MAA 401(K) SAVINGS PLAN SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTION
January 1, 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO YOUR PLAN
What kind of Plan is this? ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1 What information does this Summary provide?....................................................................................................................................... 1
ARTICLE I PARTICIPATION IN THE PLAN
How do I participate in the Plan? ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 How is my service determined for purposes of Plan eligibility?............................................................................................................... 2 What service is counted for purposes of Plan eligibility?......................................................................................................................... 2 What happens if I'm a participant, terminate employment and then I'm rehired?....................................................................................... 2
ARTICLE II EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS
What are elective deferrals and how do I contribute them to the Plan?..................................................................................................... 2 What are rollover contributions? ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
ARTICLE III EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
What is the safe harbor contribution? .................................................................................................................................................... 3 What are forfeitures and how are they allocated? .................................................................................................................................... 4
ARTICLE IV COMPENSATION AND ACCOUNT BALANCE
What compensation is used to determine my Plan benefits? .................................................................................................................... 4 Is there a limit on the amount of compensation which can be considered?................................................................................................ 4 Is there a limit on how much can be contributed to my account each year? .............................................................................................. 5 How is the money in the Plan invested?.................................................................................................................................................. 5 Will Plan expenses be deducted from my account balance?..................................................................................................................... 5
ARTICLE V VESTING
What is my vested interest in my account? ............................................................................................................................................. 5 How is my service determined for vesting purposes? .............................................................................................................................. 6 What service is counted for vesting purposes? ........................................................................................................................................ 7 What happens to my non-vested account balance if I'm rehired?.............................................................................................................. 7
ARTICLE VI DISTRIBUTIONS PRIOR TO TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
Can I withdraw money from my account while working?........................................................................................................................ 7 Can I withdraw money from my account in the event of financial hardship? ............................................................................................ 7
ARTICLE VII DISTRIBUTIONS UPON TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
When can I get money out of the Plan?................................................................................................................................................... 8 What is Normal Retirement Age and what is the significance of reaching Normal Retirement Age?......................................................... 9
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What happens if I terminate employment due to disability?..................................................................................................................... 9 In what method and form will my benefits be paid to me?....................................................................................................................... 9
ARTICLE VIII DISTRIBUTIONS UPON DEATH
What happens if I die while working for the Employer?.......................................................................................................................... 10 Who is the beneficiary of my death benefit? ........................................................................................................................................... 10 How will the death benefit be paid to my beneficiary? ............................................................................................................................ 11 When must the last payment be made to my beneficiary (required minimum distributions)?..................................................................... 11 What happens if I terminate employment, commence payments and then die before receiving all of my benefits?..................................... 11
ARTICLE IX TAX TREATMENT OF DISTRIBUTIONS
What are my tax consequences when I receive a distribution from the Plan?............................................................................................ 11 Can I elect a rollover to reduce or defer tax on my distribution? .............................................................................................................. 12
ARTICLE X LOANS Is it possible to borrow money from the Plan? ........................................................................................................................................ 12
ARTICLE XI PROTECTED BENEFITS AND CLAIMS PROCEDURES
Are my benefits protected? .................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Are there any exceptions to the general rule?.......................................................................................................................................... 13 Can the Employer amend the Plan? ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 What happens if the Plan is discontinued or terminated? ......................................................................................................................... 13 How do I submit a claim for Plan benefits? ............................................................................................................................................ 13 What if my benefits are denied? ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 What is the claims review procedure?..................................................................................................................................................... 15 What are my rights as a Plan participant? ............................................................................................................................................... 16 What can I do if I have questions or my rights are violated?.................................................................................................................... 17
ARTICLE XII GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLAN
Plan Name ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Plan Number ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Plan Effective Dates .............................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Other Plan Information .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Employer Information ........................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Plan Administrator Information.............................................................................................................................................................. 18 Plan Trustee Information and Plan Funding Medium .............................................................................................................................. 18
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MAA 401(K) SAVINGS PLAN SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTION INTRODUCTION TO YOUR PLAN
What kind of Plan is this? MAA 401(k) Savings Plan ("Plan") has been adopted to provide you with the opportunity to save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis. This Plan is a type of qualified retirement plan commonly referred to as a 401(k) Plan. As a participant under the Plan, you may elect to
contribute a portion of your compensation to the Plan. What information does this Summary provide?
