OR TRANSFER OF ASSETS;
TERMINATION OR DISCONTINUANCE
Section 17.1
Amendment.....................................................................
54
Section 17.2 Merger, Consolidation, or Transfer
of Assets.................................. 54
Section 17.3 Termination; Discontinuance of
Contributions.................................. 54
Section 17.4 Duration of
Trust.............................................................
55
ARTICLE
18
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 18.1 Nonalienation of Benefits........
............................................ 56
Section 18.2 Domestic Relations
Orders.....................................................
56
Section 18.3 Authorization to Withhold
Taxes............................................... 58
Section 18.4 Delegation of Authority by
Employers.......................................... 58
Section 18.5 Number and
Gender.............................................................
58
Section 18.6 Legal
Actions.................................................................
58
Section 18.7 Delays in
Distribution........................................................
58
Section 18.8 Plan Document
Location........................................................
59
Section 18.9 Plan Terms
Control............................................................
59
Section 18.10
Severability..................................................................
59
Section 18.11 Governing
Law.................................................................
59
Section 18.12 Multiple
Execution............................................................
59
ARTICLE 19
CONCERNING QUALIFIED MILITARY SERVICE
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SANDERSON FARMS, INC.
AND
AFFILIATES
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN
This Plan
is adopted as of the 22nd day of October, 2002, effective
November 1, 1997, unless otherwise
specified in certain Plan sections, by
Sanderson Farms, Inc. and its affiliates,
Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Production
Division), Sanderson Farms, Inc.
(Processing Division) and Sanderson Farms, Inc.
(Foods Division), each a corporation duly
organized under the laws of the State
of Mississippi and having their principal
places of business in Laurel,
Mississippi ("Employers").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS,
Sanderson Farms, Inc. and its affiliates desire to promote in
their Employees a stronger interest in the
successful operation of their
businesses, greater loyalty to the
Employers and increased efficiency in their
work by providing for the Employees'
greater financial security; and
WHEREAS,
Employers desire to recognize the contributions made to the
successful operation of their businesses by
their Employees and to reward such
contributions for those Employees who shall
qualify as Participants hereunder
and for the beneficiaries designated by
such Participants;
WHEREAS,
Employers desire to encourage stock ownership by Participants
and
thereby to promote an increased attachment
to and participation in the
Employers' success;
WHEREAS,
this Plan and its related Trust constitute a conversion of the
qualified Profit Sharing Retirement Plan
and Trust ("Profit Sharing Plan"),
adopted by Sanderson Farms, Inc. and
Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Division)
on June 21, 1972, effective January 1,
1972, and amended on August 10, 1972,
effective January 1, 1972, into a
qualifying Employee Stock Ownership Plan for
the Employers;
WHEREAS,
the Employers completely amended, restated and continued the
Plan
without a break or lapse in coverage, time
or effect which would have caused any
Participant to become fully vested or
entitled to distribution, in order to (a)
effect numerous technical changes for the
benefit of Eligible Employees,
Participants and beneficiaries and (b) to
ensure the Plan's qualification under
the applicable provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
("IRC") and the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, as amended
("ERISA"), such amendment, restatement and
continuation being adopted by the
Boards of Directors of the Employers on
February 24,1994, effective November
1,1989;
WHEREAS,
this Plan and its related Trust constitute a merger or
consolidation of the General Employees'
Profit Sharing - Retirement Plan and
Trust of Sanderson Farms, Inc. and
Affiliates, adopted by the Boards of
Directors of the Employers on April 23,
1976, executed by
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the Employers on June 17, 1976, effective
January 1, 1976, restated on July 23,
1985, effective November 1, 1984, and
restated on February 24, 1994, effective
November 1, 1989, into this Plan and its
related Trust, such merger or
consolidation being adopted by the Boards
of Directors of the Employers on April
28, 1994, effective November 1, 1993;
WHEREAS,
such merger or consolidation constituted a "merger" or
"consolidation" as defined by IRC Section
414(1) and Treasury Regulation Section
1.414(1)-1(b)(2);
WHEREAS,
such merger or consolidation satisfied and/or shall satisfy the
requirements of IRC Section 414(1) and
accompanying regulations in that: a) the
sum of the account balances in each plan
prior to the merger equals or shall
equal the fair market value of the assets
of the resulting merged single plan;
b) the assets of each plan are or will be
combined to form the assets of the
resulting merged single plan; and c)
immediately after the merger, each
participant in the resulting merged single
plan has or will have an account
balance equal to the sum of the account
balances the participant had in both
plans immediately prior to the merger;
WHEREAS,
the Employers desire to further amend and restate the
Plan,-effective as of November 1,1997, to
comply with certain changes in federal
law.
NOW
THEREFORE, the Employers adopt the Plan effective as of
November
1,1997, as follows, subject to the
following provisos:
(1)The amendments to the Plan provided for hereinabove shall
not
have the effect of eliminating or reducing
any early retirement benefit or
retirement type subsidy (as defined in
regulations promulgated by the Secretary
of the Treasury) or eliminating an optional
form of benefit.
(2)Unless specified otherwise herein, such amendment and
restatement
shall not apply to a Participant who is not
credited with at least one Hour of
Service on or after November 1, 1997.
2
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ARTICLE 1
PURPOSE
Section 1.1 The principal purpose of this
Plan is to recognize the contributions
made to the successful operation of the
Employers by their Employees and to
reward such contributions for those
Employees who qualify as Participants
hereunder and for the beneficiaries
designated by such Participants. Another
purpose of the Plan is to encourage stock
ownership by Participants, and thereby
to promote an increased attachment to and
participation in the Employers'
success. To this end, the Plan shall
whenever possible and prudent acquire and
invest primarily in Qualifying Employers'
Securities, as hereinafter defined.
Section 1.2 The Employers shall make
contributions pursuant to the requirements
of Section 5.2 of the Plan and may also
bear expenses of the administration of
the Plan. In connection with the adoption
of this Plan, the Employers shall
enter into a Trust Agreement with one or
more individual fiduciaries or a
corporate fiduciary, or a combination of
both, hereinafter referred to as the
"Trustees" and all contributions made
hereunder shall be paid to the order of
the Trustees.
