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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 4, 2003 Registration No. 333- UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 ________________________________ FORM S-8 ________________________________ REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 GOLD RESERVE INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Canada (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) N/A (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 926 West Sprague Avenue Suite 200 Spokane, Washington (Address of principal executive offices) 99201 (Zip Code) GOLD RESERVE KSOP PLAN (Full title of the plan) ROCKNE J. TIMM 926 West Sprague Avenue, Suite 200 Spokane, Washington 99201 (509) 623-1500 (Name, address and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service) with a copy to: JONATHAN B. NEWTON Baker & McKenzie Pennzoil Place 711 Louisiana, Suite 3400 Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 427-5000 CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEETitle of each class Proposed Proposed of securities to Amount to maximum offering maximum aggregate Amount of be registered (1) be registered price per share (2) offering price (2) registration fee _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Class A Common Shares, no par value 200,000 Shares $5.46 $1,092,000 $88.34 Class A Common Share Purchase Rights 200,000 Rights N/A N/A N/A (3) (1) The Class A Common Shares, no par value per share (the "Class A Common Shares"), of Gold Reserve Inc. (the "Company") being registered hereby relate to the Gold Reerve KSOP Plan (the "Plan"). Pursuant to Rule 416 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), there are also being registered such additional Class A Common Shares and associated Class A Common Share Purchase Rights as may become issuable pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of the Plan. (2) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) and (h) promulgated under the Securities Act on the basis of the average of the high and low per share prices of the Class A Common Shares on December 2, 2003, as reported on the American Stock Exchange. (3) In accordance with Rule 457(g), no additional registration fee is required in respect of the Class A Common Share Purchase Rights. INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE The issuance of the additional 200,000 Class A Common Shares, and Class A Common Share Purchase Rights attaching to such shares, being registered hereby was approved pursuant to the terms of the Plan by the Board of Directors and shareholders of the Company on January 28, 2003 and June 11, 2003, respectively. Pursuant to Instruction E of Form S-8, the contents of the following Registration Statements on Form S-8 of (1) Gold Reserve Corporation, as assumed by the Company as successor issuer, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission: (a) Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration No. 033-61113), as amended; (b) Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration No. 033-58700), as amended; (c) Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration No. 033-69912), as amended; and (d) Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration No. 033-35595); and (2) the Company as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission: (a) Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration No. 333-65250), as amended; (b) Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration No. 333-92587), as amended; and (c) Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Registration No. 333-96917), are incorporated herein by reference. Item 8. Exhibits The following are filed as exhibits to this Registration Statement: Exhibit Number Description 4.1 Gold Reserve KSOP Plan* 4.2 Amendment Number One to Gold Reserve KSOP Plan* 4.3 Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Company, filed November 20, 1998 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 3.1 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Registration No. 333-68061) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 27, 1998) 4.4 Bylaws of the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 3.2 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Registration No. 333-68061) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 27, 1998) 4.5 Shareholder Rights Plan Agreement (as Amended) of the Company (including form of Rights Certificate) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 3 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 2, 2003) 4.6 Form of Certificate for the Class A Common Shares (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Registration No. 333-68061) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 27, 1998) 5.1 Opinion of Austring, Fendrick, Fairman & Parkkari * 23.1 Consent of Austring, Fendrick, Fairman & Parkkari (see Exhibit 5.1)* 23.2 Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP* 24.1 Power of Attorney (included on the signature page of the Registration Statement)* ________________ * Filed herewith. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Spokane, State of Washington, on December 4, 2003. GOLD RESERVE INC. By: /s/ Rockne J. Timm ROCKNE J. TIMM Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer POWER OF ATTORNEY Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated. Each person whose signature appears below hereby authorizes and appoints Rockne J. Timm as his attorney-in-fact to sign on his behalf individually and in the capacity stated below all amendments and post-effective amendments to this Registration Statement as that attorney-in-fact may deem necessary or appropriate. Signature Title Date /s/ Rockne J. Timm ROCKNE J. TIMM Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) December 4, 2003 /s/ Robert A. McGuinness ROBERT A. McGUINNESS Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) December 4, 2003 /s/ A. Douglas Belanger A. DOUGLAS BELANGER Executive Vice President and Director December 4, 2003 /s/ James P. Geyer JAMES P. GEYER Senior Vice President and Director December 4, 2003 /s/ James H. Coleman JAMES H. COLEMAN Director December 4, 2003 /s/ Patrick D. McChesney PATRICK D. McCHESNEY Director December 4, 2003 /s/ Chris D. Mikkelsen CHRIS D. MIKKELSEN Director December 4, 2003 /s/ Jean Charles Potvin JEAN CHARLES POTVIN Director December 4, 2003 EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit Number Description 4.1 Gold Reserve KSOP Plan* 4.2 Amendment Number One to Gold Reserve KSOP Plan* 4.3 Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Company, filed November 20, 1998 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 3.1 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Registration No. 333-68061) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 27, 1998) 4.4 Bylaws of the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 3.2 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Registration No. 333-68061) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 27, 1998) 4.5 Shareholder Rights Plan Agreement (as Amended) of the Company (including form of Rights Certificate) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 3 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 2, 2003) 4.6 Form of Certificate for the Class A Common Shares (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Registration No. 333-68061) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 27, 1998) 5.1 Opinion of Austring, Fendrick, Fairman & Parkkari * 23.1 Consent of Austring, Fendrick, Fairman & Parkkari (see Exhibit 5.1)* 23.2 Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP* 24.1 Power of Attorney (included on the signature page of the Registration Statement)* ________________ * Filed herewith. EXHIBIT 4.1 GOLD RESERVE KSOP Article I DEFINITIONS Article II ADMINISTRATION 2.1 POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EMPLOYER 2.2 DESIGNATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY 2.3 ALLOCATION AND DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES 2.4 POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR 2.5 RECORDS AND REPORTS 2.6 APPOINTMENT OF ADVISERS 2.7 PAYMENT OF EXPENSES 2.8 CLAIMS PROCEDURE 2.9 CLAIMS REVIEW PROCEDURE Article III ELIGIBILITY 3.1 CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY 3.2 EFFECTIVE DATE OF PARTICIPATION 3.3 DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY 3.4 TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY 3.5 OMISSION OF ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE 3.6 INCLUSION OF INELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE 3.7 REHIRED EMPLOYEES 3.8 ELECTION NOT TO PARTICIPATE Article IV CONTRIBUTION AND ALLOCATION 4.1 FORMULA FOR DETERMINING EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION 4.2 PARTICIPANT'S SALARY REDUCTION ELECTION 4.3 TIME OF PAYMENT OF EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION 4.4 ALLOCATION OF CONTRIBUTION AND EARNINGS 4.5 ACTUAL DEFERRAL PERCENTAGE TESTS 4.6 ADJUSTMENT TO ACTUAL DEFERRAL PERCENTAGE TESTS 4.7 ACTUAL CONTRIBUTION PERCENTAGE TESTS 4.8 ADJUSTMENT TO ACTUAL CONTRIBUTION PERCENTAGE TESTS 4.9 MAXIMUM ANNUAL ADDITIONS 4.10 ADJUSTMENT FOR EXCESSIVE ANNUAL ADDITIONS 4.11 ROLLOVERS AND PLAN-TO-PLAN TRANSFERS FROM QUALIFIED PLANS 4.12 DIRECTED INVESTMENT ACCOUNT 4.13 QUALIFIED MILITARY SERVICE Article V FUNDING AND INVESTMENT POLICY 5.1 INVESTMENT POLICY 5.2 APPLICATION OF CASH 5.3 LOANS TO THE TRUST Article VI VALUATIONS 6.1 VALUATION OF THE TRUST FUND 6.2 METHOD OF VALUATION Article VII DETERMINATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS 7.1 DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS UPON RETIREMENT 7.2 DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS UPON DEATH 7.3 DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS IN EVENT OF DISABILITY 7.4 DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS UPON TERMINATION 7.5 DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS 7.6 HOW PLAN BENEFIT WILL BE DISTRIBUTED 7.7 DISTRIBUTION FOR MINOR OR INCOMPETENT BENEFICIARY 7.8 LOCATION OF PARTICIPANT OR BENEFICIARY UNKNOWN 7.9 NONTERMINABLE PROTECTIONS AND RIGHTS 7.10 QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER DISTRIBUTION Article VIII TRUSTEE 8.1 BASIC RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEE 8.2 INVESTMENT POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE TRUSTEE 8.3 OTHER POWERS OF THE TRUSTEE 8.4 LOANS TO PARTICIPANTS 8.5 VOTING COMPANY STOCK 8.6 DUTIES OF THE TRUSTEE REGARDING PAYMENTS 8.7 TRUSTEE'S COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES AND TAXES 8.8 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEE 8.9 AUDIT 8.10 RESIGNATION, REMOVAL AND SUCCESSION OF TRUSTEE 8.11 TRANSFER OF INTEREST 8.12 TRUSTEE INDEMNIFICATION 8.13 DIRECT ROLLOVER Article IX AMENDMENT, TERMINATION AND MERGERS 9.1 AMENDMENT 9.2 TERMINATION 9.3 MERGER, CONSOLIDATION OR TRANSFER OF ASSETS Article X TOP HEAVY 10.1 TOP HEAVY PLAN REQUIREMENTS 10.2 DETERMINATION OF TOP HEAVY STATUS Article XI MISCELLANEOUS 11.1 PARTICIPANT'S RIGHTS 11.2 ALIENATION 11.3 CONSTRUCTION OF PLAN 11.4 GENDER AND NUMBER 11.5 LEGAL ACTION 11.6 PROHIBITION AGAINST DIVERSION OF FUNDS 11.7 EMPLOYER'S AND TRUSTEE'S PROTECTIVE CLAUSE 11.8 INSURER'S PROTECTIVE CLAUSE 11.9 RECEIPT AND RELEASE FOR PAYMENTS 11.10 ACTION BY THE EMPLOYER 11.11 NAMED FIDUCIARIES AND ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILITY 11.12 HEADINGS 11.13 APPROVAL BY INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 11.14 UNIFORMITY 11.15 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION APPROVAL GOLD RESERVE KSOP THIS AGREEMENT, hereby made and entered into this 28th day of January 2002 by and between Gold Reserve Corporation (herein referred to as the "Employer") and Rockne Timm, Douglas Belanger and Robert McGuiness (herein referred to as the "Trustee"). W I T N E S S E T H: WHEREAS, the Employer heretofore established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan effective 1/1/1990, (hereinafter called the "Effective Date") known as Gold Reserve KSOP (herein referred to as the "Plan") in recognition of the contribution made to its successful operation by its employees and for the exclusive benefit of its eligible employees; and WHEREAS, under the terms of the Plan, the Employer has the ability to amend the Plan, provided the Trustee joins in such amendment if the provisions of the Plan affecting the Trustee are amended; WHEREAS, contributions to the Plan will be made by the Employer and such contributions made to the trust will be invested primarily in the capital stock of the Employer; NOW, THEREFORE, effective 1/1/2002, except as otherwise provided, the Employer and the Trustee in accordance with the provisions of the Plan pertaining to amendments thereof, hereby amend the Plan in its entirety and restate the Plan to provide as follows: Article I DEFINITIONS 1.1 "Act" means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as it may be amended from time to time. 1.2 "Administrator" means the Employer unless another person or entity has been designated by the Employer pursuant to Section 2.2 to administer the Plan on behalf of the Employer. 1.3 "Affiliated Employer" means any corporation which is a member of a controlled group of corporations (as defined in Code Section 414(b)) which includes the Employer; any trade or business (whether or not incorporated) which is under common control (as defined in Code Section 414(c)) with the Employer; any organization (whether or not incorporated) which is a member of an affiliated service group (as defined in Code Section 414(m)) which includes the Employer; and any other entity required to be aggregated with the Employer pursuant to Regulations under Code Section 414(o). 1.4 "Aggregate Account" means, with respect to each Participant, the value of all accounts maintained on behalf of a Participant, whether attributable to Employer or Employee contributions, subject to the provisions of Section 10.2. 1.5 "Anniversary Date" means the last day of the Plan Year. 1.6 "Beneficiary" means the person (or entity) to whom the share of a deceased Participant's total account is payable, subject to the restrictions of Sections 7.2 and 7.5. 1.7 "Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended or replaced from time to time. 1.8 "Company Stock" means common stock issued by the Employer (or by a corporation which is a member of the controlled group of corporations of which the Employer is a member) which is readily tradeable on an established securities market. If there is no common stock which meets the foregoing requirement, the term "Company Stock" means common stock issued by the Employer (or by a corporation which is a member of the same controlled group) having a combination of voting power and dividend rights equal to or in excess of: (A) that class of common stock of the Employer (or of any other such corporation) having the greatest voting power, and (B) that class of common stock of the Employer (or of any other such corporation) having the greatest dividend rights. Noncallable preferred stock shall be deemed to be "Company Stock" if such stock is convertible at any time into stock which constitutes "Company Stock" hereunder and if such conversion is at a conversion price which (as of the date of the acquisition by the Trust) is reasonable. For purposes of the preceding sentence, pursuant to Regulations, preferred stock shall be treated as noncallable if after the call there will be a reasonable opportunity for a conversion which meets the requirements of the preceding sentence. 1.9 "Company Stock Account" means the account of a Participant which is credited with the shares of Company Stock purchased and paid for by the Trust Fund or contributed to the Trust Fund. A separate accounting shall be maintained with respect to that portion of the Company Stock Account attributable to Elective Contributions and Non-Elective Contributions. 1.10 "Compensation" with respect to any Participant means such Participant's wages for the Plan Year within the meaning of Code 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 on the nature or location of the employment or the services performed (such as the exception for agricultural labor in Code Section 3401(a)(2)). For purposes of this Section, the determination of Compensation shall be made by: including amounts which are contributed by the Employer pursuant to a salary reduction agreement and which are not includible in the gross income of the Participant under Code Sections 125, 132(f)(4) for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 2000, 402(e)(3), 402(h)(1)(B), 403(b) or 457(b), and Employee contributions described in Code Section 414(h)(2) that are treated as Employer contributions. For a Participant's initial year of participation, Compensation shall be recognized as of such Employee's effective date of participation pursuant to Section 3.2. Compensation in excess of $150,000 (or such other amount provided in the Code) shall be disregarded for all purposes other than for purposes of salary deferral elections pursuant to Section 4.2. Such amount shall be adjusted for increases in the cost of living in accordance with Code Section 401(a)(17)(B), except that the dollar increase in effect on January 1 of any calendar year shall be effective for the Plan Year beginning with or within such calendar year. For any short Plan Year the Compensation limit shall be an amount equal to the Compensation limit for the calendar year in which the Plan Year begins multiplied by the ratio obtained by dividing the number of full months in the short Plan Year by twelve (12). For Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, for purposes of determining Compensation, the family member aggregation rules of Code Section 401(a)(17) and Code Section 414(q)(6) (as in effect prior to the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996) are eliminated. If any class of Employees is excluded from the Plan, then Compensation for any Employee who becomes eligible or ceases to be eligible to participate during a Plan Year shall only include Compensation while the Employee is an Eligible Employee. 1.11 "Contract" or "Policy" means any life insurance policy, retirement income policy or annuity policy (group or individual) issued pursuant to the terms of the Plan. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Plan and the terms of any contract purchased hereunder, the Plan provisions shall control. 