This Summary Plan Description ("SPD") contains information regarding when you may become eligible to participate in the Plan, your Plan benefits, your distribution options, and many other features of the Plan. You should take the time to read this SPD to get a better understanding of your rights and obligations under the Plan. In this SPD, the Employer has addressed the most common questions you may have regarding the Plan. If this SPD does not answer all of your questions, please contact the Plan Administrator or other plan representative. The Plan Administrator is responsible for responding to questions and making determinations related to the administration, interpretation, and application of the Plan. The name of the Plan Administrator can be found at the end of this SPD in the Article entitled "General Information about the Plan." This SPD describes the Plan's benefits and obligations as contained in the legal Plan document, which governs the operation of the Plan. The Plan document is written in much more technical and precise language and is designed to comply with applicable legal requirements. If the non-technical language in this SPD and the technical, legal language of the Plan document conflict, the Plan document always governs. If you wish to receive a copy of the legal Plan document, please contact the Plan Administrator. The Plan and your rights under the Plan are subject to federal laws, such as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code, as well as some state laws. The provisions of the Plan are subject to revision due to a change in laws or due to pronouncements by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Department of Labor (DOL). The Employer may also amend or terminate this Plan. If the provisions of the Plan that are described in this SPD change, the Employer will notify you. ARTICLE I PARTICIPATION IN THE PLAN How do I participate in the Plan? Provided you are not an Excluded Employee, you may begin participating under the Plan once you have satisfied the eligibility requirements and reached your Entry Date. The following describes Excluded Employees, if any, the eligibility requirements and Entry Dates that apply. You should contact the Plan Administrator if you have questions about the timing of your Plan participation. All Contributions Excluded Employees. If you are a member of a class of employees identified below, you are an Excluded Employee and you are not entitled to participate in the Plan. The Excluded Employees are: • union employees whose employment is governed by a collective bargaining agreement under which retirement benefits were the subject of good faith bargaining, unless the collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise.
• certain nonresident aliens who have no earned income from sources within the United States
leased employees
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• reclassified employees (a person the Employer does not treat as a common law employee on its payroll records, such as someone paid as an independent contractor or an out-sourced worker) Eligibility Conditions. You will be eligible to participate in the Plan when you have completed 6 month(s) of service. However, you will actually participate in the Plan once you reach the Entry Date. Special Eligibility Effective Dates The eligibility conditions and entry dates are waived only with respect to Employees of Colonial Construction Services, LLC, Colonial Properties Services, INC. and Colonial Properties Services Limited Partnership who were employed by the Employer on January 1, 2016. See the Plan Administrator for additional information if you are not sure if this affects you.
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Entry Date. Your Entry Date will be the first day of the month coinciding with or next following the date you satisfy the eligibility requirements. How is my service determined for purposes of Plan eligibility? Months of Service. You will have completed the required number of months if you are employed by the Employer at any time after you have completed that number of months. What service is counted for purposes of Plan eligibility? Service with the Employer. In determining whether you satisfy the minimum service requirements to participate under the Plan, all service you perform for the Employer will be counted. Service with another Employer. For eligibility purposes, your Periods of Service with Colonial Properties Trust, but only if service with this company was continued without interruption may be counted. See the Plan Administrator for details if you think you may be affected by this provision. Military Service. If you are a veteran and are reemployed under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, your qualified military service may be considered service with the Employer. If you may be affected by this law, ask the Plan Administrator for further details. What happens if I'm a participant, terminate employment and then I'm rehired? If you are no longer a participant because of a termination of employment, and you are rehired, then you will be able to participate in the Plan on the date on which you are rehired if you are otherwise eligible to participate in the Plan. ARTICLE II EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS What are elective deferrals and how do I contribute them to the Plan? Elective Deferrals. As a participant under the Plan, you may elect to reduce your compensation by a specific percentage or dollar amount and have that amount contributed to the Plan on a pre-tax basis as an elective deferral. Your taxable income is reduced by the deferral contribution so you pay less in federal income taxes (however, the amount you defer is still counted as compensation for purposes of Social Security taxes). Later, when the Plan distributes the deferrals and earnings, you will pay the taxes on those deferrals and the earnings. Therefore, federal income taxes on the deferral contributions and on the earnings are only postponed. Eventually, you will have to pay taxes on these amounts. Deferral procedure. The amount you elect to defer will be deducted from your pay in accordance with a procedure established by the Plan Administrator. You may elect to defer a portion of your compensation payable on or after your Entry Date. Such election will become effective as soon as administratively feasible after it is received by the Plan Administrator. Your election will remain in effect until you modify or terminate it. Deferral modifications. You may revoke or make modifications to your salary deferral election in accordance with procedures that the Employer provides. See the Plan Administrator for further information. Deferral Limit. As a participant, you may elect to defer up to 75% of your Plan Year compensation. Annual dollar limit. Your total deferrals in any taxable year may not exceed a dollar limit which is set