Retiree Medical Benefits If Executive is or would become fifty-five (55) or older and Executive's age and service equal sixty-five (65) and Executive has at least five (5) years of service with the Company within two (2) years of Change in Control, Executive is eligible for retiree medical benefits (as such are determined immediately prior to Change in Control). Executive is eligible to commence receiving such retiree medical benefits based on the terms and conditions of the applicable plans in effect immediately prior to the Change in Control.
Retiree Medical (i) The Executive shall be entitled to receive retiree medical benefits during the Executive’s lifetime in accordance with the eligibility requirements, terms and conditions, and plan offerings for access to retiree medical benefits provided generally to full-time employees of the Company. The Executive may cover the individual who is the Executive’s spouse as of the date of the Executive’s termination of employment (the “Spouse”) and/or the individuals who are the Executive’s dependent children as of the date of the Executive’s termination of employment (the “Dependents”), to the extent eligible at the time of the Executive’s retirement, according to the terms and conditions of the Company’s retiree medical benefit plan. The cost of such benefits for the Executive, the Executive’s Spouse and eligible Dependents, will be 100% of the premiums and will be reimbursed by the Company on an annual basis up to the date the Executive reaches Medicare eligibility due to age, at which point such reimbursement will cease. Such reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the Company’s reimbursement practices, and in all events no later than December 31 of the year following the year in which the premiums were incurred, and in accordance with the other requirements of Code Section 409A and Treasury Regulation §1.409A-3(i)(1)(iv) (or any similar or successor provisions). Depending on the plan, all or a portion of the reimbursement may be taxable. Such benefits shall include prescription drug coverage, but not dental or vision benefits unless included in the medical plan.
(ii) Upon reaching Medicare eligibility due to age, Medicare shall become the primary payor of medical/prescription benefits for the Executive, the Executive’s Spouse or eligible Dependents as applicable, and the reimbursement of premiums for such coverage by the Company shall cease.
(iii) The Company reserves the right to modify, suspend or discontinue any and all retiree medical plans, practices, policies and programs at any time without recourse by the Executive, so long as the Company takes such action generally with respect to other similarly situated officers; provided that, if the Company terminates retiree access to medical and/or prescription benefits generally for retirees, the Executive shall be entitled to an annual reimbursement from the Company upon proof of continued coverage for comparable medical and/or prescription coverage under an individual policy or other group policy, subject to a maximum total reimbursement of one and one-half (1½) times the applicable premium of the plan in effect at the time retiree access is terminated at the applicable coverage level, and subject to maximum annual inflation adjustment thereafter of five percent (5%).
(iv) Upon the death of the Executive, a surviving Spouse will continue eligibility and reimbursement as described above. Surviving Dependent children will not receive premium reimbursement beyond the COBRA continuation period. For all other COBRA qualifying events other than the death of the Executive, reimbursement will cease upon commencement of the COBRA continuation period.
Incentive, Savings and Retirement Plans During the Employment Period, the Executive shall be entitled to participate in all incentive, savings and retirement plans, practices, policies and programs applicable generally to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated companies, but in no event shall such plans, practices, policies and programs provide the Executive with incentive opportunities (measured with respect to both regular and special incentive opportunities, to the extent, if any, that such distinction is applicable), savings opportunities and retirement benefit opportunities, in each case, less favorable, in the aggregate, than the most favorable of those provided by the Company and its affiliated companies for the Executive under such plans, practices, policies and programs as in effect at any time during the 120-day period immediately preceding the Effective Date or if more favorable to the Executive, those provided generally at any time after the Effective Date to other peer executives of the Company and its affiliated companies.
Savings and Retirement Plans During the Employment Period, the Executive shall be entitled to participate in all other savings and retirement plans, practices, policies and programs, in each case on terms and conditions no less favorable than the terms and conditions generally applicable to the Company’s other executive employees.
Compensation; Employment Agreements; Etc Enter into or amend or renew any employment, consulting, severance or similar agreements or arrangements with any director, officer or employee of Metropolitan or its Subsidiaries, or grant any salary or wage increase or increase any employee benefit (including incentive or bonus payments), except (i) for normal individual increases in compensation to employees in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) for other changes that are required by applicable law, and (iii) to satisfy Previously Disclosed contractual obligations existing as of the date hereof.