1.12 "Current Obligations" means Trust obligations arising from extension of credit to the Trust and payable in cash within (1) year from the date an Employer contribution is due. 1.13 "Deferred Compensation" with respect to any Participant means the amount of the Participant's total Compensation which has been contributed to the Plan in accordance with the Participant's deferral election pursuant to Section 4.2 excluding any such amounts distributed as excess "annual additions" pursuant to Section 4.10. 1.14 "Early Retirement Date." This Plan does not provide for a retirement date prior to Normal Retirement Date. 1.15 "Elective Contribution" means the Employer contributions to the Plan of Deferred Compensation excluding any such amounts distributed as excess "annual additions" pursuant to Section 4.10. In addition, the Employer contribution made pursuant to Section 4.1(b) which is used to satisfy the safe harbor methods permitted by Code Sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11) and any Employer Qualified Non-Elective Contribution made pursuant to Section 4.1(d) and Section 4.6(b) which is used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests shall be considered an Elective Contribution for purposes of the Plan. Any contributions deemed to be Elective Contributions (whether or not used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests or the "Actual Contribution Percentage" tests) shall be subject to the requirements of Sections 4.2(b) and 4.2(c) and shall further be required to satisfy the nondiscrimination requirements of Regulation 1.401(k)-1(b)(5) and Regulation 1.401(m)-1(b)(5), the provisions of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference. 1.16 "Eligible Employee" means any Employee. Employees whose employment is governed by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between Employee representatives (within the meaning of Code Section 7701(a)(46)) and the Employer under which retirement benefits were the subject of good faith bargaining between the parties will not be eligible to participate in this Plan unless such agreement expressly provides for coverage in this Plan. Employees who are nonresident aliens (within the meaning of Code Section 7701(b)(1)(B)) and who receive no earned income (within the meaning of Code Section 911(d)(2)) from the Employer which constitutes income from sources within the United States (within the meaning of Code Section 861(a)(3)) shall not be eligible to participate in this Plan. Employees of Affiliated Employers shall not be eligible to participate in this Plan unless such Affiliated Employers have specifically adopted this Plan in writing. Employees classified by the Employer as independent contractors who are subsequently determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be Employees shall not be Eligible Employees. 1.17 "Employee" means any person who is employed by the Employer or Affiliated Employer, and excludes any person who is employed as an independent contractor. Employee shall include Leased Employees within the meaning of Code Sections 414(n)(2) and 414(o)(2) unless such Leased Employees are covered by a plan described in Code Section 414(n)(5) and such Leased Employees do not constitute more than 20% of the recipient's non-highly compensated work force. 1.18 "Employer" means Gold Reserve Corporation and any successor which shall maintain this Plan; and any predecessor which has maintained this Plan. The Employer is a corporation with principal offices in the State of Washington. 1.19 "Excess Aggregate Contributions" means, with respect to any Plan Year, the excess of the aggregate amount of the Employer matching contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(b) (to the extent such matching contributions are not used to satisfy the safe harbor methods permitted by Code Sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11)), Employer matching contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(c) and any qualified non-elective contributions or elective deferrals taken into account pursuant to Section 4.7(c) on behalf of Highly Compensated Participants for such Plan Year, over the maximum amount of such contributions permitted under the limitations of Section 4.7(a) (determined by hypothetically reducing contributions made on behalf of Highly Compensated Participants in order of the actual contribution ratios beginning with the highest of such ratios). Such determination shall be made after first taking into account corrections of any Excess Deferred Compensation pursuant to Section 4.2 and taking into account any adjustments of any Excess Contributions pursuant to Section 4.6. 1.20 "Excess Contributions" means, with respect to a Plan Year, the excess of Elective Contributions used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests made on behalf of Highly Compensated Participants for the Plan Year over the maximum amount of such contributions permitted under Section 4.5(a) (determined by hypothetically reducing contributions made on behalf of Highly Compensated Participants in order of the actual deferral ratios beginning with the highest of such ratios). Excess Contributions shall be treated as an "annual addition" pursuant to Section 4.9(b). 1.21 "Excess Deferred Compensation" means, with respect to any taxable year of a Participant, the excess of the aggregate amount of such Participant's Deferred Compensation and the elective deferrals pursuant to Section 4.2(f) actually made on behalf of such Participant for such taxable year, over the dollar limitation provided for in Code Section 402(g), which is incorporated herein by reference. Excess Deferred Compensation shall be treated as an "annual addition" pursuant to Section 4.9(b) when contributed to the Plan unless distributed to the affected Participant not later than the first April 15th following the close of the Participant's taxable year. Additionally, for purposes of Sections 10.2 and 4.4(i), Excess Deferred Compensation shall continue to be treated as Employer contributions even if distributed pursuant to Section 4.2(f). However, Excess Deferred Compensation of Non-Highly Compensated Participants is not taken into account for purposes of Section 4.5(a) to the extent such Excess Deferred Compensation occurs pursuant to Section 4.2(d). 1.22 "ESOP" means an employee stock ownership plan that meets the requirements of Code Section 4975(e)(7) and Regulation 54.4975-11. 1.23 "Exempt Loan" means a loan made to the Plan by a disqualified person or a loan to the Plan which is guaranteed by a disqualified person and which satisfies the requirements of Section 2550.408b-3 of the Department of Labor Regulations, Section 54.4975-7(b) of the Treasury Regulations and Section 5.3 hereof. 1.24 "Fiduciary" means any person who (a) exercises any discretionary authority or discretionary control respecting management of the Plan or exercises any authority or control respecting management or disposition of its assets, (b) renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation, direct or indirect, with respect to any monies or other property of the Plan or has any authority or responsibility to do so, or (c) has any discretionary authority or discretionary responsibility in the administration of the Plan. 1.25 "Fiscal Year" means the Employer's accounting year of 12 months commencing on 1/1 of each year and ending the following 12/31. 1.26 "Forfeiture." Under this Plan, Participant accounts are 100% Vested at all times. Any amounts that may otherwise be forfeited under the Plan pursuant to Sections 3.6, 4.2(f), 4.6(a) or 7.8 shall be used to reduce the contribution of the Employer. 1.27 "Former Participant" means a person who has been a Participant, but who has ceased to be a Participant for any reason. 1.28 "415 Compensation" with respect to any Participant means such Participant's wages for the Plan Year within the meaning of Code 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 on the nature or location of the employment or the services performed (such as the exception for agricultural labor in Code Section 3401(a)(2)). For "limitation years" beginning after December 31, 1997, for purposes of this Section, the determination of "415 Compensation" shall include any elective deferral (as defined in Code Section 401(g)(3)), and any amount which is contributed or deferred by the Employer at the election of the Participant and which is not includible in the gross income of the Participant by reason of Code Sections 125, 132(f)(4) for "limitation years" beginning after December 31, 2000 and 457. 1.29 "414(s) Compensation" means any definition of compensation that satisfies the nondiscrimination requirements of Code Section 414(s) and the Regulations thereunder. The period for determining 414(s) Compensation must be either the Plan Year or the calendar year ending with or within the Plan Year. An Employer may further limit the period taken into account to that part of the Plan Year or calendar year in which an Employee was a Participant in the component of the Plan being tested. The period used to determine 414(s) Compensation must be applied uniformly to all Participants for the Plan Year. For Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, for purposes of this Section, the family member aggregation rules of Code Section 414(q)(6) (as in effect prior to the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996) are eliminated. 1.30 "Highly Compensated Employee" means, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, an Employee described in Code Section 414(q) and the Regulations thereunder, and generally means any Employee who: (a) was a "five percent owner" as defined in Section 1.35(c) at any time during the "determination year" or the "look-back year"; or (b) for the "look-back year" had "415 Compensation" from the Employer in excess of $80,000. The $80,000 amount is adjusted at the same time and in the same manner as under Code Section 415(d), except that the base period is the calendar quarter ending September 30, 1996. The "determination year" means the Plan Year for which testing is being performed, and the "look back year" means the immediately preceding twelve (12) month period. A highly compensated former Employee is based on the rules applicable to determining Highly Compensated Employee status as in effect for the "determination year," in accordance with Regulation 1.414(q)-1T, A-4 and IRS Notice 97-45 (or any superseding guidance). In determining whether an Employee is a Highly Compensated Employee for a Plan Year beginning in 1997, the amendments to Code Section 414(q) stated above are treated as having been in effect for years beginning in 1996. For purposes of this Section, for Plan Years beginning prior to January 1, 1998, the determination of "415 Compensation" shall be made by including amounts that would otherwise be excluded from a Participant's gross income by reason of the application of Code Sections 125, 402(e)(3), 402(h)(1)(B) and, in the case of Employer contributions made pursuant to a salary reduction agreement, Code Section 403(b). In determining who is a Highly Compensated Employee, Employees who are non-resident aliens and who received no earned income (within the meaning of Code Section 911(d)(2)) from the Employer constituting United States source income within the meaning of Code Section 861(a)(3) shall not be treated as Employees. Additionally, all Affiliated Employers shall be taken into account as a single employer and Leased Employees within the meaning of Code Sections 414(n)(2) and 414(o)(2) shall be considered Employees unless such Leased Employees are covered by a plan described in Code Section 414(n)(5) and are not covered in any qualified plan maintained by the Employer. The exclusion of Leased Employees for this purpose shall be applied on a uniform and consistent basis for all of the Employer's retirement plans. Highly Compensated Former Employees shall be treated as Highly Compensated Employees without regard to whether they performed services during the "determination year." 1.31 "Highly Compensated Participant" means any Highly Compensated Employee who is eligible to participate in the component of the Plan being tested. 1.32 "Hour of Service" means (1) each hour for which an Employee is directly or indirectly compensated or entitled to compensation by the Employer for the performance of duties (these hours will be credited to the Employee for the computation period in which the duties are performed); (2) each hour for which an Employee is directly or indirectly compensated or entitled to compensation by the Employer (irrespective of whether the employment relationship has terminated) for reasons other than performance of duties (such as vacation, holidays, sickness, jury duty, disability, lay-off, military duty or leave of absence) during the applicable computation period (these hours will be calculated and credited pursuant to Department of Labor regulation 2530.200b-2 which is incorporated herein by reference); (3) each hour for which back pay is awarded or agreed to by the Employer without regard to mitigation of damages (these hours will be credited to the Employee for the computation period or periods to which the award or agreement pertains rather than the computation period in which the award, agreement or payment is made). The same Hours of Service shall not be credited both under (1) or (2), as the case may be, and under (3). Notwithstanding (2) above, (i) no more than 501 Hours of Service are required to be credited 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); (ii) an hour for which an Employee is directly or indirectly paid, or entitled to payment, on account of a period during which no duties are performed is not required to be credited to the Employee if such payment is made or due under a plan maintained solely for the purpose of complying with applicable worker's compensation, or unemployment compensation or disability insurance laws; and (iii) Hours of Service are not required to be credited for a payment which solely reimburses an Employee for medical or medically related expenses incurred by the Employee. For purposes of (2) above, a payment shall be deemed to be made by or due from the Employer regardless of whether such payment is made by or due from the Employer directly, or indirectly through, among others, a trust fund, or insurer, to which the Employer contributes or pays premiums and regardless of whether contributions made or due to the trust fund, insurer, or other entity are for the benefit of particular Employees or are on behalf of a group of Employees in the aggregate. For purposes of this Section, Hours of Service will be credited for employment with other Affiliated Employers. The provisions of Department of Labor regulations 2530.200b-2(b) and (c) are incorporated herein by reference. 1.33 "Income" means the income or losses allocable to Excess Deferred Compensation, Excess Contributions or Excess Aggregate Contributions which amount shall be allocated in the same manner as income or losses are allocated pursuant to Section 4.4(d). 1.34 "Investment Manager" means an entity that (a) has the power to manage, acquire, or dispose of Plan assets and (b) acknowledges fiduciary responsibility to the Plan in writing. Such entity must be a person, firm, or corporation registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, a bank, or an insurance company. 1.35 "Key Employee" means an Employee as defined in Code Section 416(i) and the Regulations thereunder. Generally, any Employee or former Employee (as well as each of the Employee's or former Employee's Beneficiaries) is considered a Key Employee if the Employee's or former Employee's, at any time during the Plan Year that contains the "Determination Date" or any of the preceding four (4) Plan Years, has been included in one of the following categories: (a) an officer of the Employer (as that term is defined within the meaning of the Regulations under Code Section 416) having annual "415 Compensation" greater than 50 percent of the amount in effect under Code Section 415(b)(1)(A) for any such Plan Year. (b) one of the ten employees having annual "415 Compensation" from the Employer for a Plan Year greater than the dollar limitation in effect under Code Section 415(c)(1)(A) for the calendar year in which such Plan Year ends and owning (or considered as owning within the meaning of Code Section 318) both more than one-half percent interest and the largest interests in the Employer. (c) a "five percent owner" of the Employer. "Five percent owner" means any person who owns (or is considered as owning within the meaning of Code Section 318) more than five percent (5%) of the outstanding stock of the Employer or stock possessing more than five percent (5%) of the total combined voting power of all stock of the Employer or, in the case of an unincorporated business, any person who owns more than five percent (5%) of the capital or profits interest in the Employer. In determining percentage ownership hereunder, employers that would otherwise be aggregated under Code Sections 414(b), (c), (m) and (o) shall be treated as separate employers. (d) a "one percent owner" of the Employer having an annual "415 Compensation" from the Employer of more than $150,000. "One percent owner" means any person who owns (or is considered as owning within the meaning of Code Section 318) more than one percent (1%) of the outstanding stock of the Employer or stock possessing more than one percent (1%) of the total combined voting power of all stock of the Employer or, in the case of an unincorporated business, any person who owns more than one percent (1%) of the capital or profits interest in the Employer. In determining percentage ownership hereunder, employers that would otherwise be aggregated under Code Sections 414(b), (c), (m) and (o) shall be treated as separate employers. However, in determining whether an individual has "415 Compensation" of more than $150,000, "415 Compensation" from each employer required to be aggregated under Code Sections 414(b), (c), (m) and (o) shall be taken into account. For purposes of this Section, the determination of "415 Compensation" shall be made by including amounts which are contributed by the Employer pursuant to a salary reduction agreement and which are not includible in the gross income of the Participant under Code Sections 125, 132(f)(4) for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 2000, 402(e)(3), 402(h)(1)(B), 403(b) or 457(b), and Employee contributions described in Code Section 414(h)(2) that are treated as Employer contributions. 