by law. The limit for 2022 is $20,500. After 2022, the dollar limit may increase for cost-of-living adjustments. Catch-up contributions. If you are at least age 50 or will attain age 50 before the end of a calendar year, then you may elect to defer additional amounts (called "catch-up contributions") to the plan for that year. The additional amounts may be deferred regardless of any other limitations on the amount that you may defer to the plan. The maximum "catch-up contribution" that you can make in 2022 is $6,500. After 2022, the maximum may increase for cost-of-living adjustments. Any "catch-up contributions" that you make will be taken into account in determining any Employer matching contribution made to the Plan. You should be aware that each separately stated annual dollar limit on the amount you may defer (the annual deferral limit and the "catch-up contribution" limit) is a separate aggregate limit that applies to all such similar elective deferral amounts and "catch-up contributions" you may make under this Plan and any other cash or deferred arrangements (including tax-sheltered 403(b) annuity contracts, simplified employee pensions or other 401(k) plans) in which you may be participating. Generally, if an annual dollar limit is exceeded, then the excess must be returned to you in order to avoid adverse tax consequences. For this reason, it is desirable to request in writing that any such excess elective deferral amounts be returned to you.
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If you are in more than one plan, you must decide which plan or arrangement you would like to return the excess. If you decide that the excess should be distributed from this Plan, you must communicate this in writing to the Plan Administrator no later than the March 1st following the close of the calendar year in which such excess deferrals were made. However, if the entire dollar limit is exceeded in this Plan or any other plan the Employer maintains, then you will be deemed to have notified the Plan Administrator of the excess. The Plan Administrator will then return the excess deferral and any earnings to you by April 15th. Automatic Deferral. The Plan includes an automatic deferral feature. Accordingly, the Employer will automatically withhold a portion of your compensation from your pay each payroll period and contribute that amount to the Plan as a pre-tax 401(k) deferral unless you make a contrary election. • Application to new Participants. The automatic deferral provisions apply to Employees whose entry date is on or following the automatic deferral effective date. However, if you are a participant who transferred to this Plan from the Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. 401(k) Plan, the automatic deferral provisions will only apply to those participants who were subject to automatic enrollment at the time of the merger. Automatic deferral provisions. The following provisions apply as to automatic deferrals: • You may complete a salary reduction agreement at any time to select an alternative deferral amount or to elect not to defer under the Plan in accordance with the deferral procedures of the Plan. • The amount to be automatically withheld from your pay each payroll period will be equal to 2% of your compensation, and that amount will continue to be automatically withheld from your pay in succeeding Plan Years unless the Employer amends the Plan or you enter a Salary Reduction Agreement. If you transferred to this Plan from the Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. 401(k) Plan on April 1, 2019 you will be frozen at the automatic deferral percentage you were subject to as of April 1, 2019 until you make a contrary election. Contact the Plan Administrator if you have any questions concerning the application of the automatic deferral provisions. What are rollover contributions? Rollover contributions. At the discretion of the Plan Administrator, if you are an eligible employee, you may be permitted to deposit into the Plan distributions you have received from other plans and certain IRAs. Such a deposit is called a "rollover" and may result in tax savings to you. You may ask the Plan Administrator or Trustee of the other plan or IRA to directly transfer (a "direct rollover") to this Plan all or a portion of any amount that you are entitled to receive as a distribution from such plan. Alternatively, you may elect to deposit any amount eligible to be rolled over within 60 days of your receipt of the distribution. You should consult qualified counsel to determine if a rollover is in your best interest. Rollover account. Your rollover will be accounted for in a "rollover account." You will always be 100% vested in your "rollover account" (see the Article in this SPD entitled "Vesting"). This means that you will always be entitled to all amounts in your rollover account. Rollover contributions will be affected by any investment gains or losses. Withdrawal of rollover contributions. You may withdraw the amounts in your "rollover account" at any time. You should see the Articles in this SPD entitled "Distributions Prior to Termination of Employment," "Distributions upon Termination of Employment," and "Distributions upon Death" for an explanation of how benefits (including your "rollover account") are paid from the Plan. ARTICLE III EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS In addition to any deferrals you elect to make, the Employer will make additional contributions to the Plan. This Article describes Employer contributions that will be made to the Plan and how your share of the contributions is determined. What is the safe harbor contribution? Safe harbor 401(k) plan. This Plan is referred to as a "safe harbor 401(k) plan." Before the beginning of each Plan Year, you will be provided with a comprehensive notice of your rights and obligations under the Plan. However, if you become eligible to participate in the Plan after the beginning of the Plan Year, then the notice will be provided to you on or before the date you are eligible. A safe harbor 401(k) plan is a plan design where the Employer commits to making certain contributions described below. This commitment to make contributions enables the Employer to simplify the administration of the Plan by ensuring that nondiscrimination regulations are met, which is why it is called a "safe harbor" plan. Safe Harbor Matching Contribution. In order to maintain "safe harbor" status, the Employer will make a safe harbor matching contribution equal to 100% of your salary deferrals that do not exceed 3% of your compensation plus 50% of your salary deferrals between 3% and 5% of your compensation. This safe harbor matching contribution is 100% vested (see the Article in this SPD entitled "Vesting"). For purposes of calculating this safe harbor matching contribution, your compensation and deferrals will be computed for each Plan Year.