Section 1.3 This Plan is established for
the exclusive benefit of the
Participants and their beneficiaries. This
Plan is to be interpreted in a manner
consistent with this intent and with the
intention that it be recognized as a
qualifying plan under IRC Section 401 (a).
In no event shall any part of the
principal or income of the Trust Fund or
any of the contributions made by the
Employers to the Trustees be paid to or
revested in the Employers or be used for
any purpose whatsoever other than the
exclusive benefit of the Employees and
their beneficiaries. Nothing herein shall
prevent the Trustees, however, from
purchasing Qualifying Employers' Securities
from the Employers where it is
prudent to do so, or from paying fees,
taxes and other expenses incurred in the
administration of the Plan, where such
expenses are not borne or paid by the
Employers.
Section 1.4 Except as otherwise provided by
law and as provided herein, the
adoption of this Plan shall not be
construed as giving any Employee or any other
person any legal or equitable right against
the Employers, or any officer or
Employee thereof, the Administrative
Committee established in connection
herewith, the Trustees or the principal and
income of the Trust Fund or any
equity or interest in the assets, business
or affairs of the Employers, unless
such right, equity or interest is
specifically provided for in this Plan, nor
shall it be construed as giving any
Employee the right to be retained in the
service of the Employers.
Section 1.5 The Plan is designed and
intended to qualify under IRC Section
401(a) so that (i) the Employers'
contributions are currently deductible; (ii)
all income of the Trust is exempt from tax;
and (iii) Participants and their
beneficiaries will not be taxed on their
interest in the Plan until they have
received distribution of Plan benefits, and
all of the provisions of this Plan
and its related Trust shall be interpreted
in a way to give effect to this
intent. Notwithstanding any other provision
of the Plan, the Boards of Directors
reserve the right:
3
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(a) At any time to amend the Plan retroactively to its
effective
date in any way necessary to obtain an
initial determination letter from the
Internal Revenue Service that the Plan
qualifies under IRC Section 401(a).
(b) To revoke the Plan and Trust if the Internal Revenue
service
refuses to issue an initial favorable
determination letter or issues an
unfavorable one and to reinstate the former
Profit Sharing - Retirement Plan and
Trust for continuation or subsequent
termination or merger thereof with a
comparable plan.
4
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ARTICLE 2
DEFINITIONS
The
following terms have the meanings herein which are specified
below
unless the context otherwise requires:
Section 2.1 "Administrative Committee"
means the Administrative Committee
appointed by the Employers as provided in
Section 14.1. The persons constituting
the Administrative Committee are herein
referred to as "Administrative Committee
Members."
Section 2.2 "Allocation Date" means the
last day of a Plan Year.
Section 2.3 "Annual Additions" means the
sum of the following amounts credited
to a Participant's account for the
Limitation Year:
(a) Employer contributions;
(b) forfeitures; and
(c) the lesser of (i) one-half (1/2) of the nondeductible
employee
contributions or (ii) the nondeductible
employee contributions in excess of six
percent (6%) of the Participant's Section
415 Compensation for the Limitation
Year. For this purpose, any Excess Amount
applied under subsections (d) or (h)
in the Limitation Year to reduce Employer
contributions will be considered
Annual Additions for such Limitation
Year.
Allocations to Participants' accounts of assets withdrawn from
the
unallocated stock account when securities
are released from encumbrance
pertaining to exempt loan transactions
shall be included in the limitations
prescribed in the preceding paragraph of
this subsection. For purposes of
applying the limitations of IRC Section
415, to such allocations, contributions
used by the Plan to pay the exempt loan are
treated as Annual Additions to
Participants' accounts.
Section 2.4 "Annual Compensation" shall
mean for a Participant during a Plan
Year "compensation," as defined in Section
1.415-2(d)(ll)(2) of the Income Tax
Regulations, increased by any amounts that
are not currently includable in the
Participant's gross income by reason of IRC
Sections 125, 132(f), 402(a)(8),
402(h)(1)(B) or 403(b). No Participant
shall be deemed to have Annual
Compensation for a Plan Year in an amount
in excess of $150,000 as adjusted in
accordance with the provisions of IRC
Sections 401(a)(17). In the case of a
Participant who becomes such on a day other
than the first day of the Plan Year,
Compensation shall not include amounts paid
prior to the date he becomes a
Participant.
Section 2.5 "Boards" means the Boards of
Directors of the Employers.
Section 2.6 "Break-in-Service" for purposes
of determining eligibility for
participation means an eligibility
computation period during which the Employee
fails to complete more than 500 Hours of
Service with the Employers.
5
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Section 2.7 "Casual Laborer" means each
Employee who is classified as a "casual
laborer" under the normal payroll practices
of the Employers.
Section 2.8 "Compensation" of any
Participant means all taxable remuneration
received, except performance incentive
awards, from the Employers in the whole
or part of a Plan Year in which the
Employee participates in the Plan and as
further defined in Subparagraph 5.4(i)(6)
of the Plan. Compensation of any
Participant shall not include any part of
the Employers' contributions to the
Trust Fund hereunder, or to any other
employee pension benefit plan or employee
welfare benefit plan or trust in connection
therewith, now or hereafter adopted
or any amounts in respect of any options to
purchase stock granted Employees. No
Participant shall be deemed to have
Compensation for a Plan Year in excess of
$150,000 as adjusted in accordance with the
provisions of IRC Section
401(a)(17).
Section 2.9 "Effective Date" shall be
November 1, 1997, except as otherwise
provided in certain Plan sections.
Section 2.10 "Eligible Employee" means each
Employee eligible to become a
Participant in the Plan as described in
ARTICLE 4 hereof.
Section 2.11 "Employee" means each person
who is employed by the Employers.