1.36 "Late Retirement Date" means a Participant's actual Retirement Date after having reached Normal Retirement Date. 1.37 "Leased Employee" means, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, any person (other than an Employee of the recipient Employer) who pursuant to an agreement between the recipient Employer and any other person or entity ("leasing organization") has performed services for the recipient (or for the recipient and related persons determined in accordance with Code Section 414(n)(6)) on a substantially full time basis for a period of at least one year, and such services are performed under primary direction or control by the recipient Employer. Contributions or benefits provided a Leased Employee by the leasing organization which are attributable to services performed for the recipient Employer shall be treated as provided by the recipient Employer. Furthermore, Compensation for a Leased Employee shall only include Compensation from the leasing organization that is attributable to services performed for the recipient Employer. A Leased Employee shall not be considered an Employee of the recipient Employer: (a) if such employee is covered by a money purchase pension plan providing: (1) a nonintegrated employer contribution rate of at least 10% of compensation, as defined in Code Section 415(c)(3), but for Plan Years beginning prior to January 1, 1998, including amounts which are contributed by the Employer pursuant to a salary reduction agreement and which are not includible in the gross income of the Participant under Code Sections 125, 402(e)(3), 402(h)(1)(B), 403(b) or 457(b), and Employee contributions described in Code Section 414(h)(2) that are treated as Employer contributions, and for Plan Years beginning prior to January 1, 2001, excluding amounts that are not includible in gross income under Code Section 132(f)(4); (2) immediate participation; (3) full and immediate vesting; and (4) if Leased Employees do not constitute more than 20% of the recipient Employer's nonhighly compensated work force. 1.38 "Non-Elective Contribution" means the Employer contributions to the Plan excluding, however, contributions made pursuant to the Participant's deferral election provided for in Section 4.2, matching contributions or nonelective contributions (which are used to satisfy the safe harbor methods permitted by Code Sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11)) made pursuant to Section 4.1(b) and any Qualified Non-Elective Contribution used in the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests. 1.39 "Non-Highly Compensated Participant" means, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, any Participant who is not a Highly Compensated Employee. However, for purposes of Section 4.5 and Section 4.7, if the prior year testing method is used, a Non-Highly Compensated Participant shall be determined using the definition of Highly Compensated Employee in effect for the preceding Plan Year. 1.40 "Non-Key Employee" means any Employee or former Employee (and such Employee's or former Employee's Beneficiaries) who is not, and has never been, a Key Employee. 1.41 "Normal Retirement Age" means the Participant's birthday. A Participant shall become fully Vested in the Participant's Account upon attaining Normal Retirement Age. 1.42 "Normal Retirement Date" means the Participant's Normal Retirement Age. 1.43 "1-Year Break in Service" means the applicable computation period during which an Employee has not completed more than 500 Hours of Service with the Employer. Further, solely for the purpose of determining whether a Participant has incurred a 1-Year Break in Service, Hours of Service shall be recognized for "authorized leaves of absence" and "maternity and paternity leaves of absence." Years of Service and 1-Year Breaks in Service shall be measured on the same computation period. "Authorized leave of absence" means an unpaid, temporary cessation from active employment with the Employer pursuant to an established nondiscriminatory policy, whether occasioned by illness, military service, or any other reason. A "maternity or paternity leave of absence" means an absence from work for any period by reason of the Employee's pregnancy, birth of the Employee's child, placement of a child with the Employee in connection with the adoption of such child, or any absence for the purpose of caring for such child for a period immediately following such birth or placement. For this purpose, Hours of Service shall be credited for the computation period in which the absence from work begins, only if credit therefore is necessary to prevent the Employee from incurring a 1-Year Break in Service, or, in any other case, in the immediately following computation period. The Hours of Service credited for a "maternity or paternity leave of absence" shall be those which would normally have been credited but for such absence, or, in any case in which the Administrator is unable to determine such hours normally credited, eight (8) Hours of Service per day. The total Hours of Service required to be credited for a "maternity or paternity leave of absence" shall not exceed the number of Hours of Service needed to prevent the Employee from incurring a 1-Year Break in Service. 1.44 "Other Investments Account" means the account of a Participant which is credited with such Participant's share of the net gain (or loss) of the Plan and Employer contributions in other than Company Stock and which is debited with payments made to pay for Company Stock. A separate accounting shall be maintained with respect to that portion of the Other Investments Account attributable to Elective Contributions and Non-Elective Contributions. 1.45 "Participant" means any Eligible Employee who participates in the Plan and has not for any reason become ineligible to participate further in the Plan. 1.46 "Participant Direction Procedures" means such instructions, guidelines or policies, the terms of which are incorporated herein, as shall be established pursuant to Section 4.12 and observed by the Administrator and applied to Participants who have Participant Directed Accounts. 1.47 "Participant's Account" means the account established and maintained by the Administrator for each Participant with respect to such Participant's total interest in the Plan and Trust resulting from the Employer Non-Elective Contributions. A separate accounting shall be maintained with respect to that portion of the Participant's Account attributable to Employer matching contributions and nonelective contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(b), Employer matching contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(c), Employer discretionary contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(e) and any Employer Qualified Non-Elective Contributions. 1.48 "Participant's Combined Account" means the total aggregate amount of each Participant's Elective Account and Participant's Account. 1.49 "Participant's Directed Account" means that portion of a Participant's interest in the Plan with respect to which the Participant has directed the investment in accordance with the Participant Direction Procedure. 1.50 "Participant's Elective Account" means the account established and maintained by the Administrator for each Participant with respect to the Participant's total interest in the Plan and Trust resulting from the Employer Elective Contributions used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests. A separate accounting shall be maintained with respect to that portion of the Participant's Elective Account attributable to such Elective Contributions pursuant to Section 4.2, Employer matching contributions and nonelective contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(b) and any Employer Qualified Non-Elective Contributions. 1.51 "Participant's Transfer/Rollover Account" means the account established and maintained by the Administrator for each Participant with respect to the Participant's total interest in the Plan resulting from amounts transferred to this Plan from a direct plan-to-plan transfer and/or with respect to such Participant's interest in the Plan resulting from amounts transferred from another qualified plan or "conduit" Individual Retirement Account in accordance with Section 4.11. A separate accounting shall be maintained with respect to that portion of the Participant's Transfer/Rollover Account attributable to transfers (within the meaning of Code Section 414(l)) and "rollovers." 1.52 "Plan" means this instrument, including all amendments thereto. 1.53 "Plan Year" means the Plan's accounting year of twelve (12) months commencing on 1/1 of each year and ending the following 12/31. 1.54 "Qualified Non-Elective Contribution" means any Employer contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(d) and Section 4.6(b) and Section 4.8(f). Such contributions shall be considered an Elective Contribution for the purposes of the Plan and may be used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests or the "Actual Contribution Percentage" tests. 1.55 "Regulation" means the Income Tax Regulations as promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury or a delegate of the Secretary of the Treasury, and as amended from time to time. 1.56 "Retired Participant" means a person who has been a Participant, but who has become entitled to retirement benefits under the Plan. 1.57 "Retirement Date" means the date as of which a Participant retires for reasons other than Total and Permanent Disability, whether such retirement occurs on a Participant's Normal Retirement Date or Late Retirement Date (see Section 7.1). 1.58 "Terminated Participant" means a person who has been a Participant, but whose employment has been terminated other than by death, Total and Permanent Disability or retirement. 1.59 "Top Heavy Plan" means a plan described in Section 10.2(a). 1.60 "Top Heavy Plan Year" means a Plan Year during which the Plan is a Top Heavy Plan. 1.61 "Total and Permanent Disability" means a physical or mental condition of a Participant resulting from bodily injury, disease, or mental disorder which renders such Participant incapable of continuing usual and customary employment with the Employer. The disability of a Participant shall be determined by a licensed physician chosen by the Administrator. The determination shall be applied uniformly to all Participants. 1.62 "Trustee" means the person or entity named as trustee herein or in any separate trust forming a part of this Plan, and any successors. 1.63 "Trust Fund" means the assets of the Plan and Trust as the same shall exist from time to time. 1.64 "Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account" means an account containing Company Stock acquired with the proceeds of an Exempt Loan and which has not been released from such account and allocated to the Participants' Company Stock Accounts. 1.65 "Valuation Date" means the Anniversary Date and may include any other date or dates deemed necessary or appropriate by the Administrator for the valuation of the Participant's accounts during the Plan Year, which may include any day that the Trustee, any transfer agent appointed by the Trustee or the Employer or any stock exchange used by such agent, are open for business. 1.66 "Vested" means the nonforfeitable portion of any account maintained on behalf of a Participant. 1.67 "Year of Service" means the computation period of twelve (12) consecutive months, herein set forth, during which an Employee has at least 1000 Hours of Service. For purposes of eligibility for participation, the initial computation period shall begin with the date on which the Employee first performs an Hour of Service. The participation computation period beginning after a 1-Year Break in Service shall be measured from the date on which an Employee again performs an Hour of Service. The participation computation period shall shift to the Plan Year which includes the anniversary of the date on which the Employee first performed an Hour of Service. An Employee who is credited with the required Hours of Service in both the initial computation period (or the computation period beginning after a 1-Year Break in Service) and the Plan Year which includes the anniversary of the date on which the Employee first performed an Hour of Service, shall be credited with two (2) Years of Service for purposes of eligibility to participate. The computation period shall be the Plan Year if not otherwise set forth herein. Notwithstanding the foregoing, for any short Plan Year, the determination of whether an Employee has completed a Year of Service shall be made in accordance with Department of Labor regulation 2530.203-2(c). However, in determining whether an Employee has completed a Year of Service for benefit accrual purposes in the short Plan Year, the number of the Hours of Service required shall be proportionately reduced based on the number of full months in the short Plan Year. Years of Service with any Affiliated Employer shall be recognized. Article II ADMINISTRATION 2.1 POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EMPLOYER (a) In addition to the general powers and responsibilities otherwise provided for in this Plan, the Employer shall be empowered to appoint and remove the Trustee and the Administrator from time to time as it deems necessary for the proper administration of the Plan to ensure that the Plan is being operated for the exclusive benefit of the Participants and their Beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of the Plan, the Code, and the Act. The Employer may appoint counsel, specialists, advisers, agents (including any nonfiduciary agent) and other persons as the Employer deems necessary or desirable in connection with the exercise of its fiduciary duties under this Plan. The Employer may compensate such agents or advisers from the assets of the Plan as fiduciary expenses (but not including any business (settlor) expenses of the Employer), to the extent not paid by the Employer. (b) The Employer shall establish a "funding policy and method," i.e., it shall determine whether the Plan has a short run need for liquidity (e.g., to pay benefits) or whether liquidity is a long run goal and investment growth (and stability of same) is a more current need, or shall appoint a qualified person to do so. The Employer or its delegate shall communicate such needs and goals to the Trustee, who shall coordinate such Plan needs with its investment policy. The communication of such a "funding policy and method" shall not, however, constitute a directive to the Trustee as to the investment of the Trust Funds. Such "funding policy and method" shall be consistent with the objectives of this Plan and with the requirements of Title I of the Act. (c) The Employer shall periodically review the performance of any Fiduciary or other person to whom duties have been delegated or allocated by it under the provisions of this Plan or pursuant to procedures established hereunder. This requirement may be satisfied by formal periodic review by the Employer or by a qualified person specifically designated by the Employer, through day-to-day conduct and evaluation, or through other appropriate ways. (d) The Employer will furnish Plan Fiduciaries and Participants with notices and information statements when voting rights must be exercised pursuant to Section 8.5. 2.2 DESIGNATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY The Employer shall be the Administrator. The Employer may appoint any person, including, but not limited to, the Employees of the Employer, to perform the duties of the Administrator. Any person so appointed shall signify acceptance by filing written acceptance with the Employer. Upon the resignation or removal of any individual performing the duties of the Administrator, the Employer may designate a successor. 2.3 ALLOCATION AND DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES If more than one person is appointed as Administrator, the responsibilities of each Administrator may be specified by the Employer and accepted in writing by each Administrator. In the event that no such delegation is made by the Employer, the Administrators may allocate the responsibilities among themselves, in which event the Administrators shall notify the Employer and the Trustee in writing of such action and specify the responsibilities of each Administrator. The Trustee thereafter shall accept and rely upon any documents executed by the appropriate Administrator until such time as the Employer or the Administrators file with the Trustee a written revocation of such designation. 2.4 POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR The primary responsibility of the Administrator is to administer the Plan for the exclusive benefit of the Participants and their Beneficiaries, subject to the specific terms of the Plan. The Administrator shall administer the Plan in accordance with its terms and shall have the power and discretion to construe the terms of the Plan and to determine all questions arising in connection with the administration, interpretation, and application of the Plan. Any such determination by the Administrator shall be conclusive and binding upon all persons. The Administrator may establish procedures, correct any defect, supply any information, or reconcile any inconsistency in such manner and to such extent as shall be deemed necessary or advisable to carry out the purpose of the Plan; provided, however, that any procedure, discretionary act, interpretation or construction shall be done in a nondiscriminatory manner based upon uniform principles consistently applied and shall be consistent with the intent that the Plan shall continue to be deemed a qualified plan under the terms of Code Section 401(a), and shall comply with the terms of the Act and all regulations issued pursuant thereto. The Administrator shall have all powers necessary or appropriate to accomplish the Administrator's duties under the Plan. The Administrator shall be charged with the duties of the general administration of the Plan as set forth under the terms of the Plan, including, but not limited to, the following: (b) the discretion to determine all questions relating to the eligibility of Employees to participate or remain a Participant hereunder and to receive benefits under the Plan; (c) to compute, certify, and direct the Trustee with respect to the amount and the kind of benefits to which any Participant shall be entitled hereunder; (d) to authorize and direct the Trustee with respect to all nondiscretionary or otherwise directed disbursements from the Trust; (e) to maintain all necessary records for the administration of the Plan; (f) to interpret the provisions of the Plan and to make and publish such rules for regulation of the Plan as are consistent with the terms hereof; (g) to determine the size and type of any Contract to be purchased from any insurer, and to designate the insurer from which such Contract shall be purchased; (h) to compute and certify to the Employer and to the Trustee from time to time the sums of money necessary or desirable to be contributed to the Plan; (i) to consult with the Employer and the Trustee regarding the short and long-term liquidity needs of the Plan in order that the Trustee can exercise any investment discretion in a manner designed to accomplish specific objectives; (j) to prepare and implement a procedure to notify Eligible Employees that they may elect to have a portion of their Compensation deferred or paid to them in cash; (k) to establish and communicate to Participants a procedure for allowing each Participant to direct the Trustee as to the distribution of such Participant's Company Stock Account pursuant to Section 4.12; (l) to establish and communicate to Participants a procedure and method to insure that each Participant will vote Company Stock allocated to such Participant's Company Stock Account pursuant to Section 8.5; (m) to determine the validity of, and take appropriate action with respect to, any qualified domestic relations order received by it; and (n) to assist any Participant regarding the Participant's rights, benefits, or elections available under the Plan. 2.5 RECORDS AND REPORTS The Administrator shall keep a record of all actions taken and shall keep all other books of account, records, policies, and other data that may be necessary for proper administration of the Plan and shall be responsible for supplying all information and reports to the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, Participants, Beneficiaries and others as required by law. 2.6 APPOINTMENT OF ADVISERS The Administrator, or the Trustee with the consent of the Administrator, may appoint counsel, specialists, advisers, agents (including nonfiduciary agents) and other persons as the Administrator or the Trustee deems necessary or desirable in connection with the administration of this Plan, including but not limited to agents and advisers to assist with the administration and management of the Plan, and thereby to provide, among such other duties as the Administrator may appoint, assistance with maintaining Plan records and the providing of investment information to the Plan's investment fiduciaries and to Plan Participants. 