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What are forfeitures and how are they allocated? Definition of forfeitures. In order to reward employees who remain employed with the Employer for a long period of time, the law permits a "vesting schedule" to be applied to certain contributions that the Employer makes to the Plan. This means that you will not be entitled to ("vested" in) all of the contributions until you have been employed with the Employer for a specified period of time (see the Article in this SPD entitled "Vesting"). If a participant terminates employment before being fully vested, then the non-vested portion of the terminated participant's account balance remains in the Plan and is called a forfeiture. Forfeitures may be used by the Plan for several purposes. Allocation of forfeitures. Forfeitures will be allocated as follows:
• Forfeitures may be used to pay plan expenses or used to reduce any matching contribution. ARTICLE IV COMPENSATION AND ACCOUNT BALANCE What compensation is used to determine my Plan benefits? All Contributions
Definition of compensation. Compensation is defined as your total compensation that is subject to income tax and paid to you by the Employer. If you are a self-employed individual, your compensation will be equal to your earned income. The following describes the adjustments to compensation that apply for the contributions noted above. Adjustments to compensation. The following adjustments to compensation will be made:
• elective deferrals to this Plan and to any other plan or arrangement (such as a cafeteria plan) will be included.
• reimbursements or other expense allowances, fringe benefits, moving expenses, deferred compensation, and welfare benefits will be excluded.
• compensation paid by a related employer that is not a participating employer will be excluded.
• compensation paid after you terminate is generally excluded for Plan purposes. However, the following amounts will be included in compensation even though they are paid after you terminate employment, provided these amounts would otherwise have been considered compensation as described above and provided they are paid within 2 1/2 months after you terminate employment, or if later, the last day of the Plan Year in which you terminate employment: • compensation paid for services performed during your regular working hours, or for services outside your regular working hours (such as overtime or shift differential), or other similar payments that would have been made to you had you continued employment. Safe Harbor Matching Contributions Adjustments to compensation. The following adjustments to compensation will be made for purposes of safe harbor matching contributions: • compensation paid while not a participant in this component of the Plan will be excluded. See "Additional compensation adjustment provisions" below at the end of this question section for special provisions that may apply to compensation adjustments. Additional compensation adjustment provisions As to All Contributions, exclude ESPP waiver transactions Is there a limit on the amount of compensation which can be considered? The Plan, by law, cannot recognize annual compensation in excess of a certain dollar limit. The limit for the Plan Year beginning in 2022 is $305,000. After 2022, the dollar limit may increase for cost-of-living adjustments.
