Benefit Plans and Programs To the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to the terms and eligibility requirements of any such plan or program, Executive will be eligible to participate in all benefit plans and programs, including improvements or modifications of the same, that are maintained by the Company generally for executive employees of the Company, subject to the eligibility requirements and other terms and conditions of those plans and programs. The Company will not, however, by reason of this Section 5(b) be obligated either (1) to institute, maintain, or refrain from changing, amending, or discontinuing any such benefit plan or program, or (2) to provide Executive with all benefits provided to any other person or individual employed by the Company or any of its affiliates.
Welfare Plans (a) For all purposes (including purposes of vesting, eligibility to participate and level of benefits) under the employee welfare benefit plans of Buyer and its affiliates providing benefits to any Acquired Employees after the Closing (the “New Welfare Plans” ), each Acquired Employee shall subject to applicable Law and applicable tax qualification requirements be credited with his or her years of service with Knight Ridder or its affiliates, including the Acquired Companies and their Subsidiaries, before the Closing, to the same extent as such Acquired Employee was entitled, before the Closing, to credit for such service under any similar employee benefit plan in which such Acquired Employee participated or was eligible to participate immediately prior to the Closing, provided that the foregoing shall not apply to the extent that its application would result in a duplication of benefits. In addition, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, (A) each Acquired Employee shall be immediately eligible to participate, without any waiting time, in any and all New Welfare Plans if such Acquired Employee participated immediately before the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in a comparable type of welfare benefit plan of a Seller Entity (such plans, collectively, the “Old Plans” ), and (B) for purposes of each New Welfare Plan providing medical, dental, pharmaceutical and/or vision benefits to any Acquired Employee, Buyer, or, as applicable, an Acquired Company, shall cause all pre-existing condition exclusions and actively-at-work requirements of such New Welfare Plan to be waived for such Acquired Employee and his or her covered dependents, unless such conditions would not have been waived under the comparable plans of Knight Ridder or its affiliates, including the Acquired Companies and their Subsidiaries, in which such Acquired Employee participated immediately prior to the Closing and Buyer shall cause any eligible expenses incurred by such employee and his or her covered dependents during the portion of the plan year of the Old Plan ending on the date such employee’s participation in the corresponding New Welfare Plan begins to be taken into account under such New Welfare Plan for purposes of satisfying all deductible, coinsurance and maximum out-of-pocket requirements applicable to such employee and his or her covered dependents for the applicable plan year as if such amounts had been paid in accordance with such New Welfare Plan.
Retirement and Welfare Plans Executive shall participate in employee retirement and welfare benefit plans made available to the Company’s senior level executives as a group or to its employees generally, as such retirement and welfare plans may be in effect from time to time and subject to the eligibility requirements of the plans. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Company from amending or terminating any retirement, welfare or other employee benefit plans or programs from time to time as the Company deems appropriate.