2.7 PAYMENT OF EXPENSES All expenses of administration may be paid out of the Trust Fund unless paid by the Employer. Such expenses shall include any expenses incident to the functioning of the Administrator, or any person or persons retained or appointed by any Named Fiduciary incident to the exercise of their duties under the Plan, including, but not limited to, fees of accountants, counsel, Investment Managers, agents (including nonfiduciary agents) appointed for the purpose of assisting the Administrator or the Trustee in carrying out the instructions of Participants as to the directed investment of their accounts and other specialists and their agents, the costs of any bonds required pursuant to Act Section 412, and other costs of administering the Plan. Until paid, the expenses shall constitute a liability of the Trust Fund. 2.8 CLAIMS PROCEDURE Claims for benefits under the Plan may be filed in writing with the Administrator. Written notice of the disposition of a claim shall be furnished to the claimant within 90 days after the application is filed, or such period as is required by applicable law or Department of Labor regulation. In the event the claim is denied, the reasons for the denial shall be specifically set forth in the notice in language calculated to be understood by the claimant, pertinent provisions of the Plan shall be cited, and, where appropriate, an explanation as to how the claimant can perfect the claim will be provided. In addition, the claimant shall be furnished with an explanation of the Plan's claims review procedure. 2.9 CLAIMS REVIEW PROCEDURE Any Employee, former Employee, or Beneficiary of either, who has been denied a benefit by a decision of the Administrator pursuant to Section 2.8 shall be entitled to request the Administrator to give further consideration to a claim by filing with the Administrator a written request for a hearing. Such request, together with a written statement of the reasons why the claimant believes the claim should be allowed, shall be filed with the Administrator no later than sixty (60) days after receipt of the written notification provided for in Section 2.8. The Administrator shall then conduct a hearing within the next sixty (60) days, at which the claimant may be represented by an attorney or any other representative of such claimant's choosing and expense and at which the claimant shall have an opportunity to submit written and oral evidence and arguments in support of the claim. At the hearing (or prior thereto upon five (5) business days written notice to the Administrator) the claimant or the claimant's representative shall have an opportunity to review all documents in the possession of the Administrator which are pertinent to the claim at issue and its disallowance. Either the claimant or the Administrator may cause a court reporter to attend the hearing and record the proceedings. In such event, a complete written transcript of the proceedings shall be furnished to both parties by the court reporter. The full expense of any such court reporter and such transcripts shall be borne by the party causing the court reporter to attend the hearing. A final decision as to the allowance of the claim shall be made by the Administrator within sixty (60) days of receipt of the appeal (unless there has been an extension of sixty (60) days due to special circumstances, provided the delay and the special circumstances occasioning it are communicated to the claimant within the sixty (60) day period). Such communication shall be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the claimant and shall include specific reasons for the decision and specific references to the pertinent Plan provisions on which the decision is based. Article III ELIGIBILITY 3.1 CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY Any Eligible Employee who has completed one (1) Year of Service shall be eligible to participate hereunder as of the date such Employee has satisfied such requirements. However, any Employee who was a Participant in the Plan prior to the effective date of this amendment and restatement shall continue to participate in the Plan. 3.2 EFFECTIVE DATE OF PARTICIPATION An Eligible Employee shall become a Participant effective as of the first day of the Plan Year quarter coinciding with or next following the date such Employee met the eligibility requirements of Section 3.1, provided said Employee was still employed as of such date (or if not employed on such date, as of the date of rehire if a 1-Year Break in Service has not occurred or, if later, the date that the Employee would have otherwise entered the Plan had the Employee not terminated employment). If an Employee, who has satisfied the Plan's eligibility requirements and would otherwise have become a Participant, shall go from a classification of a noneligible Employee to an Eligible Employee, such Employee shall become a Participant on the date such Employee becomes an Eligible Employee or, if later, the date that the Employee would have otherwise entered the Plan had the Employee always been an Eligible Employee. If an Employee, who has satisfied the Plan's eligibility requirements and would otherwise become a Participant, shall go from a classification of an Eligible Employee to a noneligible class of Employees, such Employee shall become a Participant in the Plan on the date such Employee again becomes an Eligible Employee, or , if later, the date that the Employee would have otherwise entered the Plan had the Employee always been an Eligible Employee. 3.3 DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY The Administrator shall determine the eligibility of each Employee for participation in the Plan based upon information furnished by the Employer. Such determination shall be conclusive and binding upon all persons, as long as the same is made pursuant to the Plan and the Act. Such determination shall be subject to review pursuant to Section. 3.4 TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY In the event a Participant shall go from a classification of an Eligible Employee to an ineligible Employee, such Former Participant shall continue to vest in the Plan for each Year of Service completed while a noneligible Employee, until such time as the Participant's Account shall be forfeited or distributed pursuant to the terms of the Plan. Additionally, the Former Participant's interest in the Plan shall continue to share in the earnings of the Trust Fund. 3.5 OMISSION OF ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE If, in any Plan Year, any Employee who should be included as a Participant in the Plan is erroneously omitted and discovery of such omission is not made until after a contribution by the Employer for the year has been made and allocated, then the Employer shall make a subsequent contribution, if necessary after the application of Section 4.4(f), so that the omitted Employee receives a total amount which the Employee would have received (including both Employer contributions and earnings thereon) had the Employee not been omitted. Such contribution shall be made regardless of whether it is deductible in whole or in part in any taxable year under applicable provisions of the Code. 3.6 INCLUSION OF INELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE If, in any Plan Year, any person who should not have been included as a Participant in the Plan is erroneously included and discovery of such inclusion is not made until after a contribution for the year has been made and allocated, the Employer shall be entitled to recover the contribution made with respect to the ineligible person provided the error is discovered within twelve (12) months of the date on which it was made. Otherwise, the amount contributed with respect to the ineligible person shall constitute a Forfeiture for the Plan Year in which the discovery is made. Notwithstanding the forgoing, any Deferred Compensation made by an ineligible person shall be distributed to the person (along with any earnings attributable to such Deferred Compensation). 3.7 REHIRED EMPLOYEES If any Participant becomes a Former Participant due to severance from employment with the Employer and is reemployed by the Employer, the Former Participant shall become a Participant as of the reemployment date. 3.8 ELECTION NOT TO PARTICIPATE An Employee may, subject to the approval of the Employer, elect voluntarily not to participate in the Plan. The election not to participate must be communicated to the Employer, in writing, within a reasonable period of time before the beginning of a Plan Year. Article IV CONTRIBUTION AND ALLOCATION 4.1 FORMULA FOR DETERMINING EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION For each Plan Year, the Employer shall contribute to the Plan, except as otherwise provided: (a) The amount of the total salary reduction elections of all Participants made pursuant to Section 4.2(a), which amount shall be deemed an Employer Elective Contribution. (b) On behalf of each Participant who is eligible to share in the contribution below, such contribution, which amount shall be deemed an Employer Elective Contribution. For Plan Years beginning on and after January 1, 2002, a discretionary nonelective contribution equal to a uniform percentage of each Participant's Compensation for the Plan Year, the exact percentage, if any, to be determined by a Plan amendment adopted at least thirty (30) days prior to the last day of the Plan Year. If, pursuant to Section 410(b)(4)(B), the Employer applies Code Section 410(b) separately to the portion of the Plan (within the meaning of Code Section 414(l)) that benefits only Eligible Employees who satisfy the eligibility requirements of Section 3.1 that are lower than age twenty-one (21) and completion of a Year of Service, the Plan is treated as two separate plans for purposes of Code Section 401(k). Accordingly, if the Employer elects to make a Basic Matching Contribution, an Enhanced Matching Contribution or a Nonelective Contribution, then such contribution shall not be made on behalf of Eligible Employees who have not attained age twenty-one (21) and completed a Year of Service. However, in such a case, Deferred Compensation and the matching contribution made pursuant to Section 4.1(c) on behalf of those Eligible Employees must satisfy Sections 4.5 and 4.7. Contributions made to the Plan pursuant to this Section 4.1(b) are intended to comply with Sections 4.5(a) and 4.7(a) pursuant to the safe harbor methods permitted by Code Sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11). However, if matching contributions are made to this Plan or any other plan maintained by the Employer, and (i) such matching contributions are made with respect to Deferred Compensation or after-tax voluntary Employee contributions that in the aggregate exceed 6% of the Employee's Compensation, (ii) the rate of matching contributions increases as the rate of Deferred Compensation or after-tax voluntary Employee contributions increases, (iii) at any rate of Deferred Compensation or after-tax voluntary Employee contributions, the rate of matching contributions that would apply with respect to any Highly Compensated Employee is greater than the rate of matching contributions that would apply with respect to a Non-Highly Compensated Participant and who has the same rate of Deferred Compensation or after-tax voluntary Employee contributions, (iv) for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1999, any discretionary matching contribution made to this Plan and any other plan maintained by the Employer, in the aggregate, exceed 4% of the Participant's Compensation, then such matching contributions in the aggregate must satisfy the "Actual Contribution Percentage" test of Section 4.7(a). In this regard, the Employer may elect to disregard, with respect to all Eligible Employees, all matching contributions with respect to a Participant's Deferred Compensation up to 6% of each Participant's Compensation, or, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1999, matching contributions up to 4% of each Participant's Compensation. In applying the "Actual Contribution Percentage" tests, match contributions or nonelective contributions made pursuant to this Section 4.1(b) that satisfy the safe harbor methods permitted by Code Section 401(k)(12) may not be treated as matching contributions under Code 401(m)(3). The rules that apply for purposes of aggregating and disaggregating cash or deferred arrangements and plans under Code Section 401(k) and 401(m) also apply for purposes of Code Sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11). (c) On behalf of each Participant who is eligible to share in matching contributions for the Plan Year, a discretionary matching contribution equal to a uniform percentage of each such Participant's Deferred Compensation, the exact percentage, if any, to be determined each year by the Employer, which amount, if any, shall be deemed an Employer Non-Elective Contribution. Except, however, in applying the matching percentage specified above, only salary reductions up to 10% of annual Compensation shall be considered. (d) On behalf of each Non-Highly Compensated Participant who is eligible to share in the Qualified Non-Elective Contribution for the Plan Year, a discretionary Qualified Non-Elective Contribution equal to a uniform percentage of each eligible individual's Compensation, the exact percentage, if any, to be determined each year by the Employer. Any Employer Qualified Non-Elective Contribution shall be deemed an Employer Elective Contribution. (e) A discretionary amount, which amount, if any, shall be deemed an Employer Non-Elective Contribution. (f) Additionally, to the extent necessary, the Employer shall contribute to the Plan the amount necessary to provide the top heavy minimum contribution. All contributions by the Employer shall be made in cash or in such property as is acceptable to the Trustee. 