Section 2.12 "Employee Contributions" means
contributions made voluntarily to
the Plan by Participants in the Plan. This
Plan does not permit Employee
Contributions.
Section 2.13 "Employers" means Sanderson
Farms, Inc., Sanderson Farms, Inc.
(Production Division), Sanderson Farms,
Inc. (Processing Division) and Sanderson
Farms, Inc. (Foods Division), all of which
are Mississippi corporations. All
employees of all corporations which are
members of a controlled group of
corporations (as defined in IRC Section
414(b)) and all employees of all trades
or businesses (whether or not incorporated)
which are under common control (as
defined in IRC Section 414(c)) shall be
treated as employed by one single
employer.
Section 2.14 "Excess Amount" means the
excess of the Participant's Annual
Additions for the Limitation Year over the
Maximum Permissible Amount.
Section 2.15 "Family and Medical Leave
Absences." In the case of an Employee who
is absent from work for reasons authorized
by The Family and Medical Leave Act
of 1993 or other statutory leave, the
provisions of Section 2.17 of the Plan
shall apply.
Section 2.16 "Highly Compensated Employee"
means an Employee who:
(a) during
the current Plan Year of the preceding Plan Year, owned (or was
considered as owning) more than five
percent (5%) of the outstanding stock of an
Employer or Related Employer or stock
possessing more than five percent (5%) of
the total combined voting power of all
stock of an Employer or Related Employer,
or
(b) during
the preceding Plan Year, received Annual Compensation from the
Employer and Related Employer in excess of
$80,000 multiplied by the Adjustment
Factor.
6
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For purposes of this Section 2.16, the
following rules shall apply:
(c) For
purposes of applying IRC Section 318 to paragraph (b) above,
IRC
Section 318(a)(2) shall be applied by
substituting "5 percent" for "50 percent."
(d)The
term "Highly Compensated Employee" also includes, for a Plan
Year,
a former Employee who had a Separation Year
prior to the Plan Year and who met
the requirements of paragraphs (a) through
(c) above for either such Separation
Year or any Plan Year ending on or after
his 55th birthday. For purposes of this
paragraph, an individual who is, or has
previously been, an Employee and who
performs no services for an Employer during
a Plan Year shall be treated as a
former Employee (including, for example, an
Employee who performed no services
for an Employer during a Plan Year by
reason of an Authorized Leave of Absence).
A former Employee who is treated as a
Highly Compensated Employee for a Plan
Year shall not be taken into account in
determining the group consisting of the
top twenty percent (20%) of all Employees
when ranked on the basis of Annual
Compensation for the Plan Year for purposes
of paragraph (b) above.
Section 2.17 "Hour of Service" means
(a) an
Hour of Service is each hour for which an Employee is paid, or
entitled to payment, for the performance of
duties for the Employers during the
applicable computation period;
(b) an
Hour of service is each hour for which an Employee is paid, or
entitled to payment, by the Employers on
account of a period of time during
which no duties are performed (irrespective
of whether the employment
relationship has terminated) due to
vacation, holiday, illness, incapacity
(including disability), layoff, jury duty,
military duty or leave of absence.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, no
more than 501 Hours of Service are
required to be credited under this
paragraph to an Employee on account of any
single continuous period during which the
Employee performs no duties (whether
or not such period occurs in a single
computation period).
(c) An
Hour of Service is each hour for which back pay, irrespective
of
mitigation of damages, is either awarded or
agreed to by the Employers. The same
Hours of Service shall not be credited both
under paragraph (a) or paragraph
(b), as the case may be, and under this
paragraph (c).
(d) Labor
Regulations Section 2530.200b-2(b) and (c) are incorporated by
reference.
(e) Hours
of Service will be credited for employment with any of the
Employers.
(f) Solely
for purposes of determining whether an individual has incurred
a Break in Service each hour of such
individual's customary work period during
an absence that begins after December 31,
1984, and that is due to
(1) pregnancy of the individual;
7
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(2) birth of a child of the individual;
(3) placement of a child in connection with the adoption of a
child
in connection with the
adoption of the child by the individual; or
(4) caring for the child during the period of birth or placement
for
adoption shall be considered
an Hour of Service.
Notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions:
(A) Hours of Service described in this paragraph (f) shall be
credited
to the Plan Year in which the absence begins if necessary to
prevent a
Break in Service in that Plan Year, otherwise all such Hours of
Service to
be credited pursuant to this paragraph (f) shall be credited to
the next
following Plan Year to the extent, if any, necessary to assure
that the
individual will not suffer a Break in Service in such following
Plan
Year;
(B) the Administrative Committee shall have the right as a
condition
precedent to providing credit under this paragraph to require
the
individual to certify, on such written form as may be provided by
the
Administrative Committee, that the absence was for a reason
permitted
under this
paragraph (f), to require the individual to supply information
relating
to the number of normal work days for which there was an
absence
under this
paragraph (f), and to verify the correctness of such
certification by any reasonable means; and
(C) the total number of Hours of Service required to credited
under this
paragraph (f) shall not exceed 501 Hours of Service.
Section 2.18 "Limitation Year" means the
twelve (12) month period ending October
31 of each year. All qualified plans
maintained by the Employers must use the
same Limitation Year. If the Limitation
Year is amended to a different twelve
(12) consecutive month period, then the new
Limitation Year must begin on a date
within the Limitation Year in which the
amendment is made.
Section 2.19 "Maximum Permissible Amount"
means, notwithstanding anything
contained herein to the contrary, the total
amount of the annual additions
credited to a Participant's Account and any
account or accounts under a related
plan or plans for a Limitation Year shall
not exceed the lesser of (i) or (ii)
below prior to January 1, 2002, or (iii) or
(iv) below beginning January 1,2002,
where
(i)
Is 25% of such
Participant's Section 415 Compensation for the
Limitation Year;
8
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(ii)
Is $30,000 as adjusted
as provided in IRC Section 415(d); and
(iii) Is
100% of the Participant's Section 415 Compensation, within the
meaning of IRC Section 415(c)(3) for the Limitation Year; or
(iv)
Is $40,000, as
adjusted for increases in the cost-of-living under
IRC Section 415(d).