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Is there a limit on how much can be contributed to my account each year? Generally, the law imposes a maximum limit on the amount of contributions (excluding catch-up contributions) that may be made to your account and any other amounts allocated to any of your accounts during the Plan Year, excluding earnings. Beginning in 2022, this total cannot exceed the lesser of $61,000 or 100% of your annual compensation (as limited under the previous question). After 2022, the dollar limit may increase for cost-of-living adjustments. How is the money in the Plan invested? The Trustee of the Plan has been designated to hold the assets of the Plan for the benefit of Plan participants and their beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of this Plan. The trust fund established by the Plan's Trustee will be the funding medium used for the accumulation of assets from which Plan benefits will be distributed. Participant direction of investments. You will be able to direct the investment of your entire interest in the Plan. The Plan Administrator will provide you with information on the investment choices available to you, the procedures for making investment elections, the frequency with which you can change your investment choices and other important information. You need to follow the procedures for making investment elections and you should carefully review the information provided to you before you give investment directions. If you do not direct the investment of your applicable Plan accounts, then your accounts will be invested in accordance with the default investment alternatives established under the Plan. These default investments will be made in accordance with specific rules under which the fiduciaries of the Plan, including the Employer, the Trustee and the Plan Administrator, will be relieved of any legal liability for any losses resulting from the default investments. The Plan Administrator has or will provide you with a separate notice which details these default investments and your right to switch out of the default investment if you so desire. The Plan is intended to comply with Section 404(c) of ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act). If the Plan complies with this Section, then the fiduciaries of the Plan, including the Employer, the Trustee and the Plan Administrator, will be relieved of any legal liability for any losses which are the direct and necessary result of the investment directions that you give. Procedures must be followed in giving investment directions. If you fail to do so, then your investment directions need not be followed. If you do not direct the investment of your applicable Plan accounts, your accounts will be invested in accordance with the default investment alternatives established under the Plan. Earnings or losses. When you direct investments, your accounts are segregated for purposes of determining the earnings or losses on these investments. Your Participant-directed Account does not share in the investment performance of other participants who have directed their own investments. You should remember that the amount of your benefits under the Plan will depend in part upon your choice of investments. Gains as well as losses can occur and the Employer, the Plan Administrator, and the Trustee will not provide investment advice or guarantee the performance of any investment you choose. Periodically, you will receive a benefit statement that provides information on your account balance and your investment returns. It is your responsibility to notify the Plan Administrator of any errors you see on any statements within 30 days after the statement is provided or made available to you. Will Plan expenses be deducted from my account balance? The Plan will pay some or all Plan related expenses except for a limited category of expenses, known as "settlor expenses," which the law requires the employer to pay. Generally, settlor expenses relate to the design, establishment or termination of the Plan. See the Plan Administrator for more details. The expenses charged to the Plan may be charged pro rata to each Participant in relation to the size of each Participant's account balance or may be charged equally to each Participant. In addition, some types of expenses may be charged only to some Participants based upon their use of a Plan feature or receipt of a plan distribution. Finally, the Plan may charge expenses in a different manner as to Participants who have terminated employment with the Employer versus those Participants who remain employed with the Employer. ARTICLE V VESTING What is my vested interest in my account? In order to reward employees who remain employed with the Employer for a long period of time, the law permits a "vesting schedule" to be applied to certain contributions that the Employer makes to the Plan. This means that you will not be entitled to ("vested in") all of the contributions until you have been employed with the Employer for a specified period of time. 100% vested contributions. You are always 100% vested (which means that you are entitled to all of the amounts) in your accounts attributable to the following contributions:
• elective deferrals including catch-up contributions
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rollover contributions
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• safe harbor contributions Vesting schedules. Your "vested percentage" for certain Employer contributions is based on vesting Years of Service. This means at the time you stop working, your account balance attributable to contributions subject to a vesting schedule is multiplied by your vested percentage. The result, when added to the amounts that are always 100% vested as shown above, is your vested interest in the Plan, which is what you will actually receive from the Plan. Prior Nonelective Contributions Your "vested percentage" in your account attributable to prior nonelective contributions is determined under the following schedule. You will always, however, be 100% vested in your prior nonelective contributions if you are employed on or after your Early or Normal Retirement Age or if you terminate employment on account of your death, or if you terminate employment as a result of becoming disabled. Vesting Schedule Prior Nonelective Contributions Years of Service Percentage Less than 2 0% 2 20% 3 40% 4 60% 5 80% 6 100% Prior Matching Contributions Your "vested percentage" in your account attributable to prior matching contributions is determined under the following schedule. You