4.2 PARTICIPANT'S SALARY REDUCTION ELECTION (a) Each Participant may elect to defer a portion of Compensation which would have been received in the Plan Year (except for the deferral election) by up to the maximum amount which will not cause the Plan to violate the provisions of Sections 4.5(a) and 4.9. A deferral election (or modification of an earlier election) may not be made with respect to Compensation which is currently available on or before the date the Participant executed such election. For purposes of this Section, Compensation shall be determined prior to any reductions made pursuant to Code Sections 125, 132(f)(4) for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 2000, 402(e)(3), 402(h)(1)(B), 403(b) or 457(b), and Employee contributions described in Code Section 414(h)(2) that are treated as Employer contributions. The amount by which Compensation reduced shall be that Participant's Deferred Compensation and be treated as an Employer Elective Contribution and allocated to that Participant's Elective Account. (b) The balance in each Participant's Elective Account shall be fully Vested at all times and, except as otherwise provided herein, shall not be subject to Forfeiture for any reason. (c) Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, amounts held in the Participant's Elective Account may not be distributable (including any offset of loans) earlier than: (1) a Participant's separation from service, Total and Permanent Disability, or death; (2) a Participant's attainment of age 59 1/2; (3) the termination of the Plan without the existence at the time of Plan termination of another defined contribution plan or the establishment of a successor defined contribution plan by the Employer or an Affiliated Employer within the period ending twelve months after distribution of all assets from the Plan maintained by the Employer. For this purpose, a defined contribution plan does not include an employee stock ownership plan (as defined in Code Section 4975(e)(7) or 409), a simplified employee pension plan (as defined in Code Section 408(k)), or a simple individual retirement account plan (as defined in Code Section 408(p)); (4) the date of disposition by the Employer to an entity that is not an Affiliated Employer of substantially all of the assets (within the meaning of Code Section 409(d)(2)) used in a trade or business of such corporation if such corporation continues to maintain this Plan after the disposition with respect to a Participant who continues employment with the corporation acquiring such assets; (5) the date of disposition by the Employer or an Affiliated Employer who maintains the Plan of its interest in a subsidiary (within the meaning of Code Section 409(d)(3)) to an entity which is not an Affiliated Employer but only with respect to a Participant who continues employment with such subsidiary. (d) For each Plan Year, a Participant's Deferred Compensation made under this Plan and all other plans, contracts or arrangements of the Employer maintaining this Plan shall not exceed, during any taxable year of the Participant, the limitation imposed by Code Section 402(g), as in effect at the beginning of such taxable year. If such dollar limitation is exceeded, a Participant will be deemed to have notified the Administrator of such excess amount which shall be distributed in a manner consistent with Section 4.2(f). The dollar limitation shall be adjusted annually pursuant to the method provided in Code Section 415(d) in accordance with Regulations. (e) In the event a Participant has received a hardship distribution pursuant to Regulation 1.401(k)-1(d)(2)(iv)(B) from any other plan maintained by the Employer, then such Participant shall not be permitted to elect to have Deferred Compensation contributed to the Plan for a period of twelve (12) months following the receipt of the distribution. Furthermore, the dollar limitation under Code Section 402(g) shall be reduced, with respect to the Participant's taxable year following the taxable year in which the hardship distribution was made, by the amount of such Participant's Deferred Compensation, if any, pursuant to this Plan (and any other plan maintained by the Employer) for the taxable year of the hardship distribution. (f) If a Participant's Deferred Compensation under this Plan together with any elective deferrals (as defined in Regulation 1.402(g)-1(b)) under another qualified cash or deferred arrangement (as described in Code Section 401(k)), a simplified employee pension (as described in Code Section 408(k)(6)), a simple individual retirement account plan (as described in Code Section 408(p)), a salary reduction arrangement (within the meaning of Code Section 3121(a)(5)(D)), a deferred compensation plan under Code Section 457(b), or a trust described in Code Section 501(c)(18) cumulatively exceed the limitation imposed by Code Section 402(g) (as adjusted annually in accordance with the method provided in Code Section 415(d) pursuant to Regulations) for such Participant's taxable year, the Participant may, not later than March 1 following the close of the Participant's taxable year, notify the Administrator in writing of such excess and request that the Participant's Deferred Compensation under this Plan be reduced by an amount specified by the Participant. In such event, the Administrator may direct the Trustee to distribute such excess amount (and any Income allocable to such excess amount) to the Participant not later than the first April 15th following the close of the Participant's taxable year. Any distribution of less than the entire amount of Excess Deferred Compensation and Income shall be treated as a pro rata distribution of Excess Deferred Compensation and Income. The amount distributed shall not exceed the Participant's Deferred Compensation under the Plan for the taxable year (and any Income allocable to such excess amount). Any distribution on or before the last day of the Participant's taxable year must satisfy each of the following conditions: (1) the distribution must be made after the date on which the Plan received the Excess Deferred Compensation; (2) the Participant shall designate the distribution as Excess Deferred Compensation; and (3) the Plan must designate the distribution as a distribution of Excess Deferred Compensation. Any distribution made pursuant to this Section 4.2(f) shall be made first from unmatched Deferred Compensation and, thereafter, from Deferred Compensation which is matched. Matching contributions which relate to such Deferred Compensation shall be forfeited. (g) Notwithstanding Section 4.2(f) above, a Participant's Excess Deferred Compensation shall be reduced, but not below zero, by any distribution of Excess Contributions pursuant to Section 4.6(a) for the Plan Year beginning with or within the taxable year of the Participant. (h) At Normal Retirement Date, or such other date when the Participant shall be entitled to receive benefits, the fair market value of the Participant's Elective Account shall be used to provide additional benefits to the Participant or the Participant's Beneficiary. (i) Employer Elective Contributions made pursuant to this Section may be segregated into a separate account for each Participant in a federally insured savings account, certificate of deposit in a bank or savings and loan association, money market certificate, or other short-term debt security acceptable to the Trustee until such time as the allocations pursuant to Section 4.4 have been made. (j) The Employer and the Administrator shall implement the salary reduction elections provided for herein in accordance with the following: (4) A Participant must make an initial salary deferral election within a reasonable time, not to exceed thirty (30) days, after entering the Plan pursuant to Section 3.2. If the Participant fails to make an initial salary deferral election within such time, then such Participant may thereafter make an election in accordance with the rules governing modifications. The Participant shall make such an election by entering into a written salary reduction agreement with the Employer and filing such agreement with the Administrator. Such election shall initially be effective beginning with the pay period following the acceptance of the salary reduction agreement by the Administrator, shall not have retroactive effect and shall remain in force until revoked. (5) A Participant may modify a prior election at any time during the Plan Year and concurrently make a new election by filing a written notice with the Administrator within a reasonable time before the pay period for which such modification is to be effective. Any modification shall not have retroactive effect and shall remain in force until revoked. (6) A Participant may elect to prospectively revoke the Participant's salary reduction agreement in its entirety at any time during the Plan Year by providing the Administrator with thirty (30) days written notice of such revocation (or upon such shorter notice period as may be acceptable to the Administrator). Such revocation shall become effective as of the beginning of the first pay period coincident with or next following the expiration of the notice period. Furthermore, the termination of the Participant's employment, or the cessation of participation for any reason, shall be deemed to revoke any salary reduction agreement then in effect, effective immediately following the close of the pay period within which such termination or cessation occurs. (7) If the Employer elects to make a contribution pursuant to Section 4.1(b), the Employer, at least thirty (30) days, but not more than ninety (90) days, before the beginning of the Plan Year, will provide each eligible Employee a comprehensive notice of the Employee's rights and obligations under the Plan, written (or in such other form as permitted by the Internal Revenue Service) in a manner calculated to be understood by the average Employee. If an Employee becomes eligible after the ninetieth (90th) day before the beginning of the Plan Year and does not receive the notice for that reason, the notice must be provided no more than ninety (90) days before the Employee becomes eligible but not later than the date the Employee becomes eligible. In addition to any other election periods provided under this Section 4.2, each eligible Employee may make or modify a salary reduction election during the thirty (30) day period immediately following receipt of the notice described above. Notwithstanding the above, if the Employer elects to make a contribution pursuant to Section 4.1(b) for the first time with respect to a Plan Year that begins on or after January 1, 2000, and on or before June 1, 2000, the Employer may postpone providing each Eligible Employee with such comprehensive notice until May 1, 2000. 4.3 TIME OF PAYMENT OF EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION The Employer may make its contribution to the Plan for a particular Plan Year at such time as the Employer, in its sole discretion, determines. If the Employer makes a contribution for a particular Plan Year after the close of that Plan Year, the Employer will designate to the Trustee the Plan Year for which the Employer is making its contribution. 4.4 ALLOCATION OF CONTRIBUTION AND EARNINGS (a) The Administrator shall establish and maintain an account in the name of each Participant to which the Administrator shall credit as of each Anniversary Date, or other Valuation Date, all amounts allocated to each such Participant as set forth herein. (b) The Employer shall provide the Administrator with all information required by the Administrator to make a proper allocation of the Employer contributions for each Plan Year. Within a reasonable period of time after the date of receipt by the Administrator of such information, the Administrator shall allocate such contribution as follows: (1) With respect to the Employer Elective Contribution made pursuant to Section 4.1(a), to each Participant's Elective Account in an amount equal to each such Participant's Deferred Compensation for the year. (2) With respect to the Employer Elective Contribution made pursuant to Section 4.1(b), except for the Employer Elective Contribution to another plan maintained by the Employer, to each Participant's Elective Account when used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests, otherwise to each Participant's Account. (3) With respect to the Employer Non-Elective Contribution made pursuant to Section 4.1(c), to each Participant's Account in accordance with Section 4.1(c). Only Participants who have completed a Year of Service during the Plan Year and are actively employed on the last day of the Plan Year shall be eligible to share in the matching contribution for the year. (4) With respect to the Employer Qualified Non-Elective Contribution made pursuant to Section 4.1(d), to each Participant's Elective Account when used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests or Participant's Account in accordance with Section 4.1(d). Only Non-Highly Compensated Participants who have completed a Year of Service during the Plan Year and are actively employed on the last day of the Plan Year shall be eligible to share in the Qualified Non-Elective Contribution for the year. (5) With respect to the Employer Non-Elective Contribution made pursuant to Section 4.1(e), to each Participant's Account in the same proportion that each such Participant's Compensation for the year bears to the total Compensation of all Participants for such year. Only Participants who have completed a Year of Service during the Plan Year and are actively employed on the last day of the Plan Year shall be eligible to share in the discretionary contribution for the year. (c) The Company Stock Account of each Participant shall be credited as of each Anniversary Date with the Participant's allocable share of Company Stock (including fractional shares) purchased and paid for by the Plan or contributed in kind by the Employer. Stock dividends on Company Stock held in the Participant's Company Stock Account shall be credited to the Participant's Company Stock Account when paid. Cash dividends on Company Stock held in the Participant's Company Stock Account shall, in the sole discretion of the Administrator, either be credited to the Participant's Other Investments Account when paid or be used to repay an Exempt Loan; provided, however, that when cash dividends are used to repay an Exempt Loan, Company Stock shall be released from the Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account and allocated to the Participant's Company Stock Account pursuant to Section 4.4(e) and, provided further, that Company Stock allocated to the Participant's Company Stock Account shall have a fair market value not less than the amount of cash dividends which would have been allocated to such Participant's Other Investments Account for the year. Company Stock acquired by the Plan with the proceeds of an Exempt Loan shall only be allocated to each Participant's Company Stock Account upon release from the Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account as provided in Section 4.4(e) herein. Company Stock acquired with the proceeds of an Exempt Loan shall be an asset of the Trust Fund and maintained in the Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account. (d) As of each Valuation Date, before the current valuation period allocation of Employer contributions, any earnings or losses (net appreciation or net depreciation) of the Trust Fund shall be allocated in the same proportion that each Participant's and Former Participant's nonsegregated accounts (other than each Participant's Company Stock Account) bear to the total of all Participants' and Former Participants' nonsegregated accounts (other than each Participant's Company Stock Account) as of such date. Earnings or losses with respect to a Participant's Directed Account shall be allocated in accordance with Section 4.12. Earnings or losses do not include the interest paid under any installment contract for the purchase of Company Stock by the Trust Fund or on any loan used by the Trust Fund to purchase Company Stock, nor does it include income received by the Trust Fund with respect to Company Stock acquired with the proceeds of an Exempt Loan; all income received by the Trust Fund from Company Stock acquired with the proceeds of an Exempt Loan may, at the discretion of the Administrator, be used to repay such loan. Participants' transfers from other qualified plans deposited in the general Trust Fund shall share in any earnings and losses (net appreciation or net depreciation) of the Trust Fund in the same manner provided above. Each segregated account maintained on behalf of a Participant shall be credited or charged with its separate earnings and losses. (e) All Company Stock acquired by the Plan with the proceeds of an Exempt Loan must be added to and maintained in the Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account. Such Company Stock shall be released and withdrawn from that account as if all Company Stock in that account were encumbered. For each Plan Year during the duration of the loan, the number of shares of Company Stock released shall equal the number of encumbered shares held immediately before release for the current Plan Year multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the amount of principal and interest paid for the Plan Year and the denominator of which is the sum of the numerator plus the principal and interest to be paid for all future Plan Years. As of each Anniversary Date, the Plan must consistently allocate to each Participant's Account, in the same manner as Employer discretionary contributions pursuant to Section 4.1(e) are allocated, non-monetary units (shares and fractional shares of Company Stock) representing each Participant's interest in Company Stock withdrawn from the Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account. However, Company Stock released from the Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account with cash dividends pursuant to Section 4.4(c) shall be allocated to each Participant's Company Stock Account in the same proportion that each such Participant's number of shares of Company Stock sharing in such cash dividends bears to the total number of shares of all Participant's Company Stock sharing in such cash dividends. Income earned with respect to Company Stock in the Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account shall be used, at the discretion of the Administrator, to repay the Exempt Loan used to purchase such Company Stock. Company Stock released from the Unallocated Company Stock Suspense Account with such income, and any income which is not so used, shall be allocated as of each Anniversary Date in the same proportion that each Participant's and Former Participant's nonsegregated accounts after the allocation of any earnings or losses pursuant to Section 4.4(d) bear to the total of all Participants' and Former Participants' nonsegregated accounts after the allocation of any earnings or losses pursuant to Section 4.4(d). (f) On or before each Anniversary Date any amounts which became Forfeitures since the last Anniversary Date may be used to satisfy any contribution that may be required pursuant to Section 3.5 and/or 7.8, or used to pay any administrative expenses of the Plan. The remaining Forfeitures, if any, shall be used to reduce the contribution of the Employer hereunder for the Plan Year in which such Forfeitures occur. (g) For any Top Heavy Plan Year, Employees not otherwise eligible to share in the allocation of contributions as provided above, shall receive the minimum allocation provided for in Section 4.4(i) if eligible pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.4(k). (h) Notwithstanding the foregoing, Participants who are not actively employed on the last day of the Plan Year due to Retirement (Normal or Late), Total and Permanent Disability or death shall share in the allocation of contributions for that Plan Year. (i) Minimum Allocations Required for Top Heavy Plan Years: Notwithstanding the foregoing, for any Top Heavy Plan Year, the sum of the Employer contributions allocated to the Participant's Combined Account of each Employee shall be equal to at least three percent (3%) of such Employee's "415 Compensation" (reduced by contributions and forfeitures, if any, allocated to each Employee in any defined contribution plan included with this Plan in a Required Aggregation Group). However, if (1) the sum of the Employer contributions allocated to the Participant's Combined Account of each Key Employee for such Top Heavy Plan Year is less than three percent (3%) of each Key Employee's "415 Compensation" and (2) this Plan is not required to be included in an Aggregation Group to enable a defined benefit plan to meet the requirements of Code Section 401(a)(4) or 410, the sum of the Employer contributions allocated to the Participant's Combined Account of each Employee shall be equal to the largest percentage allocated to the Participant's Combined Account of any Key Employee. However, in determining whether a Non-Key Employee has received the required minimum allocation, such Non-Key