If a short Limitation Year is created
because of an amendment changing the
Limitation Year to a different
12-consecutive month period, then the Maximum
Permissible Amount will not exceed the
applicable dollar amount above multiplied
by the following fraction:
Number of months in the short Limitation Year
12
Section 2.20 "Normal Retirement Date" of a
Participant shall be the date that
such Participant attains his 65th birthday.
However, the Participant may elect
to postpone such retirement date and
continue his participation in this Plan and
the Trust until he retires from employment
with the Employers. Notwithstanding
any provision to the contrary, a
Participant shall be 100% vested in his normal
retirement benefit at age sixty-five
(65).
Section 2.21 "Participant" means each
Eligible Employee who has accepted the
Plan in the manner provided in ARTICLE 4
hereof. A Participant may cease to be a
Participant upon certain events herein
described.
Section 2.22 "Plan" means the Employee
Stock Ownership Plan of the Employers as
herein set forth and as the same may be
amended from time to time. This Plan is
designated and may be referred to as the
"Sanderson Farms, Inc. and Affiliates
Employee Stock Ownership Plan." The
Employee Stock Ownership Plan herein further
means a defined contribution plan:
(a)Which
is a stock bonus plan qualified under IRC Section 401(a) and
ERISA and designed to invest primarily in
Qualifying Employers' Securities; and
(b)Which
meets such other requirements as the Secretary of the Treasury
may prescribe by regulation.
Section 2.23 "Plan Year" or "Fiscal Year of
the Plan" means the year ending
October 31.
Section 2.24 "Qualifying or Qualified
Employers' Security or Securities" means
any share of capital stock now or hereafter
issued by any of the Employers and
as further defined by Section 409(1) of the
IRC and/or ERISA and regulations
issued by the Secretary of the Treasury
and/or Labor pertaining thereto or by
any amendments thereof.
Section 2.25 "Section 415 Compensation"
means:
(a)
Section 3401(a) wages. Section 415 Compensation is defined as
wages
within the meaning of IRC Section 3401 (a)
for the purposes of income tax
withholding at the source but determined
without regard to any rules that limit
the remuneration included in wages
based
9
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on the nature or location of the employment
or the services performed (such as
the exception for agricultural labor in IRC
Section 3401 (a)(2)) and without
regard to incentive awards.
(b)
Section 415 Compensation shall include only that compensation which
is
actually paid to the Participant during the
Determination Period. Except as
provided elsewhere in this Plan, the
"Determination Period" means the Plan Year.
(c) For
Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1993, the annual
compensation of each Participant taken into
account for determining all benefits
provided under the Plan for any
determination period shall not exceed $150,000,
as adjusted by the Secretary in accordance
with IRC Section 401(a)(17).
Section 2.26 "Trust Agreement" means the
Employee Stock Ownership Plan Trust
Agreement, effective November 1, 1993,
between the Trustees named therein and
the Employers, made and entered into for
the establishment of a trust to receive
all contributions which may be made to the
order of the Trustees under the Plan,
and any and-all-amendments of the Trust
Agreement.
Section 2.27 "Trustee" or "Trustees" mean
the Trustees named under the Trust
Agreement and their duly appointed
successors.
Section 2.28 "Trust Fund" means the Trust
Fund of the original Profit Sharing
Plan heretofore created by the Employers,
all contributions from time to time
received from the Employers in cash or
other property, the Trust Fund of the
General Employees' Profit Sharing -
Retirement Trust subsequent to merger and
any and all securities and other qualifying
property purchased or otherwise
acquired out of such funds, together with
the income therefrom less any and all
distributions made therefrom and any and
all losses, expenses and other amounts
chargeable thereto.
Section 2.29 "Year of Service" for purposes
of determining eligibility for
participation means employment by the
Employers for at least 1,000 Hours of
Service in a year (a period of twelve (12)
consecutive calendar months). The
computation of the twelve (12) month period
is to be made with reference to the
date of commencement of employment, except
that the computation shall be made
with reference to the first day of any Plan
Year in the case of an Employee who
does not complete 1,000 Hours of Service
during the first twelve (12) months of
his employment. "Year of Service" for
purposes of determining vesting means a
Plan Year during which an Employee has
completed 1,000 Hours of Service. In any
vesting computation period overlapping a
Participant's first year of employment,
credit shall be given for a Year of Service
for vesting purposes if, for
participation purposes, such Participant
completes a Year of Service based on
his employment year. Service of any
Employee who is a leased Employee to any
Employer aggregated under IRC Section
414(b), (c) or (m) shall be credited for
vesting purposes whether or not such
individual is eligible to participate in
the Plan.
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ARTICLE 3
NAMED FIDUCIARIES AND ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 3.1 Named Fiduciaries.
The following persons shall
be "Named Fiduciaries" under the Plan and Trust
Agreement, and shall be the only Named
Fiduciaries thereunder.
(a) Named
Fiduciaries with Respect to Control or Management of Assets:
(1) The Trustees.
The Trustees shall have exclusive authority and discretion to
manage
and control the Trust Fund, as provided in
the Trust Agreement, and shall have
no other responsibilities other than those
provided in in the Trust Agreement.
(2) The Employers, as Plan Sponsors.
The Employers shall be responsible for all functions assigned
or
reserved to them under the Plan and the
Trust Agreement, including the right to
remove or replace the Trustees. Any
authority assigned or reserved to the
Employers under the Plan and the Trust
Agreement, other than responsibilities
assigned to the Administrative Committee,
shall be exercised by resolution of
the Employers' Boards of Directors, and
shall become effective, with respect to
the Trustees, upon written notice to the
Trustees signed by the Chairman,
President, Treasurer or Secretary of the
Employers advising the Trustees of such
exercise.
(b) Other
Named Fiduciaries.
(1) The Administrative Committee.
