Participant Loans Unless otherwise provided in a loan policy or Trust Agreement, and if permitted by the Employer in the Adoption Agreement, a Plan Participant and Beneficiaries who are parties-in-interest as defined in ERISA Section 3(14) may make application to the Plan Administrator requesting a loan from the Plan. The Plan Administrator shall have the sole right to approve or deny a Participant’s application provided that loans shall be made available to all Participants on a reasonably equivalent basis. Loans shall not be made available to Highly Compensated Employees in an amount greater than the amount made available to other Participants. Any loan granted under the Plan shall be made in accordance with the terms of a written loan policy adopted by the Employer which is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of this Basic Plan Document #01. The loan policy may be amended in writing from time to time without the necessity of amending this paragraph and shall be subject to the following rules to the extent such rules are not inconsistent with such loan policy.
(a) No loan, when aggregated with any outstanding loan(s) to the Participant, shall exceed the lesser of (i) $50,000 reduced by the excess, if any, of the Participant’s highest outstanding balance of all loans on any day during the one (1) year period ending on the day before the loan is made, over the outstanding balance of loans from the Plan on the date the Participant’s loan is made or (ii) one-half of the fair market value of the Participant’s Vested Account Balance consisting of contributions as specified in the loan policy. An election may be made in the loan policy, that if the Participant’s Vested Account Balance is $20,000 or less, the maximum loan shall not exceed the lesser of $10,000 or 100% of the Participant’s Vested Account Balance. For the purpose of the above limitation, all loans from all plans of the Employer and other members of a group of employers described in Code Sections 414(b), 414(c), and 414(m) are aggregated. An assignment or pledge of any portion of the Participant’s interest in the Plan and a loan, pledge, or assignment with respect to any insurance contract purchased under the Plan, will be treated as a loan under this paragraph.
(b) All applications must be in accordance with procedures adopted by the Plan Administrator.
(c) Any loan shall bear interest at a rate reasonable at the time of application, considering the purpose of the loan and the rate being charged by representative commercial banks in the local area for a similar loan unless the Plan Administrator sets forth a different method for determining loan interest rates in its written loan procedures. The loan agreement shall also provide that the payment of principal and interest be amortized in level payments not less frequently than quarterly.
(d) The term of such loan shall not exceed a period of five (5) years except in the case of a loan for the purpose of acquiring any house, apartment, condominium, or mobile home that is used or is to be used within a reasonable time as the principal residence of the Participant. The Plan Administrator in accordance with the Plan’s loan policy shall determine the term of such loan.
(e) The principal and interest paid by a Participant on his or her loan shall be credited to the Plan in the same manner as for any other Plan investment. Unless otherwise provided in the loan policy, loans will be treated as segregated investments of the individual Participant on whose behalf the loan was made. This provision is not available if its election will result in discrimination in the operation of the Plan.
(f) If the Plan Administrator approves a Participant’s loan request, it shall be evidenced by a note, loan agreement, and assignment of up to 50% of his or her interest in the Trust as collateral for the loan. The Participant, except in the case of a profit-sharing plan satisfying the requirements of paragraph 8.7, must obtain the consent of his or her Spouse, if any, within the ninety (90) day period before the time his or her account balance is used as security for the loan. A new consent is required if the account balance is used for any renegotiation, extension, renewal or other revision of the loan, including an increase in the loan amount. The consent must be written, must acknowledge the effect of the loan, and must be witnessed by a Plan representative or notary public. Such consent shall subsequently be binding with respect to the consenting Spouse or any subsequent Spouse.
(g) If a valid Spousal consent has been obtained in accordance with paragraph (f), then, notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan, the portion of the Participant’s Vested Account Balance used as a security interest held by the Plan by reason of a loan outstanding to the Participant shall be taken into account for purposes of determining the amount of the account balance payable at the time of death or distribution, but only if the reduction is used as repayment of the loan. If less than 100% of the Participant’s Vested Account Balance (determined without regard to the preceding sentence) is payable to the surviving Spouse, then the account balance shall be adjusted by first reducing the Vested Account Balance by the amount of the security used as repayment of the loan, and then determining the benefit payable to the surviving Spouse.
(h) Any loan made hereunder shall be subject to the provisions of a loan agreement, promissory note, security agreement, payroll withholding authorization and, if applicable, financial disclosure. Such documentation may contain additional loan terms and conditions not specifically itemized in this section provided that such terms and conditions do not conflict with this section. Such additional terms and conditions may include, but are not limited to, procedures regarding default, a grace period for missed payments, and acceleration of a loan’s maturity date on specific events such as termination of employment.
(i) Effective for Plan loans made after December 31, 2001, Plan provisions prohibiting loans to any Owner-Employee or Shareholder Employee shall cease to apply.