Employee's Deferred Compensation and matching contributions needed to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" tests pursuant to Section 4.5(a) or the "Actual Contribution Percentage" tests pursuant to Section 4.7(a) shall not be taken into account. However, no such minimum allocation shall be required in this Plan for any Employee who participates in another defined contribution plan subject to Code Section 412 included with this Plan in a Required Aggregation Group. (j) For purposes of the minimum allocations set forth above, the percentage allocated to the Participant's Combined Account of any Key Employee shall be equal to the ratio of the sum of the Employer contributions allocated on behalf of such Key Employee divided by the "415 Compensation" for such Key Employee. (k) For any Top Heavy Plan Year, the minimum allocations set forth above shall be allocated to the Participant's Combined Account of all Employees who are Participants and who are employed by the Employer on the last day of the Plan Year, including Employees who have (1) failed to complete a Year of Service; and (2) declined to make mandatory contributions (if required) or, in the case of a cash or deferred arrangement, elective contributions to the Plan. (l) For the purposes of this Section, "415 Compensation" in excess of $150,000 (or such other amount provided in the Code) shall be disregarded. Such amount shall be adjusted for increases in the cost of living in accordance with Code Section 401(a)(17)(B), except that the dollar increase in effect on January 1 of any calendar year shall be effective for the Plan Year beginning with or within such calendar year. If "415 Compensation" for any prior determination period is taken into account in determining a Participant's minimum benefit for the current Plan Year, the "415 Compensation" for such determination period is subject to the applicable annual "415 Compensation" limit in effect for that prior period. For this purpose, in determining the minimum benefit in Plan Years beginning on or after January 1, 1989, the annual "415 Compensation" limit in effect for determination periods beginning before that date is $200,000 (or such other amount as adjusted for increases in the cost of living in accordance with Code Section 415(d) for determination periods beginning on or after January 1, 1989, and in accordance with Code Section 401(a)(17)(B) for determination periods beginning on or after January 1, 1994). For determination periods beginning prior to January 1, 1989, the $200,000 limit shall apply only for Top Heavy Plan Years and shall not be adjusted. For any short Year the "415 Compensation" limit shall be an amount equal to the "415 Compensation" limit for the calendar year in which the Plan Year begins multiplied by the ratio obtained by dividing the number of full months in the short Plan Year by twelve (12). (m) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Participants who terminated employment for any reason during the Plan Year shall share in the salary reduction contributions made by the Employer for the year of termination without regard to the Hours of Service credited. (n) Notwithstanding anything in this Section to the contrary, all information necessary to properly reflect a given transaction may not be available until after the date specified herein for processing such transaction, in which case the transaction will be reflected when such information is received and processed. Subject to express limits that may be imposed under the Code, the processing of any contribution, distribution or other transaction may be delayed for any legitimate business reason (including, but not limited to, failure of systems or computer programs, failure of the means of the transmission of data, force majeure, the failure of a service provider to timely receive values or prices, and the correction for errors or omissions or the errors or omissions of any service provider). The processing date of a transaction will be binding for all purposes of the Plan. (o) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, if this is a Plan that would otherwise fail to meet the requirements of Code Section 410(b)(1) and the Regulations thereunder because Employer contributions would not be allocated to a sufficient number or percentage of Participants for a Plan Year, then the following rules shall apply: (1) The group of Participants eligible to share in the Employer's contribution for the Plan Year shall be expanded to include the minimum number of Participants who would not otherwise be eligible as are necessary to satisfy the applicable test specified above. The specific Participants who shall become eligible under the terms of this paragraph shall be those who have not separated from service prior to the last day of the Plan Year and have completed the greatest number of Hours of Service in the Plan Year. (2) If after application of paragraph (1) above, the applicable test is still not satisfied, then the group of Participants eligible to share in the Employer's contribution for the Plan Year shall be further expanded to include the minimum number of Participants who have separated from service prior to the last day of the Plan Year as are necessary to satisfy the applicable test. The specific Participants who shall become eligible to share shall be those Participants who have completed the greatest number of Hours of Service in the Plan Year before terminating employment. (3) Nothing in this Section shall permit the reduction of a Participant's accrued benefit. Therefore any amounts that have previously been allocated to Participants may not be reallocated to satisfy these requirements. In such event, the Employer shall make an additional contribution equal to the amount such affected Participants would have received had they been included in the allocations, even if it exceeds the amount which would be deductible under Code Section 404. Any adjustment to the allocations pursuant to this paragraph shall be considered a retroactive amendment adopted by the last day of the Plan Year. (4) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the portion of the Plan which is not a Code Section 401(k) or 401(m) plan would fail to satisfy Code Section 410(b) if the coverage tests were applied by treating those Participants whose only allocation would otherwise be provided under the top heavy formula as if they were not currently benefiting under the Plan, then, for purposes of this Section 4.4(o), such Participants shall be treated as not benefiting and shall therefore be eligible to be included in the expanded class of Participants who will share in the allocation provided under the Plan's non top heavy formula. 4.5 ACTUAL DEFERRAL PERCENTAGE TESTS (a) Maximum Annual Allocation: For each Plan Year beginning after December 31, 1996, the annual allocation derived from Employer Elective Contributions to a Highly Compensated Participant's Elective Account shall satisfy one of the following tests: (1) The "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Highly Compensated Participant group shall not be more than the "Actual Deferral Percentage" of the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group (for the preceding Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group) multiplied by 1.25, or (2) The excess of the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Highly Compensated Participant group over the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group (for the preceding Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group) shall not be more than two percentage points. Additionally, the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Highly Compensated Participant group shall not exceed the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group (for the preceding Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group) multiplied by 2. The provisions of Code Section 401(k)(3) and Regulation 1.401(k)-1(b) are incorporated herein by reference. However, in order to prevent the multiple use of the alternative method described in (2) above and in Code Section 401(m)(9)(A), any Highly Compensated Participant eligible to make elective deferrals pursuant to Section 4.2 and to make Employee contributions or to receive matching contributions under this Plan or under any other plan maintained by the Employer or an Affiliated Employer shall have a combination of such Participant's Elective Contributions and Employer matching contributions reduced pursuant to Regulation 1.401(m)-2, the provisions of which are incorporated herein by reference. (b) For the purposes of this Section "Actual Deferral Percentage" means, with respect to the Highly Compensated Participant group and Non-Highly Compensated Participant group for a Plan Year, the average of the ratios, calculated separately for each Participant in such group, of the amount of Employer Elective Contributions allocated to each Participant's Elective Account for such Plan Year, to such Participant's "414(s) Compensation" for such Plan Year. The actual deferral ratio for each Participant and the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for each group shall be calculated to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent. Employer Elective Contributions allocated to each Non-Highly Compensated Participant's Elective Account shall be reduced by Excess Deferred Compensation to the extent such excess amounts are made under this Plan or any other plan maintained by the Employer. Notwithstanding the above, if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group for the first Plan Year of this amendment and restatement, the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group for the preceding Plan Year shall be calculated pursuant to the provisions of the Plan then in effect. (c) For the purposes of Sections 4.5(a) and 4.6, a Highly Compensated Participant and a Non-Highly Compensated Participant shall include any Employee eligible to make a deferral election pursuant to Section 4.2, whether or not such deferral election was made or suspended pursuant to Section 4.2. Notwithstanding the above, if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group for the first Plan Year of this amendment and restatement, for purposes of Section 4.5(a) and 4.6, a Non-Highly Compensated Participant shall include any such Employee eligible to make a deferral election, whether or not such deferral election was made or suspended, pursuant to the provisions of the Plan in effect for the preceding Plan Year. (d) For purposes of this Section and Code Sections 401(a)(4), 410(b) and 401(k), this Plan may not be combined with any other plan. (e) For the purpose of this Section, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, when calculating the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group, the current year testing method shall be used. Any change from the current year testing method to the prior year testing method shall be made pursuant to Internal Revenue Service Notice 98-1, Section VII (or superseding guidance), the provisions of which are incorporated herein by reference. (f) Notwithstanding anything in this Section to the contrary, the provisions of this Section and Section 4.6 may be applied separately (or will be applied separately to the extent required by Regulations) to each plan within the meaning of Regulation 1.401(k)-1(g)(11). Furthermore, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1998, the provisions of Code Section 401(k)(3)(F) may be used to exclude from consideration all Non-Highly Compensated Employees who have not satisfied the minimum age and service requirements of Code Section 410(a)(1)(A). (g) Notwithstanding the above, contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(b) are intended to comply with this Section 4.5 pursuant to the alternative methods permitted by Code Section 401(k)(12). In any Plan Year in which this Plan satisfies the provisions of Code Section 401(k)(12) the provisions of this Section of the Plan shall not apply. 4.6 ADJUSTMENT TO ACTUAL DEFERRAL PERCENTAGE TESTS In the event (or if it is anticipated) that the initial allocations of the Employer Elective Contributions made pursuant to Section 4.4 do (or might) not satisfy one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a) for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, the Administrator shall adjust Excess Contributions pursuant to the options set forth below: (a) On or before the fifteenth day of the third month following the end of each Plan Year, but in no event later than the close of the following Plan Year, the Highly Compensated Participant having the largest dollar amount of Elective Contributions shall have a portion of such Participant's Elective Contributions distributed until the total amount of Excess Contributions has been distributed, or until the amount of such Participant's Elective Contributions equals the Elective Contributions of the Highly Compensated Participant having the second largest dollar amount of Elective Contributions. This process shall continue until the total amount of Excess Contributions has been distributed. In determining the amount of Excess Contributions to be distributed with respect to an affected Highly Compensated Participant as determined herein, such amount shall be reduced pursuant to Section 4.2(f) by any Excess Deferred Compensation previously distributed to such affected Highly Compensated Participant for such Participant's taxable year ending with or within such Plan Year. (1) With respect to the distribution of Excess Contributions pursuant to (a) above, such distribution: (i) may be postponed but not later than the close of the Plan Year following the Plan Year to which they are allocable; (ii) shall be adjusted for Income; and (iii) shall be designated by the Employer as a distribution of Excess Contributions (and Income). (2) Any distribution of less than the entire amount of Excess Contributions shall be treated as a pro rata distribution of Excess Contributions and Income. (3) Matching contributions which relate to Excess Contributions shall be forfeited unless the related matching contribution is distributed as an Excess Aggregate Contribution pursuant to Section 4.8. (b) Notwithstanding the above, within twelve (12) months after the end of the Plan Year, the Employer may make a special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution in accordance with one of the following provisions which contribution shall be allocated to the Participant's Elective Account of each Non-Highly Compensated Participant eligible to share in the allocation in accordance with such provision. The Employer shall provide the Administrator with written notification of the amount of the contribution being made and for which provision it is being made pursuant to: (1) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a). Such contribution shall be allocated in the same proportion that each Non-Highly Compensated Participant's 414(s) Compensated for the year (or prior year if the prior year testing method is being used) bears to the total 414(s) Compensation of all Non-Highly Compensated Participants for such year. (2) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a). Such contribution shall be allocated in the same proportion that each Non-Highly Compensated Participant electing salary reductions pursuant to Section 4.2 in the same proportion that each such Non-Highly Compensated Participant's Deferred Compensation for the year (or at the end of the prior Plan Year if the prior year testing method is being used) bears to the total Deferred Compensation of all such Non-Highly Compensated Participants for such year. (3) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a). Such contribution shall be allocated in equal amounts (per capita). (4) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants electing salary reductions pursuant to Section 4.2 in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a). Such contribution shall be allocated for the year (or at the end of the prior Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used) to each Non-Highly Compensated Participant electing salary reductions pursuant to Section 4.2 in equal amounts (per capita). (5) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a). Such contribution shall be allocated to the Non-Highly Compensated Participant having the lowest 414(s) Compensation, until one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a) is satisfied (or is anticipated to be satisfied), or until such Non-Highly Compensated Participant has received the maximum "annual addition" pursuant to Section 4.9. This process shall continue until one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a) is satisfied (or is anticipated to be satisfied). Notwithstanding the above, at the Employer's discretion, Non-Highly Compensated Participants who are not employed at the end of the Plan Year (or at the end of the prior Plan Year if the prior year testing method is being used) shall not be eligible to receive a special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution and shall be disregarded. Notwithstanding the above, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1998, if the testing method changes from the current year testing method to the prior year testing method, then for purposes of preventing the double counting of Qualified Non-Elective Contributions for the first testing year for which the change is effective, any special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" or "Actual Contribution Percentage" test under the current year testing method for the prior year testing year shall be disregarded. (c) If during a Plan Year, it is projected that the aggregate amount of Elective Contributions to be allocated to all Highly Compensated Participants under this Plan would cause the Plan to fail the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a), then the Administrator may automatically reduce the deferral amount of affected Highly Compensated Participants, beginning with the Highly Compensated Participant who has the highest deferral ratio until it is anticipated the Plan will pass the tests or until the actual deferral ratio equals the actual deferral ratio of the Highly Compensated Participant having the next highest actual deferral ratio. This process may continue until it is anticipated that the Plan will satisfy one of the tests set forth in Section 4.5(a). Alternatively, the Employer may specify a maximum percentage of Compensation that may be deferred. (d) Any Excess Contributions (and Income) which are distributed on or after 2 1/2 months after the end of the Plan Year shall be subject to the ten percent (10%) Employer excise tax imposed by Code Section 4979. 