will always, however, be 100% vested in your prior matching contributions if you are employed on or after your Early or Normal Retirement Age or if you terminate employment on account of your death, or if you terminate employment as a result of becoming disabled. Vesting Schedule Prior Matching Contributions Years of Service Percentage Less than 1 0% 1 20% 2 40% 3 60% 4 80% 5 100% Additional vesting provisions If you were an employee of Post Properties, Inc. and terminated on November 30, 2016 in connection with the Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. merger as well as you had a transition services agreement and you were still employed on the end date of the transition services agreement, the above vesting schedules do not apply to you. In that case, you will be 100% vested at all times in all accounts. How is my service determined for vesting purposes? Year of Service. To earn a Year of Service, you must be credited with at least 1,000 Hours of Service during a Plan Year. The Plan contains specific rules for crediting Hours of Service for vesting purposes. The Plan Administrator will track your service and will credit you with a Year of Service for each Plan Year in which you are credited with the required Hours of Service, in accordance with the terms of the Plan. If you have any questions regarding your vesting service, you should contact the Plan Administrator. Hour of Service. You will be credited with your actual Hours of Service for: (a) each hour for which you are directly or indirectly compensated by the Employer for the performance of duties during the Plan Year;
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(b) each hour for which you are directly or indirectly compensated by the Employer for reasons other than the performance of duties (such as vacation, holidays, sickness, disability, lay-off, military duty, jury duty or leave of absence during the Plan Year) but credit will not exceed 501 hours of service for any single continuous period during which you perform no duties; and (c) each hour for back pay awarded or agreed to by the Employer. You will not be credited for the same Hours of Service both under (a) or (b), as the case may be, and under (c). What service is counted for vesting purposes? Service with the Employer. In calculating your vested percentage, all service you perform for the Employer will generally be counted. Service with another Employer. For Vesting purposes, Years of Service with Colonial Properties Trust, but only if service with this company was continued without interruption may be counted. See the Plan Administrator for details if you think you may be affected by this provision. Military Service. If you are a veteran and are reemployed under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, your qualified military service may be considered service with the Employer. If you may be affected by this law, ask the Plan Administrator for further details. What happens to my non-vested account balance if I'm rehired? If you have no vested interest in the Plan when you leave, your account balance will be forfeited. However, if you are rehired before incurring five consecutive Breaks in Service, your account balance as of the date of your termination of employment will be restored, unadjusted for any gains or losses. ARTICLE VI DISTRIBUTIONS PRIOR TO TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT Can I withdraw money from my account while working? In-service distributions. You may be entitled to receive an in-service distribution. However, this distribution is not in addition to your other benefits and will therefore reduce the value of the benefits you will receive at retirement. This distribution is made at your election subject to possible administrative limitations on the frequency and actual timing of such distributions. You may withdraw amounts from your rollover contributions accounts at any time. Conditions and Limitations. Generally you may receive a distribution from certain accounts prior to termination of employment provided you satisfy any of the following conditions:
• you have attained age 59 1/2. Satisfying this condition allows you to receive distributions from all contribution accounts.
• you have incurred a financial hardship as described below.
Qualified reservist distributions. If you: (i) are a reservist or National Guardsman; (ii) were/are called to active duty after September 11, 2001; and (iii) were/are called to duty for at least 180 days or for an indefinite period, you may take a distribution of your elective deferrals under the Plan while you are on active duty, regardless of your age. The 10% premature distribution penalty tax, normally applicable to Plan distributions made before you reach age 59 1/2, will not apply to the distribution. You also may repay the distribution to an IRA, without limiting amounts you otherwise could contribute to the IRA, provided you make the repayment within 2 years following your completion of active duty. Distributions for deemed severance of employment. If you are on active duty for more than 30 days, then the Plan generally treats you as having severed employment for purposes of receiving a distribution from all contribution accounts. This means that you may request a distribution from all contribution accounts from the Plan. If you request a distribution on account of this deemed severance of employment and all or part of the distribution is taken from elective deferrals, then you are not permitted to make any contributions to the Plan for six (6) months after the date of the distribution. Can I withdraw money from my account in the event of financial hardship? Hardship distributions. You may withdraw money on account of financial hardship if you satisfy certain conditions. This hardship distribution is not in addition to your other benefits and will therefore reduce the value of the benefits you will receive upon termination of employment or other event entitling you to distribution of your account balance.
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Qualifying expenses. A hardship distribution may be made to satisfy certain immediate and heavy financial needs that you have. A hardship distribution may only be made for payment of the following: • Expenses for medical care (described in Section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code) for you, your spouse or your dependents. This also includes medical expenses for the death beneficiary of your Plan account.
• Costs directly related to the purchase of your principal residence (excluding mortgage payments).