The Administrative Committee of the Plan serves as the "Plan
Administrator" and is the committee
appointed by the Employers as provided in
Section 14.1.
Section 3.2 Allocation of Responsibilities,
Powers and Duties Among Named
Fiduciaries.
(a)
Trustees.
The Trustees shall have exclusive responsibility for the
control
and management of the assets of the Fund,
as provided in the Trust Agreement.
(b)
Administrative Committee.
The Administrative Committee shall have the responsibility and
authority to control the operation and
administration of the Plan in accordance
with the terms of the Plan and the Trust
Agreement, including, without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, (1) All
functions assigned to the
Administrative Committee under the terms of
the Plan and the Trust Agreement;
(2) Hiring of persons to provide necessary
services to the Plan; (3) Issuance of
11
<PAGE>
directions to the Trustees to pay any fees,
taxes, charges or other costs
incidental to the operation and management
by the Administrative Committee; (4)
The preparation and filing of all reports
required to be filed by the Plan with
any agency of government; (5) Compliance
with all disclosure requirements
imposed by state or federal laws; and (6)
Maintenance of all records of the Plan
other than those required to be maintained
by the Trustees.
(c) The
Employers.
The Employers shall have the authority and responsibility for (1)
The
design of the Plan, including the right to
amend the Plan; (2) The qualification
under applicable law of the Plan, any
amendments to the Plan, and any document
relating to the Plan; (3) The funding of
the Plan; (4) The designation of all
Named Fiduciaries as provided in the Plan
and the Trust Agreement; and (5) The
exercise of all fiduciary functions
provided in the Plan or in the Trust
Agreement or necessary to the operation of
the Plan except such functions as are
assigned to other Named Fiduciaries
pursuant to the Plan or the Trust Agreement.
Section 3.3 No Joint Fiduciary
Responsibility.
This Article is intended to allocate to each Named Fiduciary
the
individual responsibility for the prudent
execution of the functions assigned to
him, and none of such responsibilities or
any other responsibility shall be
shared by two or more of such Named
Fiduciaries unless such sharing shall be
provided by specific provision of the Plan
or the Trust Agreement. Whenever one
Named Fiduciary is required by the Plan or
the Trust Agreement to follow the
directions of another Named Fiduciary, the
two Named Fiduciaries shall not be
deemed to have been assigned a shared
responsibility, but the responsibility of
a Named Fiduciary giving the directions
shall be deemed his sole responsibility,
and the responsibility of the Named
Fiduciary receiving those directions shall
be to follow them insofar as such
instructions are on their face proper under
applicable law.
Section 3.4 Delegation of Responsibility
and Employment of Advisors.
A Named Fiduciary may employ one or more persons to render
advice
concerning any responsibilities such Named
Fiduciary has under the Plan or the
Trust Agreement. A Named Fiduciary (other
than the Trustees with respect to the
control of the assets of the Plan) shall
have the power to delegate specific
fiduciary responsibilities. Such
delegations may be to officers or employees of
the Employers or to other individuals, all
of whom shall serve at the pleasure
of the Named Fiduciary, and, if full-time
employees of the Employers, without
compensation. Any such person may resign by
delivering a written resignation to
the Named Fiduciary. Vacancies created by
resignation, death or other cause may
be filled by the Named Fiduciary or the
assigned responsibilities may be
reassumed or redelegated by the Named
Fiduciary.
Section 3.5 Establishment of Funding
Procedures.
The Employers shall be charged with the responsibility for the
development of a policy for the funding of
the Plan that is consistent with the
purposes of the Plan and the requirements
of the IRC and ERISA.
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<PAGE>
Section 3.6 Payment of Expenses.
If not borne or paid by the Plan, the Employers may pay all
expenses of
administering the Plan. Such expenses shall
include any expenses incident to the
functioning of those to whom the Employers
or any other Named Fiduciary has
delegated fiduciary duties, including, but
not limited to, the payment of
accounting, consulting and legal fees,
investment expenses and the cost of
administering the Plan.
Section 3.7 Indemnification for
Liability.
The Employers shall indemnify those to whom the Employers or any
other
Named Fiduciary has delegated fiduciary
duties against any and all claims,
losses, damages, expenses and liabilities
arising from their responsibilities in
connection with the Plan, unless the same
is determined to be due to gross
negligence or willful misconduct.
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ARTICLE 4
ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
Section 4.1 Eligible Employee.
Any Employee other than a Casual Laborer who has completed one (1)
Year
of Service with the Employers and who has
attained twenty-one (21) years of age
shall be eligible to participate in the
Plan no later than the next succeeding
November 1 or May 1.
Any present Employee who was a participant in the former Profit
Sharing
Plan shall by virtue thereof be eligible to
participate in this Plan as a
continuation, by conversion, thereof and
all his right, title and interest in
such former Profit Sharing Plan shall be
preserved herein.
Any present Employee who was a participant in the former
General
Employees' Profit Sharing - Retirement
Trust Agreement of Sanderson Farms, Inc.
and Affiliates shall by virtue thereof be
eligible to participate in this Plan
as a continuation, by merger or
consolidation, thereof and all his right, title
and interest in such former plan shall be
preserved herein.
Any Employees who are included in a unit of Employees covered by
an
agreement which the Secretary of Labor
finds to be a collective bargaining
agreement between Employee representatives
and one or more of the Employers
shall be excluded from participation in
this Plan if there is evidence that
retirement benefits were the subject of
good faith bargaining between such
Employee representatives and such one or
more of the Employers, unless one or
more of the Employers agrees to cover the
Employees who comprise the collective
bargaining unit.
Any present Employee who is eligible on the effective date shall
become
a Participant as of the effective date. Any
present Employee who is ineligible,
and any future Employee, shall become
eligible upon fulfilling the requirements
of Section 4.1 no later than the dates
specified therein.
Section 4.2 Participation.
Every Participant shall remain a Participant until his employment
has
terminated. In the event that the
employment of a Participant terminates and
such Participant is subsequently
re-employed by the Employers, he shall become a
Participant in the Plan on the date of his
re-employment and all prior Years of
Service for all purposes of the Plan shall
be reinstated except as provided
under Section 9.7.