4.7 ACTUAL CONTRIBUTION PERCENTAGE TESTS (a) The "Actual Contribution Percentage" for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996 for the Highly Compensated Participant group shall not exceed the greater of: (1) 125 percent of such percentage for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group (for the preceding Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group); or (2) the lesser of 200 percent of such percentage for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group (for the preceding Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group), or such percentage for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group (for the preceding Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group) plus 2 percentage points. However, to prevent the multiple use of the alternative method described in this paragraph and Code Section 401(m)(9)(A), any Highly Compensated Participant eligible to make elective deferrals pursuant to Section 4.2 or any other cash or deferred arrangement maintained by the Employer or an Affiliated Employer and to make Employee contributions or to receive matching contributions under this Plan or under any plan maintained by the Employer or an Affiliated Employer shall have a combination of Elective Contributions and Employer matching contributions reduced pursuant to Regulation 1.401(m)-2 and Section 4.8(a). The provisions of Code Section 401(m) and Regulations 1.401(m)-1(b) and 1.401(m)-2 are incorporated herein by reference. (b) For the purposes of this Section and Section 4.8, "Actual Contribution Percentage" for a Plan Year means, with respect to the Highly Compensated Participant group and Non-Highly Compensated Participant group (for the preceding Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Deferral Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group), the average of the ratios (calculated separately for each Participant in each group and rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent) of: (1) the sum of Employer matching contributions pursuant to Section 4.1(b) (to the extent such matching contributions are not used to satisfy the safe harbor methods permitted by Code Sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11)) and Employer matching contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(c) on behalf of each such Participant for such Plan Year; to (2) the Participant's "414(s) Compensation" for such Plan Year. Notwithstanding the above, if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Contribution Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group for the first Plan Year of this amendment and restatement, for purposes of Section 4.7(a), the "Actual Contribution Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group for the preceding Plan Year shall be determined pursuant to the provisions of the Plan then in effect. (c) For purposes of determining the "Actual Contribution Percentage," only Employer matching contributions contributed to the Plan prior to the end of the succeeding Plan Year shall be considered. In addition, the Administrator may elect to take into account, with respect to Employees eligible to have Employer matching contributions pursuant to Section 4.1(b) (to the extent such matching contributions are not used to satisfy the safe harbor methods permitted by Code Sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)(11)) and Employer matching contributions pursuant to Section 4.1(c) allocated to their accounts, nonelective contributions (as described in Code Section 401(k)(12)(C)) (to the extent such nonelective contributions are not used to satisfy the safe harbor methods permitted by Code Sections 401(k)(12) and 401(m)), elective deferrals (as defined in Regulation 1.402(g)-1(b)) and qualified non-elective contributions (as defined in Code Section 401(m)(4)(C)) contributed to any plan maintained by the Employer. Such nonelective contributions, elective deferrals and qualified non-elective contributions shall be treated as Employer matching contributions subject to Regulation 1.401(m)-1(b)(5) which is incorporated herein by reference. However, the Plan Year must be the same as the plan year of the plan to which the nonelective contributions, elective deferrals and the qualified non-elective contributions are made. (d) For purposes of this Section and Code Sections 401(a)(4), 410(b) and 401(m), this Plan may not be combined with any other plan. (e) For purposes of Sections 4.7(a) and 4.8, a Highly Compensated Participant and Non-Highly Compensated Participant shall include any Employee eligible to have Employer matching contributions (whether or not a deferral election was made or suspended) allocated to the Participant's account for the Plan Year. Notwithstanding the above, if the prior year testing method is used to calculate the "Actual Contribution Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group for the first Plan Year of this amendment and restatement, for the purposes of Section 4.7(a), a Non-Highly Compensated Participant shall include any such Employee eligible to have Employer matching contributions (whether or not a deferral election was made or suspended) allocated to the Participant's account for the preceding Plan Year pursuant to the provisions of the Plan then in effect. (f) For the purpose of this Section, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, when calculating the "Actual Contribution Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group, the current year testing method shall be used. Any change from the current year testing method to the prior year testing method shall be made pursuant to Internal Revenue Service Notice 98-1, Section VII (or superseding guidance), the provisions of which are incorporated herein by reference. (g) Notwithstanding anything in this Section to the contrary, the provisions of this Section and Section 4.8 may be applied separately (or will be applied separately to the extent required by Regulations) to each plan within the meaning of Regulation 1.401(k)-1(g)(11). Furthermore, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1998, the provisions of Code Section 401(k)(3)(F) may be used to exclude from consideration all Non-Highly Compensated Employees who have not satisfied the minimum age and service requirements of Code Section 410(a)(1)(A). (h) Notwithstanding the above, contributions made pursuant to Section 4.1(b) are intended to comply with this Section 4.7 pursuant to the alternative methods permitted by Code Section 401(m)(11). In any Plan Year in which this Plan satisfies the provisions of Code Section 401(m)(11) the provisions of this Section shall not apply. 4.8 ADJUSTMENT TO ACTUAL CONTRIBUTION PERCENTAGE TESTS (a) In the event (or if it is anticipated) that, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1996, the "Actual Contribution Percentage" for the Highly Compensated Participant group exceeds (or might exceed) the "Actual Contribution Percentage" for the Non-Highly Compensated Participant group pursuant to Section 4.7(a), the Administrator (on or before the fifteenth day of the third month following the end of the Plan Year, but in no event later than the close of the following Plan Year) shall direct the Trustee to distribute to the Highly Compensated Participant having the largest dollar amount of contributions determined pursuant to Section 4.7(b)(1), the Vested portion of such contributions (and Income allocable to such contributions) and, if forfeitable, forfeit such non-Vested Excess Aggregate Contributions attributable to Employer matching contributions (and Income allocable to such forfeitures) until the total amount of Excess Aggregate Contributions has been distributed, or until the Participant's remaining amount equals the amount of contributions determined pursuant to Section 4.7(b)(1) of the Highly Compensated Participant having the second largest dollar amount of contributions. This process shall continue until the total amount of Excess Aggregate Contributions has been distributed. (b) Any distribution and/or forfeiture of less than the entire amount of Excess Aggregate Contributions (and Income) shall be treated as a pro rata distribution and/or forfeiture of Excess Aggregate Contributions and Income. Distribution of Excess Aggregate Contributions shall be designated by the Employer as a distribution of Excess Aggregate Contributions (and Income). Forfeitures of Excess Aggregate Contributions shall be treated in accordance with Section 4.4. (c) Excess Aggregate Contributions, including forfeited matching contributions, shall be treated as Employer contributions for purposes of Code Sections 404 and 415 even if distributed from the Plan. Forfeited matching contributions that are reallocated to Participants' Accounts for the Plan Year in which the forfeiture occurs shall be treated as an "annual addition" pursuant to Section 4.9(b) for the Participants to whose Accounts they are reallocated and for the Participants from whose Accounts they are forfeited. (d) The determination of the amount of Excess Aggregate Contributions with respect to any Plan Year shall be made after first determining the Excess Contributions, if any, to be treated as after-tax voluntary Employee contributions due to recharacterization for the plan year of any other qualified cash or deferred arrangement (as defined in Code Section 401(k)) maintained by the Employer that ends with or within the Plan Year. (e) If during a Plan Year the projected aggregate amount of Employer matching contributions to be allocated to all Highly Compensated Participants under this Plan would, by virtue of the tests set forth in Section 4.7(a), cause the Plan to fail such tests, then the Administrator may automatically reduce proportionately or in the order provided in Section 4.8(a) each affected Highly Compensated Participant's projected share of such contributions by an amount necessary to satisfy one of the tests set forth in Section 4.7(a). (f) Notwithstanding the above, within twelve (12) months after the end of the Plan Year, the Employer may make a special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution in accordance with one of the following provisions which contribution shall be allocated to the Participant's Account of each Non-Highly Compensated Participant eligible to share in the allocation in accordance with such provision. The Employer shall provide the Administrator with written notification of the amount of the contribution being made and for which provision it is being made pursuant to: (1) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.7. Such contribution shall be allocated in the same proportion that each Non-Highly Compensated Participant's 414(s) Compensation for the year (or prior year if the prior year testing method is being used) bears to the total 414(s) Compensation of all Non-Highly Compensated Participants for such year. (2) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.7. Such contribution shall be allocated in the same proportion that each Non-Highly Compensated Participant electing salary reductions pursuant to Section 4.2 in the same proportion that each such Non-Highly Compensated Participant's Deferred Compensation for the year (or at the end of the prior Plan Year if the prior year testing method is being used) bears to the total Deferred Compensation of all such Non-Highly Compensated Participants for such year. (3) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.7. Such contribution shall be allocated in equal amounts (per capita). (4) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants electing salary reductions pursuant to Section 4.2 in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.7. Such contribution shall be allocated for the year (or at the end of the prior Plan Year if the prior year testing method is used) to each Non-Highly Compensated Participant electing salary reductions pursuant to Section 4.2 in equal amounts (per capita). (5) A special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution may be made on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants in an amount sufficient to satisfy (or to prevent an anticipated failure of) one of the tests set forth in Section 4.7. Such contribution shall be allocated to the Non-Highly Compensated Participant having the lowest 414(s) Compensation, until one of the tests set forth in Section 4.7 is satisfied (or is anticipated to be satisfied), or until such Non-Highly Compensated Participant has received the maximum "annual addition" pursuant to Section 4.9. This process shall continue until one of the tests set forth in Section 4.7 is satisfied (or is anticipated to be satisfied). Notwithstanding the above, at the Employer's discretion, Non-Highly Compensated Participants who are not employed at the end of the Plan Year (or at the end of the prior Plan Year if the prior year testing method is being used) shall not be eligible to receive a special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution and shall be disregarded. Notwithstanding the above, for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 1998, if the testing method changes from the current year testing method to the prior year testing method, then for purposes of preventing the double counting of Qualified Non-Elective Contributions for the first testing year for which the change is effective, any special Qualified Non-Elective Contribution on behalf of Non-Highly Compensated Participants used to satisfy the "Actual Deferral Percentage" or "Actual Contribution Percentage" test under the current year testing method for the prior year testing year shall be disregarded. (g) Any Excess Aggregate Contributions (and Income) which are distributed on or after 2 1/2 months after the end of the Plan Year shall be subject to the ten percent (10%) Employer excise tax imposed by Code Section 4979. 4.9 MAXIMUM ANNUAL ADDITIONS (a) Notwithstanding the foregoing, for "limitation year" beginning after December 31, 1994, the maximum "annual additions" credited to a Participant's accounts for any "limitation year" shall equal the lesser of: (1) $30,000 adjusted annually as provided in Code Section 415(d) pursuant to the Regulations, or (2) twenty-five percent (25%) of the Participant's "415 Compensation" for such "limitation year." If the Employer contribution that would otherwise be contributed or allocated to the Participant's accounts would cause the "annual additions" for the "limitation year" to exceed the maximum "annual additions," the amount contributed or allocated will be reduced so that the "annual additions" for the "limitation year" will equal the maximum "annual additions," and any amount in excess of the maximum "annual additions," which would have been allocated to such Participant may be allocated to other Participants. For any short "limitation year," the dollar limitation in (1) above shall be reduced by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of full months in the short "limitation year" and the denominator of which is twelve (12). (b) For purposes of applying the limitations of Code Section 415, "annual additions" means the sum credited to a Participant's accounts for any "limitation year" of (1) Employer contributions, (2) Employee contributions, (3) forfeitures, (4) amounts allocated, after March 31, 1984, to an individual medical account, as defined in Code Section 415(l)(2) which is part of a pension or annuity plan maintained by the Employer and (5) amounts derived from contributions paid or accrued after December 31, 1985, in taxable years ending after such date, which are attributable to post-retirement medical benefits allocated to the separate account of a key employee (as defined in Code Section 419A(d)(3)) under a welfare benefit plan (as defined in Code Section 419(e)) maintained by the Employer. Except, however, the "415 Compensation" percentage limitation referred to in paragraph (a)(2) above shall not apply to: (1) any contribution for medical benefits (within the meaning of Code Section 419A(f)(2)) after separation from service which is otherwise treated as an "annual addition," or (2) any amount otherwise treated as an "annual addition" under Code Section 415(l)(1). (c) For purposes of applying the limitations of Code Section 415, the following are not "annual additions": (1) the transfer of funds from one qualified plan to another and (2) provided no more than one-third of the Employer contributions for the year are allocated to Highly Compensated Participants, Forfeitures of Company Stock purchased with the proceeds of an Exempt Loan and Employer contributions applied to the payment of interest on an Exempt Loan. In addition, the following are not Employee contributions for the purposes of Section 4.9(b) (1) rollover contributions (as defined in Code Sections 402(a)(5), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8) and 408(d)(3)); (2) repayments of loans made to a Participant from the Plan; (3) repayments of distributions received by an Employee pursuant to Code Section 411(a)(7)(B) (cash-outs); (4) repayments of distributions received by an Employee pursuant to Code Section 411(a)(3)(D) (mandatory contributions); and (5) Employee contributions to a simplified employee pension excludable from gross income under Code Section 408(k)(6). (d) For purposes of applying the limitations of Code Section 415, the "limitation year" shall be the Plan Year. (e) For the purpose of this Section, all qualified defined contribution plans (whether terminated or not) ever maintained by the Employer shall be treated as one defined contribution plan. (f) For the purpose of this Section, if the Employer is a member of a controlled group of corporations, trades or businesses under common control (as defined by Code Section 1563(a) or Code Section 414(b) and (c) as modified by Code Section 415(h)), is a member of an affiliated service group (as defined by Code Section 414(m)), or is a member of a group of entities required to be aggregated pursuant to Regulations under Code Section 414(o), all Employees of such Employers shall be considered to be employed by a single Employer. (g) For the purpose of this Section, if this Plan is a Code Section 413(c) plan, each Employer who maintains this Plan will be considered to be a separate Employer. (h) (1) If a Participant participates in more than one defined contribution plan maintained by the Employer which have different Anniversary Dates, the maximum "annual additions" under this Plan shall equal the maximum "annual additions" for the "limitation year" minus any "annual additions" previously credited to such Participant's accounts during the "limitation year." (2) If a Participant participates in both a defined contribution plan subject to Code Section 412 and a defined contribution plan not subject to Code Section 412 maintained by the Employer which have the same Anniversary Date, "annual additions" will be credited to the Participant's accounts under the defined contribution plan subject to Code Section 412 prior to crediting "annual additions" to the Participant's accounts under the defined contribution plan not subject to Code Section 412. (3) If a Participant participates in more than one defined contribution plan not subject to Code Section 412 maintained by the Employer which have the same Anniversary Date, the maximum "annual additions" under this Plan shall equal the product of (A) the maximum "annual additions" for the "limitation year" minus any "annual additions" previously credited under subparagraphs (1) or (2) above, multiplied by (B) a fraction (i) the numerator of which is the "annual additions" which would be credited to such Participant's accounts under this Plan without regard to the limitations of Code Section 415 and (ii) the denominator of which is such "annual additions" for all plans described in this subparagraph. (i) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Section to the contrary, the limitations, adjustments and other requirements prescribed in this Section shall at all times comply with the provisions of Code Section 415 and the Regulations thereunder. 