Retirement Plans (a) In connection with the individual retirement accounts, simplified employee pension plans, rollover individual retirement plans, educational IRAs and XXXX individual retirement accounts (“XXX Plans”), 403(b) Plans and money purchase and profit sharing plans (“Qualified Plans”) (collectively, the “Retirement Plans”) within the meaning of Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) sponsored by a Fund for which contributions of the Fund’s shareholders (the “Participants”) are invested solely in Shares of the Fund, Transfer Agent shall provide the following administrative services:
(i) Establish a record of types and reasons for distributions (i.e., attainment of eligible withdrawal age, disability, death, return of excess contributions, etc.);
(ii) Record method of distribution requested and/or made;
(iii) Receive and process designation of beneficiary forms requests;
(iv) Examine and process requests for direct transfers between custodians/trustees, transfer and pay over to the successor assets in the account and records pertaining thereto as requested;
(v) Prepare any annual reports or returns required to be prepared and/or filed by a custodian of a Retirement Plan, including, but not limited to, an annual fair market value report, Forms 1099R and 5498; and file same with the IRS and provide same to Participant/Beneficiary, as applicable; and
(vi) Perform applicable federal withholding and send Participants/Beneficiaries an annual TEFRA notice regarding required federal tax withholding.
(b) Transfer Agent shall arrange for PFPC Trust Company to serve as custodian for the Retirement Plans sponsored by a Fund.
(c) With respect to the Retirement Plans, Transfer Agent shall provide each Fund with the associated Retirement Plan documents for use by the Fund and Transfer Agent shall be responsible for the maintenance of such documents in compliance with all applicable provisions of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
Post-Employment Activities 7.1 For a period of one (1) year after the termination or expiration, for any reason, of your employment with the Company hereunder, absent the Board of Directors' prior written approval, you will not directly or indirectly engage in activities similar to those described in Section 4.2, nor render services similar or reasonably related to those which you shall have rendered hereunder to, any person or entity whether now existing or hereafter established which directly competes with (or proposes or plans to directly compete with) the Company ("Direct Competitor") in the same or similar business. Nor shall you entice, induce or encourage any of the Company's other employees to engage in any activity which, were it done by you, would violate any provision of the Confidential Information Agreement or this Section 7. As used in this Agreement, the term "any line of business engaged in or under demonstrable development by the Company" shall be applied as at the date of termination of your employment, or, if later, as at the date of termination of any post-employment consultation.
7.2 For a period of one (1) year after the termination of your employment with the Company, the provisions of Section 4.2 shall be applicable to you and you shall comply therewith.
7.3 No provision of this Agreement shall be construed to preclude you from performing the same services which the Company hereby retains you to perform for any person or entity which is not a Direct Competitor of the Company upon the expiration or termination of your employment (or any post-employment consultation) so long as you do not thereby violate any term of this Agreement or the Confidential Information Agreement.
Welfare Plans Effective as of the Closing Date, Purchaser shall provide group health, life insurance, long term disability and other welfare and fringe benefit plan coverage and benefits (for the purposes of this Section 6.8, “Purchaser’s Health, Welfare and Fringe Benefit Plans”) for Newsprint Employees and Apache Employees who are offered and accept employment with Purchaser as of the Closing Date and who otherwise qualify for such coverage or benefits. In the case of Hourly Newsprint Employees and Hourly Apache Employees, such coverage or benefits shall provide substantially comparable coverage and benefits in the aggregate as Seller’s health, life insurance, welfare and fringe benefit plans provide (for the purposes of this Section 6.8, “Seller’s Health, Welfare and Fringe Benefit Plans”) and otherwise comply with the relevant Collective Bargaining Agreements and in part shall provide for Purchaser’s assumption and continuation of Seller’s Health, Welfare and Fringe Benefit Plans covering Hourly Newsprint Employees and Hourly Apache Employees. In the case of Salaried Employees, Purchaser shall offer substantially comparable coverage and benefits in the aggregate as provided under Seller’s Health, Welfare and Fringe Benefit Plans, except for including retiree health and retiree life insurance. Purchaser may assume and continue any or all of Seller’s Health, Welfare and Fringe Benefit Plans, except for Seller’s health and dental benefits for Salaried Employees, coverage under which shall be provided to Retained Employees and Hired Employees in accordance with the terms of the Transitional Services Agreement. A Newsprint Employee’s or Apache Employee’s last continuous period of service with Seller or Apache shall be counted as if it had been service for Purchaser in determining eligibility for the coverage and benefits set forth in this Section 6.8. Attached as Schedule 6.8 is a list of the last continuous period of service of Newsprint Employees and Apache Employees as of the date set forth on Schedule 6.8. If Purchaser assumes and continues one or more of Seller’s Health, Welfare and Fringe Benefit Plans, the parties shall enter into the Welfare Benefit Plans Assignment and Assumption Agreement in this regard.