Section 4.3 Notification of
Participation.
The Employers shall notify each Eligible Employee of his
participation
in the Plan no later than the expiration of
ninety (90) days following his first
Plan Year of participation.
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<PAGE>
ARTICLE 5
CONTRIBUTIONS
Section 5.1 By Employers.
All contributions under the Plan shall be made by the
Employers,
pursuant to Section 5.2 of the Plan, and no
contributions shall be required or
permitted of any Employee.
Section 5.2 Amount of Contribution.
Subject to the provisions of ARTICLE 17 in regard to amendment
and
termination of the Plan and in regard to
the liability of the Employers under
the Plan, the Employers shall contribute to
the Trust Fund for each fiscal year
ending October 31 an amount, if any,
determined on or before the last day of
each taxable year by their Boards of
Directors. The determination to make a
contribution in any Plan Year shall rest
solely with, and be in the discretion
of, the Board of Directors of the
Employers. In no event, however, shall any
such contribution for any year together
with any other contribution to a
qualified defined contribution plan for
common participants exceed the maximum
amount deductible from the Employers'
income for such year under IRC Sections
404(a)(3)(A), 404(a)(7) or 404(j) or any
statute of similar import.
Contributions may be made in cash or in
Qualifying Employers' Securities
(whether voting or nonvoting). Neither the
Trustees nor the Administrative
Committee nor any other person shall be
under any duty to inquire into the
correctness of the amount contributed and
paid over to the Trustees hereunder,
nor shall the Trustees or the
Administrative Committee or any other person be
under any duty to enforce the payment of
the contributions to be made hereunder
by the Employers. See ARTICLE 11 for
contributions as related to loans.
Section 5.3 Time and Method of
Contribution.
The amount of the Employers' contributions for each year, if any,
shall
be paid to the order of the Trustees,
either in a single payment or in
installments, and either in cash or in
Qualifying Employers' Securities valued
at the fair market value thereof at the
time of the contribution, in the manner
provided in ARTICLE 10 hereof, and within
such period as is provided for in IRC
Section 404(a)(6) or any other statute of
similar import, or any rule or
regulation thereunder.
Section 5.4 Limitation on Allocations and
Contributions.
(a) If the Participant does not participate in, and has never
participated in another qualified plan
maintained by the Employers, then the
amount of Annual Additions which may be
credited to the Participant's account
for any Limitation Year will not exceed the
lesser of the Maximum Permissible
Amount or any other limitation contained in
this Plan. If the Employer's
contribution that would otherwise be
contributed or allocated to the
Participant's account would cause the
Annual Additions for the Limitation Year
to exceed the Maximum Permissible Amount,
then the amount contributed or
allocated will be reduced so that the
Annual Additions for the Limitation Year
will equal the Maximum Permissible
Amount.
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<PAGE>
(b) Prior to determining the Participant's actual compensation for
the
Limitation Year, the Employers may
determine the Maximum Permissible Amount for
a Participant on the basis of a reasonable
estimation of the Participant's
compensation for the Limitation Year,
uniformly determined for all Participants
similarly situated.
(c) As soon as is administratively feasible after the end of
the
Limitation Year, the Maximum Permissible
Amount for the Limitation Year will be
determined on the basis of the
Participant's actual compensation for the
Limitation Year.
(d) If there is an Excess Amount the excess will be disposed of
as
follows:
(1) Any nondeductible Voluntary Employee Contributions, to the
extent they would reduce the
Excess Amount, will be returned to the
Participant;
(2) If after the application of paragraph (1) an Excess Amount
still
exists, and the Participant
is covered by the Plan at the end of the
Limitation Year, then the
Excess Amount in the Participant's account will be
used to reduce the
Employer's contributions (including any allocation of
forfeitures) for such
Participant in the next Limitation Year, and each
succeeding Limitation Year
if necessary;
(3) If after the application of paragraph (1) an Excess Amount
still
exists, and the Participant
is not covered by the Plan at the end of the
Limitation Year, then the
Excess Amount will be held unallocated in a
Suspense Account. The
Suspense Account will be applied to reduce future
Employer contributions
(including allocation of any forfeitures) for all
remaining Participants in
the next Limitation Year, and each succeeding
Limitation Year if
necessary;
(4) If a Suspense Account is in existence at any time during
the
Limitation Year pursuant to
this section, then such Suspense Account will not
participate in the
allocation of the Trust's investment gains and losses.
(e) This subsection applies if, in addition to this Plan, the
Participant is covered under another
qualified defined contribution plan
maintained by the Employers during any
Limitation Year. The Annual Additions
which may be credited to a Participant's
account under this Plan for any such
Limitation Year will not exceed the Maximum
Permissible Amount reduced by the
Annual Additions credited to a
Participant's account under the other plans for
the same Limitation Year. If the Annual
Additions with respect to the
Participant under other defined
contribution plans maintained by the Employers
are less than the Maximum Permissible
Amount and the Employer contribution that
would otherwise be contributed or allocated
to the Participant's account under
this Plan would cause the Annual Additions
for the Limitation Year to exceed
this limitation, then the amount
contributed or allocated will be reduced so
that the Annual Additions under all such
plans for the Limitation Year will
equal the Maximum Permissible Amount. If
the Annual Additions with respect to
the Participant under such other defined
contribution plans in the aggregate are
equal to or greater than the Maximum
Permissible Amount, then no amount will be
contributed or allocated to the
Participant's account under this Plan for the
Limitation Year.
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<PAGE>
(f) If a Participant's Annual Additions under this Plan and such
other
plans would result in an Excess Amount for
a Limitation Year, then the Excess
Amount will be deemed to consist of the
Annual Additions last allocated.