• Tuition, related educational fees, and room and board expenses for the next twelve (12) months of post-secondary education for you, your spouse, your children or your dependents. This also includes such education expenses for the death beneficiary of your Plan account. • Amounts necessary to prevent your eviction from your principal residence or foreclosure on the mortgage of your principal residence. • Payments for burial or funeral expenses for your deceased parent, spouse, children or dependents. This also includes burial or funeral expenses for the death beneficiary of your Plan account. • Expenses for the repair of damage to your principal residence (that would qualify for the casualty loss deduction under Internal Revenue Code Section 165) without regard to the limit on casualty losses that are deductible for income tax purposes under IRC 165(h) . • Expenses for disasters arising from federally declared disasters, such as your expenses and losses (including loss of income) attributable to that disaster, provided your principal residence or place of employment was in an area FEMA designates as qualifying for individual assistance. For this purpose, your beneficiary is the person you designate under the Plan (or the Plan otherwise designates in the absence of your designation) to receive your death benefit and who is not necessarily your spouse or dependent. Conditions. If you have any of the above expenses, a hardship distribution can only be made if you certify and agree that all of the following conditions are satisfied: (a) The distribution is not in excess of the amount of your immediate and heavy financial need. The amount of your immediate and heavy financial need may include any amounts necessary to pay any federal, state, or local income taxes or penalties reasonably anticipated to result from the distribution. (b) You have obtained all distributions, other than hardship distributions, currently available under all plans that the Employer maintains. (c) You certify (via a form for that purpose) that you have insufficient cash or other liquid assets reasonably available to satisfy the need. Account restrictions. You may request a hardship distribution only from the vested portion of the following accounts:
elective deferral accounts plus earnings
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ARTICLE VII DISTRIBUTIONS UPON TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
When can I get money out of the Plan? You may receive a distribution of the vested portion of some or all of your accounts in the Plan when you terminate employment with the Employer. The rules regarding the payment of death benefits to your beneficiary are described in the Article in this SPD entitled "Distributions upon Death." As to the possibility of receiving a distribution while you are still employed with the Employer, see the Article in this SPD entitled "Distributions Prior to Termination of Employment." Military Service. If you are a veteran and are reemployed under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, your qualified military service may be considered service with the Employer. There may also be benefits for employees who die or become disabled while on active duty. Employees who receive wage continuation payments while in the military may benefit from various changes in the law. If you think you may be affected by these rules, ask the Plan Administrator for further details.
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Termination and distribution before Normal Retirement Age (or age 62 if later) If your vested account balance exceeds $5,000, your consent is required to distribute your account before you reach Normal Retirement Age (or age 62 if later). You may elect to have your vested account balance distributed to you as soon as administratively feasible following your termination of employment. (See the question entitled "In what method and form will my benefits be paid to me?" below for an explanation of the method of payment.) If you terminate employment with a vested account balance exceeding $5,000, you may elect to postpone your distribution until your "required beginning date" described below. If your vested account balance does not exceed $5,000, a distribution of your vested account balance will be made to you, regardless of whether you consent to receive it, as soon as administratively feasible following your termination of employment. (See the question entitled "In what method and form will my benefits be paid to me?" below for an explanation of the method of payment.) Amounts in your rollover account will be considered as part of your benefit in determining whether the $5,000 threshold for timing of payments described above has been exceeded as well as for determining if the value of your vested account balance exceeds the $5,000 threshold used to determine whether you must consent to a distribution. Automatic Rollover of Certain Account Balances. If your vested account balance does not exceed $5,000, the Plan will distribute your account without your consent. If the amount of the distribution exceeds $0.01 (including any rollover contribution) and you do not elect to either receive or roll over the distribution, your distribution will be directly rolled over to an IRA. See "Automatic IRA Rollover of Certain Account Balances" in the Article in this SPD entitled "Tax Treatment of Distributions." Distribution on or after Normal Retirement Age (or age 62 if later) If you terminate employment with the Employer and will receive distribution on or after the later of age 62 or Normal Retirement Age, the Plan will distribute your account without your consent. The distribution will occur as soon as administratively feasible at the same time described above for other pre-62/Normal Retirement Age distributions not requiring your consent, but in any event distribution will be made no later than 60 days after the end of the Plan Year in which you terminate employment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if your vested account balance exceeds $5,000 (including rollover contributions), you may elect to postpone your distribution until your "required beginning date" described below. What is Normal Retirement Age and what is the significance of reaching Normal Retirement Age? You will attain your Normal Retirement Age when you reach age 