Benefits Plans During the Employment Period, You will be eligible to participate in all benefit plans in effect for executives and employees of the Company, subject to the terms and conditions of such plans.
Transferred Employees Effective as of the Closing Date, Purchaser or one of its Affiliates shall make an offer of employment to each Applicable Employee. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary and except as provided in an individual employment Contract with any Applicable Employee or as required by the terms of an Assumed Plan, offers of employment to Applicable Employees whose employment rights are subject to the UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement as of the Closing Date, shall be made in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions of the UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement and Purchaser’s obligations under the Labor Management Relations Act of 1974, as amended. Each offer of employment to an Applicable Employee who is not covered by the UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement shall provide, until at least the first anniversary of the Closing Date, for (i) base salary or hourly wage rates initially at least equal to such Applicable Employee’s base salary or hourly wage rate in effect as of immediately prior to the Closing Date and (ii) employee pension and welfare benefits, Contracts and arrangements that are not less favorable in the aggregate than those listed on Section 4.10 of the Sellers’ Disclosure Schedule, but not including any Retained Plan, equity or equity-based compensation plans or any Benefit Plan that does not comply in all respects with TARP. For the avoidance of doubt, each Applicable Employee on layoff status, leave status or with recall rights as of the Closing Date, shall continue in such status and/or retain such rights after Closing in the Ordinary Course of Business. Each Applicable Employee who accepts employment with Purchaser or one of its Affiliates and commences working for Purchaser or one of its Affiliates shall become a “Transferred Employee.” To the extent such offer of employment by Purchaser or its Affiliates is not accepted, Sellers shall, as soon as practicable following the Closing Date, terminate the employment of all such Applicable Employees. Nothing in this Section 6.17(a) shall prohibit Purchaser or any of its Affiliates from terminating the employment of any Transferred Employee after the Closing Date, subject to the terms and conditions of the UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement. It is understood that the intent of this Section 6.17(a) is to provide a seamless transition from Sellers to Purchaser of any Applicable Employee subject to the UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement. Except for Applicable Employees with non- standard individual agreements providing for severance benefits, until at least the first anniversary of the Closing Date, Purchaser further agrees and acknowledges that it shall provide to each Transferred Employee who is not covered by the UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement and whose employment is involuntarily terminated by Purchaser or its Affiliates on or prior to the first anniversary of the Closing Date, severance benefits that are not less favorable than the severance benefits such Transferred Employee would have received under the applicable Benefit Plans listed on Section 4.10 of the Sellers’ Disclosure Schedule. Purchaser or one of its Affiliates shall take all actions necessary such that Transferred Employees shall be credited for their actual and credited service with Sellers and each of their respective Affiliates, for purposes of eligibility, vesting and benefit accrual (except in the case of a defined benefit pension plan sponsored by Purchaser or any of its Affiliates in which Transferred Employees may commence participation after the Closing that is not an Assumed Plan), in any employee benefit plans (excluding equity compensation plans or programs) covering Transferred Employees after the Closing to the same extent as such Transferred Employee was entitled as of immediately prior to the Closing Date to credit for such service under any similar employee benefit plans, programs or arrangements of any of Sellers or any Affiliate of Sellers; provided, however, that such crediting of service shall not operate to duplicate any benefit to any such Transferred Employee or the funding for any such benefit. Such benefits shall not be subject to any exclusion for any pre-existing conditions to the extent such conditions were satisfied by such Transferred Employees under a Parent Employee Benefit Plan as of the Closing Date, and credit shall be provided for any deductible or out-of-pocket amounts paid by such Transferred Employee during the plan year in which the Closing Date occurs.