(g) If an Excess Amount was allocated to a Participant on an
allocation
date of this Plan which coincides with an
allocation date of another plan, then
the Excess Amount attributed to this Plan
will be the product of,
(1) the total Excess Amount allocated as of such date, times
(2)
the ratio of (i) the Annual Additions allocated to the
Participant for the Limitation Year as of such date under this Plan
to
(ii) the
total Annual Additions allocated to the Participant for the
Limitation
Year as of such date under this and all the other qualified
defined
contribution plans.
(h) Any Excess Amount attributed to this Plan will be disposed of
in
the manner described in subsection(d).
(i) If no more than one-third (1/3) of the Employer contributions
to
the Plan for a year which are deductible
under IRC section 401(a)(9) are
allocated to highly compensated Employees,
the limitations imposed by IRC
Section 415 shall not apply to -
(1) Forfeitures of Qualifying Employers' Securities under the
Plan
if such
securities were acquired with fee proceeds of an exempt loan as
described
in ARTICLE 11, or
(2) Employer contributions to the Plan which are deductible
under
IRC
Section 404(a)(9)(B) pertaining to the deduction of Employer
contributions to the Plan which are applied to the repayment of
interest
on an
exempt loan, and charged against the Participant's accounts.
(j) No portion of the assets of the Plan attributable to (or
allocable
in lieu of) Qualifying Employers'
Securities acquired by the Plan in a sale to
which IRC section 1042 applies may accrue
(or be allocated directly or
indirectly under any plan of the Employers
meeting the requirements of IRC
Section 401 (a)) during the nonallocation
period (as defined in IRC section
409(n)(3)(C)), for the benefit of any
taxpayer who makes an election under IRC
Section 1042(a) with respect to Qualifying
Employers' Securities, any individual
who is related to the taxpayer or the
decedent (within the meaning of IRC
Section 267(b)), or for the benefit of any
other person who owns (after
application of IRC section 318(a) applied
without regard to the Employee trust
exception) more than twenty-five (25)
percent of any class of outstanding stock
of the Employers which issued such
Qualifying Employers' Securities or of any
corporation which is a member of the same
controlled group of corporations
(within the meaning of IRC Section
409(1)(4)) as such Employers, or the total
value of any class of outstanding stock of
any such Employers or corporation.
17
<PAGE>
ARTICLE 6
ACCOUNTS ALLOCATION OF BENEFITS AND ACCOUNTING
Section 6.1 Membership of Participants.
At
the time of the first annual contribution by the Employers to
the
Trust, the Administrative Committee shall
prepare and deliver to the Trustee in
charge of the records a list of all the
Employees eligible to participate herein
and the Employers shall certify to such
Trustee the total amount of compensation
paid by the Employers to each such Employee
with respect to the fiscal year of
Employers to which such contribution is
applicable. From time to time
thereafter, as the need shall arise, the
Employers shall notify the Trustee in
charge of the records in writing of all
changes in the membership of the
Eligible Employees and of the total
compensation of such Eligible Employees for
each fiscal year with respect to which a
contribution made by the Employers.
Section 6.2 Participants' Accounts.
The Trustee in charge of the records shall open a separate
bookkeeping
account in the name of each Participant and
shall credit to each such account
that portion of each contribution of the
Employers to the Trust to which such
Participant shall be entitled.
Section 6.3 Allocation of
Contributions.
The Trustee in charge of the records shall allocate to the account
of
each Participant employed as of the end of
any Fiscal Year of the Plan the
proportion of any cash contribution and the
proportion of any contribution of
Qualifying Employers' Securities made for a
particular year that such
Participant's Compensation for that year
bears to the aggregate Compensation of
all Participants during the same year,
subject to the limitation heretofore
provided in Section 5.4.
Section 6.4 Investment of Cash.
Any cash received by the Trustees for the account of any
Participant or
credited to the account of any Participant
shall be invested primarily in
Qualifying Employers' Securities when
possible and prudent. Pending such
investment of cash in securities, however,
the Trustees may retain cash
uninvested without liability for interest,
or may invest all or any part thereof
in suitable investments and securities.
Section 6.5 Income, Losses and
Expenses.
As of each Accounting Date (the close of the fiscal year of the
Plan
and Trust), Participants' accounts shall be
credited with their share of income
and charged with their share of losses or
interest expense, if any, in
proportion to the total of the accounts at
the beginning of the year, less any
distributions made during the year. All
dividends, income, and other property
received by the Trustees applicable to a
Participant's account shall be credited
to that account. To the extent practicable,
possible and prudent, property
(other than Qualifying Employers'
18
<PAGE>
Securities) in a Participant's account
shall be converted by the Trustees into
cash and invested primarily in Qualifying
Employers' Securities.
There shall be allowed as a deduction for a taxable year the amount
of
any applicable dividend paid in cash by the
Employers during the taxable year
with respect to applicable Qualifying
Employers' Securities. Such deduction
shall be in addition to the deductions
allowed under IRC Section 404(a). The
term "applicable dividend" means any
dividend which, in accordance with the Plan
provisions -
(a) is paid in cash to the Participants in the Plan or their
beneficiaries;
(b) is paid to the Plan and is distributed in cash to Participants
in
the Plan or their beneficiaries not later
than ninety (90) days after the close
of the Plan Year in which paid; or
(c) is used to make payments on an exempt loan described in
ARTICLE
11, the proceeds of which were used to
acquire Qualifying Employers' Securities
(whether or not allocated to Participants)
with respect to which the dividend is
paid.
A dividend described in (c) above which is paid with respect to
any
Qualifying Employers' Security which is
allocated to a Participant shall not be
treated as an applicable dividend unless
the Plan provides that Qualifying
Employers' Securities with a fair market
value of not less than the amount of
such dividend are allocated to such
Participant for the year in which (but for
this subparagraph) such dividend would have
been allocated to such Participant.
Section 6.6 Voting of Shares.