65. You will become 100% vested in all of your accounts under the Plan (assuming you are not already fully vested) if you are employed on or after your Normal Retirement Age. What happens if I terminate employment due to disability? Definition of disability. Under the Plan, disability is defined as a physical or mental condition resulting from bodily injury, disease, or mental disorder which renders you incapable of continuing any gainful occupation and which constitutes total disability under the federal Social Security Act. Payment of benefits. If you terminate employment because you become disabled, you will become 100% vested in all of your accounts under the Plan and the Plan will distribute your account balance in the same manner as for any other non-death related termination. In what method and form will my benefits be paid to me? Termination and distribution before Normal Retirement Age (or age 62 if later) If you terminate employment and will receive a distribution before the later of age 62 or Normal Retirement Age and your vested account balance does not exceed $5,000, then your vested account balance may only be distributed to you in a single lump-sum payment in cash. If you are less than 100% vested in your account balance and have not incurred a forfeiture break in service, then your vested account balance may only be distributed to you in a single lump-sum payment in cash. A forfeiture break in service occurs after five consecutive one-year breaks in service. If you terminate employment and will receive a distribution before the later of age 62 and Normal Retirement Age and your vested account balance exceeds $5,000, you may elect to receive a distribution of your vested account balance in:
a single lump-sum payment in cash
•
• installments over a period of not more than your assumed life expectancy (or the assumed life expectancies of you and your beneficiary)
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• partial distributions. You may request a distribution of some or all of your Plan accounts, at any time following your termination of employment, subject to any reasonable limits regarding timing and amounts as the Plan Administrator may impose. In determining whether your vested account balance exceeds the $5,000 dollar threshold, "rollovers" (and any earnings allocable to "rollover" contributions) will be taken into account. Distribution on or after Normal Retirement Age (or age 62 if later) If you terminate employment and will receive distribution on or following the attainment of the later of age 62 or Normal Retirement Age, and your vested account balance (including rollovers) does not exceed $5,000, you will receive distribution in the form of a single lump- sum payment in cash. If your balance exceeds $5,000, you may elect to receive distribution as described above relating to termination before the later of age 62 and Normal Retirement Age. In determining whether your vested account balance exceeds the $5,000 dollar threshold, "rollovers" (and any earnings allocable to "rollover" contributions) will be taken into account. Required beginning date As described above, you may delay the distribution of your vested account balance. However, if you elect to delay the distribution of your vested account balance, there are rules that require that certain minimum distributions be made from the Plan. If you are a 5% owner, distributions are required to begin not later than the April 1st following the end of the year in which you reach age 70 1/2 (if you were born before July 1, 1949) or age 72 (if you were born after June 30, 1949). If you are not a 5% owner, distributions are required to begin not later than the April 1st following the later of the end of the year in which you reach age 70 1/2 (if you were born before July 1, 1949) or age 72 (if you were born after June 30, 1949) or terminate employment. You should see the Plan Administrator if you think you may be affected by these rules. ARTICLE VIII DISTRIBUTIONS UPON DEATH What happens if I die while working for the Employer? If you die while still employed by the Employer, then 100% of your account balance will be used to provide your beneficiary with a death benefit. Who is the beneficiary of my death benefit? You may designate a beneficiary of your Plan account on a form provided to you for this purpose by the Plan Administrator. If you do not designate a beneficiary, your account will be distributed as described below under "No beneficiary designation." If you are married, your spouse has certain rights to the death benefit. You should immediately report any change in your marital status to the Plan Administrator. Married Participant. If you are married at the time of your death, your spouse will be the beneficiary of the entire death benefit unless you designate in writing a different beneficiary. IF YOU WISH TO DESIGNATE A BENEFICIARY OTHER THAN YOUR SPOUSE, YOUR SPOUSE MUST IRREVOCABLY CONSENT TO WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO THE DEATH BENEFIT. YOUR SPOUSE'S CONSENT MUST BE IN WRITING, BE WITNESSED BY A NOTARY OR A PLAN REPRESENTATIVE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE SPECIFIC NON-SPOUSE BENEFICIARY. Changes to designation. If, with spousal consent as required, you have designated someone other than your spouse as beneficiary and now wish to change your designation, see the Plan Administrator for details. In addition, you may elect a beneficiary other than your spouse without your spouse's consent if your spouse cannot be located. Divorce. A divorce decree automatically revokes your designation of your spouse or former spouse as your beneficiary under the Plan unless a Qualified Domestic Relations Order provides otherwise. You should complete a form to make a new beneficiary designation if a divorce decree is issued. See the Plan Administrator for details if you think you may be affected by this provision. Unmarried Participant. If you are not married, you may designate a beneficiary of your choosing. No beneficiary designation. At the time of your death, if you have not designated a beneficiary or the individual named as your beneficiary is not alive, then the death benefit will be paid in the following order of priority to: First to the Participant's spouse, then to the Participant's estate.
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