Shares of Qualifying Employers' Securities held by the
Trustees,
wherever credited, shall be voted by the
Trustees at the direction of the
Administrative Committee. If the Qualifying
Employers' Securities held by the
Trustees are a registration-type class of
securities, then each Participant or
beneficiary in the Plan shall be entitled
to direct the Plan as to the manner in
which securities of the Employers which are
entitled to vote and are allocated
to the account of such Participant or
beneficiary are to be voted. If the
Qualifying Employers' Securities held by
the Trustees are not registration-type
class of securities, then each Participant
in the Plan shall be entitled to
direct the Plan as to the manner in which
voting rights under Employers'
securities which are allocated to the
account of such Participant are to be
exercised with respect to a corporate
matter which (by law or charter) must be
decided by more than a majority vote of
outstanding common shares voted.
Section 6.7 General Accounts.
The Trustees, if desired and practicable, may maintain general
accounts, designated, for example, as
"Unallocated Cash Account", "Unallocated
Stock Account" and, if appropriate, an
"Investment Account".
Cash accounts shall be kept in dollars and cents. Stock accounts
shall
be kept in number of whole shares of
Qualifying Employers' Securities, and shall
also show the share price. Participants'
accounts shall be kept in a combination
of the two and shall show allocated
19
<PAGE>
interests in the Investment Account, if
any. Allocations to the several accounts
shall be made once a year as of the
Accounting Date. The Unallocated Cash
Account and Unallocated Stock Account, if
maintained, will record day-to-day
cash and stock transactions of the Trust
which are not allocable to
Participants' accounts as of the day of the
transactions. Participants' accounts
will maintain a record of allocated
Participants' interests in the Plan.
At any Accounting Date when there is a loan outstanding to the
Trust,
or when there is no loan outstanding, all
cash received by the Trustees may
initially be credited to the Unallocated
Cash Account, and all Qualifying
Employers' Securities acquired by the
Trustees may initially be credited to the
Unallocated Stock Account, if both general
accounts are maintained. As of each
Accounting Date, Employers' contributions
and forfeitures for the year, cash
dividends received on Qualifying Employers'
Securities, if any, the interest
paid or payable during the year if any part
of a loan is outstanding, and the
shares of Qualifying Employers' Securities
released from the Unallocated Stock
Account, if maintained, shall be allocated
among Participants' accounts in the
following manner:
(a) Dividends on shares of Qualifying Employers' Securities
allocated
to Participants' stock accounts at the
beginning of the year shall be credited
to each Participant's account.
(b) any forfeitures of Qualifying Employers' Securities and any
cash
forfeitures which have matured during the
year shall be allocated to
Participant' accounts in the manner set
forth in Section 6.3.
(c) Dividends on .Qualifying Employers' Securities held in the
Unallocated Stock Account, any interest
received and any other items of income
shall be allocated to Participants'
accounts in the same ratio that the balances
in each Participant's separate account or
accounts bear to the aggregate
accounts of all Participants at the
beginning of such fiscal year, less
distributions, if any, made in such
year.
(d) Each Participant's share of the Employers' contributions
(in
whatever form) shall be credited to
Participants' accounts in the manner set
forth in Section 6.3.
(e) Shares of Qualifying Employers' Securities released from
the
Unallocated Stock Account, if maintained,
equaling the balance of Participants'
cash accounts divided by the share price
shall be allocated to Participants'
stock accounts. Additions to the Investment
Account, if maintained, and
Investment Account Income, if any, shall be
computed on each Accounting Date and
each Participant's account shall be
credited with his share of additions to the
Investment Account or Investment Account
Income in the same ratio that the
balances in each Participant's separate
account or accounts bear to the
aggregate accounts of all Participants at
the beginning of such fiscal year and
shall be based upon the amounts of such
accounts at the beginning of such fiscal
year, less distributions, if any, made in
such year. Investment Account Income
is the net increase or decrease during the
year attributable to its income and
expenses, gains and losses whether or not
realized in the Investment Account.
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<PAGE>
Section 6.8 Annual Statements.
On or before the expiration of four (4) calendar months after
each
annual Accounting Date, or as soon as
administratively feasible thereafter, the
Administrative Committee shall upon
information furnished by the Trustees, or
the Trustees shall upon direction of the
Administrative Committee, make annual
reports to each Participant as of the
Accounting Date, and the Accounting Date
immediately preceding showing the balances
in all of each Participant's account
or accounts.
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<PAGE>
ARTICLE 7
THE TRUST FUND
Section 7.1 Investments.
The Trustees shall use available cash and are authorized to
borrow
money to buy Qualifying Employers'
Securities from whatever source is available,
when prudent, including newly issued stock
of the Employers.
If no established market for any Qualifying Employers'
Securities
exists, then the Trustees shall make
purchases only upon obtaining independent
valuations, as provided in ARTICLE 10, of
said Securities and shall make
purchases only at independently valued
purchase prices together with reasonable
acquisition charges, if any, as may be
necessary.
If no Qualifying Employers' Securities are available for purchase,
then
the Trustees shall make other investments
as provided in Section 6.4.
Section 7.2 Stock Dividends, Splits,
Options.
Any share of Qualifying Employers' Securities received by the
Trustees
as a stock dividend or stock split or as a
result of a reorganization or
recapitalization of the Employers shall be
allocated as of each Accounting Date
in the same manner as the Securities to
which it is attributable are then
allocated. Any rights, warrants or options
that are issued on Qualifying
Employers' Securities held by the Trustees
shall be exercised by the Trustees
for the acquisition when prudent of
additional shares of Qualifying Employers'
Securities to the extent cash is then
available. Securities acquired through the
exercise of any such right, warrant or
option shall be treated in the same
fashion as securities purchased by the
Trustees for the net price paid. Rights,
warrants or options on Qualifying
Employers' Securities not exercised may be
sold by the Trustees and the proceeds
treated as a current cash dividend
received on Qualifying Employers'
Securities.
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<PAGE>
ARTICLE 8
VESTING
Section 8.1 General.
A percentage of the amount credited to a Participant's account
shall
become vested and nonforfeitable on the
basis of his completed Years of Service
with the Employers according to the
following schedule:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Completed
Years of Service Vested Percentage
---------------- ----