4.10 ADJUSTMENT FOR EXCESSIVE ANNUAL ADDITIONS (a) If, as a result of a reasonable error in estimating a Participant's Compensation, a reasonable error in determining the amount of elective deferrals (within the meaning of Code Section 402(g)(3)) that may be made with respect to any Participant under the limits of Section 4.9 or other facts and circumstances to which Regulation 1.415-6(b)(6) shall be applicable, the "annual additions" under this Plan would cause the maximum "annual additions" to be exceeded for any Participant, the "excess amount" will be disposed of in one of the following manners, as uniformly determined by the Administrator for all Participants similarly situated. (1) Any unmatched Deferred Compensation and, thereafter, proportionately from Deferred Compensation which is matched and matching contributions which relate to such Deferred Compensation, will be reduced to the extent they would reduce the "excess amount." The Deferred Compensation (and for "limitation years" beginning after December 31, 1995, any gains attributable to such Deferred Compensation) will be distributed to the Participant and the Employer matching contributions (and for "limitation years" beginning after December 31, 1995, any gains attributable to such matching contributions) will be used to reduce the Employer contribution in the next "limitation year"; (2) If, after the application of subparagraph (1) above, an "excess amount" still exists, and the Participant is covered by the Plan at the end of the "limitation year," the "excess amount" will be used to reduce the Employer contribution for such Participant in the next "limitation year," and each succeeding "limitation year" if necessary; (3) If, after the application of subparagraph (1) above, an "excess amount" still exists, and the Participant is not covered by the Plan at the end of the "limitation year," the "excess amount" will be held unallocated in a "Section 415 suspense account." The "Section 415 suspense account" will be applied to reduce future Employer contributions for all remaining Participants in the next "limitation year," and each succeeding "limitation year" if necessary; (4) If a "Section 415 suspense account" is in existence at any time during the "limitation year" pursuant to this Section, it will not participate in the allocation of investment gains and losses of the Trust Fund. If a "Section 415 suspense account" is in existence at any time during a particular "limitation year," all amounts in the "Section 415 suspense account" must be allocated and reallocated to Participants' accounts before any Employer contributions or any Employee contributions may be made to the Plan for that "limitation year." Except as provided in (1) above, "excess amounts" may not be distributed to Participants or Former Participants. (b) For purposes of this Article, "excess amount" for any Participant for a "limitation year" shall mean the excess, if any, of (1) the "annual additions" which would be credited to the Participant's account under the terms of the Plan without regard to the limitations of Code Section 415 over (2) the maximum "annual additions" determined pursuant to Section 4.9. (c) For purposes of this Section, "Section 415 suspense account" shall mean an unallocated account equal to the sum of "excess amounts" for all Participants in the Plan during the "limitation year." 4.11 ROLLOVERS AND PLAN-TO-PLAN TRANSFERS FROM QUALIFIED PLANS (a) With the consent of the Administrator, amounts may be transferred (within the meaning of Code Section 414(l)) to this Plan from other tax qualified plans under Code Section 401(a) by Eligible Employees, provided that the trust from which such funds are transferred permits the transfer to be made and the transfer will not jeopardize the tax exempt status of the Plan or Trust or create adverse tax consequences for the Employer. Prior to accepting any transfers to which this Section applies, the Administrator may require an opinion of counsel that the amounts to be transferred meet the requirements of this Section. The amounts transferred shall be set up in a separate account herein referred to as a Participant's Transfer/Rollover Account. Such account shall be fully Vested at all times and shall not be subject to Forfeiture for any reason. Except as permitted by Regulations (including Regulation 1.411(d)-4), amounts attributable to elective contributions (as defined in Regulation 1.401(k)-1(g)(3)), including amounts treated as elective contributions, which are transferred from another qualified plan in a plan-to-plan transfer (other than a direct rollover) shall be subject to the distribution limitations provided for in Regulation 1.401(k)-1(d). (b) With the consent of the Administrator, the Plan may accept a "rollover" by Eligible Employees, provided the "rollover" will not jeopardize the tax exempt status of the Plan or create adverse tax consequences for the Employer. Prior to accepting any "rollovers" to which this Section applies, the Administrator may require the Employee to establish (by providing opinion of counsel or otherwise) that the amounts to be rolled over to this Plan meet the requirements of this Section. The amounts rolled over shall be set up in a separate account herein referred to as a "Participant's Transfer/Rollover Account." Such account shall be fully Vested at all times and shall not be subject to Forfeiture for any reason. For purposes of this Section, the term "qualified plan" shall mean any tax qualified plan under Code Section 401(a), or, any other plans from which distributions are eligible to be rolled over into this Plan pursuant to the Code. The term "rollover" means: (i) amounts transferred to this Plan directly from another qualified plan; (ii) distributions received by an Employee from other "qualified plans" which are eligible for tax-free rollover to a "qualified plan" and which are transferred by the Employee to this Plan within sixty (60) days following receipt thereof; (iii) amounts transferred to this Plan from a conduit individual retirement account provided that the conduit individual retirement account has no assets other than assets which (A) were previously distributed to the Employee by another "qualified plan" (B) were eligible for tax-free rollover to a "qualified plan" and (C) were deposited in such conduit individual retirement account within sixty (60) days of receipt thereof; (iv) amounts distributed to the Employee from a conduit individual retirement account meeting the requirements of clause (iii) above, and transferred by the Employee to this Plan within sixty (60) days of receipt thereof from such conduit individual retirement account; and (v) any other amounts which are eligible to be rolled over to this Plan pursuant to the Code. (c) Amounts in a Participant's Transfer/Rollover Account shall be held by the Trustee pursuant to the provisions of this Plan and may not be withdrawn by, or distributed to the Participant, in whole or in part, except as provided in paragraph (d) of this Section. The Trustee shall have no duty or responsibility to inquire as to the propriety of the amount, value or type of assets transferred, nor to conduct any due diligence with respect to such assets; provided, however, that such assets are otherwise eligible to be held by the Trustee under the terms of this Plan. (d) The Administrator, at the election of the Participant, shall direct the Trustee to distribute all or a portion of the amount credited to the Participant's Transfer/Rollover Account. Any distributions of amounts held in a Participant's Transfer/Rollover Account shall be made in a manner which is consistent with and satisfies the provisions of Section 7.5, including, but not limited to, all notice and consent requirements of Code Section 411(a)(11) and the Regulations thereunder. Furthermore, such amounts shall be considered as part of a Participant's benefit in determining whether an involuntary cash-out of benefits may be made without Participant consent. (e) The Administrator may direct that Employee transfers and rollovers made after a Valuation Date be segregated into a separate account for each Participant until such time as the allocations pursuant to this Plan have been made, at which time they may remain segregated or be invested as part of the general Trust Fund or be directed by the Participant pursuant to Section 4.12. (f) This Plan shall not accept any direct or indirect transfers (as that term is defined and interpreted under Code Section 401(a)(11) and the Regulations thereunder) from a defined benefit plan, money purchase plan (including a target benefit plan), stock bonus or profit sharing plan which would otherwise have provided for a life annuity form of payment to the Participant. (g) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, a transfer directly to this Plan from another qualified plan (or a transaction having the effect of such a transfer) shall only be permitted if it will not result in the elimination or reduction of any "Section 411(d)(6) protected benefit" as described in Section 9.1. 4.12 DIRECTED INVESTMENT ACCOUNT (a) Participants may, subject to Section 4.12(d) and a procedure established by the Administrator (the Participant Direction Procedures) and applied in a uniform nondiscriminatory manner, direct the Trustee, in writing (or in such other form which is acceptable to the Trustee), to invest all or a portion of their individual account balances in specific assets, specific funds or other investments permitted under the Plan and the Participant Direction Procedures. That portion of the interest of any Participant so directing will thereupon be considered a Participant's Directed Account. (b) As of each Valuation Date, all Participant Directed Accounts shall be charged or credited with the net earnings, gains, losses and expenses as well as any appreciation or depreciation in the market value using publicly listed fair market values when available or appropriate as follows: (1) to the extent that the assets in a Participant's Directed Account are accounted for as pooled assets or investments, the allocation of earnings, gains and losses of each Participant's Directed Account shall be based upon the total amount of funds so invested in a manner proportionate to the Participant's share of such pooled investment; and (2) to the extent that the assets in the Participant's Directed Account are accounted for as segregated assets, the allocation of earnings, gains and losses from such assets shall be made on a separate and distinct basis. (c) Investment directions will be processed as soon as administratively practicable after proper investment directions are received from the Participant. No guarantee is made by the Plan, Employer, Administrator or Trustee that investment directions will be processed on a daily basis, and no guarantee is made in any respect regarding the processing time of an investment direction. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the Employer, Administrator or Trustee reserves the right to not value an investment option on any given Valuation Date for any reason deemed appropriate by the Employer, Administrator or Trustee. Furthermore, the processing of any investment transaction may be delayed for any legitimate business reason (including, but not limited to, failure of systems or computer programs, failure of the means of the transmission of data, force majeure, the failure of a service provider to timely receive values or prices, and correction for errors or omissions or the errors or omissions of any service provider). The processing date of a transaction will be binding for all purposes of the Plan and considered the applicable Valuation Date for an investment transaction. (d) Each "Qualified Participant" may elect within ninety (90) days after the close of each Plan Year during the "Qualified Election Period" to direct the Trustee in writing as to the distribution in cash and/or Company Stock of 25 percent of the total number of shares of Company Stock acquired by or contributed to the Plan that have ever been allocated to such "Qualified Participant's" Company Stock Account (reduced by the number of shares of Company Stock previously distributed in cash and/or Company Stock pursuant to a prior election). In the case of the election year in which the last election can be made by the Participant, the preceding sentence shall be applied by substituting "50 percent" for "25 percent." If the "Qualified Participant" elects to direct the Trustee as to the distribution of the Participant's Company Stock Account, such direction shall be effective no later than 180 days after the close of the Plan Year to which such direction applies. Notwithstanding the above, if the fair market value (determined pursuant to Section 6.1 at the Plan Valuation Date immediately preceding the first day on which a "Qualified Participant" is eligible to make an election) of Company Stock acquired by or contributed to the Plan and allocated to a "Qualified Participant's" Company Stock Account is $500 or less, then such Company Stock shall not be subject to this paragraph. For purposes of determining whether the fair market value exceeds $500, Company Stock held in accounts of all employee stock ownership plans (as defined in Code Section 4975(e)(7)) and tax credit employee stock ownership plans (as defined in Code Section 409(a)) maintained by the Employer or any Affiliated Employer shall be considered as held by the Plan. (e) For the purposes of this Section the following definitions shall apply: (1) "Qualified Participant" means any Participant or Former Participant who has completed ten (10) Years of Service as a Participant and has attained age 55. (2) "Qualified Election Period" means the six (6) Plan Year period beginning with the later of (i) the first Plan Year in which the Participant first became a "Qualified Participant," or (ii) the first Plan Year beginning after December 31, 1986. 4.13 QUALIFIED MILITARY SERVICE Notwithstanding any provision of this Plan to the contrary, effective December 12, 1994, contributions, benefits and service will be provided in accordance with Code Section 414(u). Article V FUNDING AND INVESTMENT POLICY 5.1 INVESTMENT POLICY (a) The Plan is designed to invest primarily in Company Stock. (b) With due regard to subparagraph (a) above, the Administrator may also direct the Trustee to invest funds under the Plan in other property described in the Trust or in life insurance policies to the extent permitted by subparagraph (c) below, or the Trustee may hold such funds in cash or cash equivalents. (c) With due regard to subparagraph (a) above, the Administrator may also direct the Trustee to invest funds under the Plan in insurance policies on the life of any "keyman" Employee. The proceeds of a "keyman" insurance policy may not be used for the repayment of any indebtedness owed by the Plan which is secured by Company Stock. In the event any "keyman" insurance is purchased by the Trustee, the premiums paid thereon during any Plan Year, net of any policy dividends and increases in cash surrender values, shall be treated as the cost of Plan investment and any death benefit or cash surrender value received shall be treated as proceeds from an investment of the Plan. (d) The Plan may not obligate itself to acquire Company Stock from a particular holder thereof at an indefinite time determined upon the happening of an event such as the death of the holder. (e) The Plan may not obligate itself to acquire Company Stock under a put option binding upon the Plan. However, at the time a put option is exercised, the Plan may be given an option to assume the rights and obligations of the Employer under a put option binding upon the Employer. (f) All purchases of Company Stock shall be made at a price which, in the judgment of the Administrator, does not exceed the fair market value thereof. All sales of Company Stock shall be made at a price which, in the judgment of the Administrator, is not less than the fair market value thereof. The valuation rules set forth in Article VI shall be applicable. 5.2 APPLICATION OF CASH Employer contributions in cash, and any earnings on such contributions, shall first be applied to pay any Current Obligations of the Trust Fund. 5.3 LOANS TO THE TRUST (a) The Plan may borrow money for any lawful purpose, provided the proceeds of an Exempt Loan are used within a reasonable time after receipt only for any or all of the following purposes: (1) To acquire Company Stock. (2) To repay such loan. (3) To repay a prior Exempt Loan. (b) All loans to the Trust which are made or guaranteed by a disqualified person must satisfy all requirements applicable to Exempt Loans including but not limited to the following: (1) The loan must be at a reasonable rate of interest; (2) Any collateral pledged to the creditor by the Plan shall consist only of the Company Stock purchased with the borrowed funds; (3) Under the terms of the loan, any pledge of Company Stock shall provide for the release of shares so pledged on a pro-rata basis pursuant to Section 4.4(e); (4) Under the terms of the loan, the creditor shall have no recourse against the Plan except with respect to such collateral, earnings attributable to such collateral, Employer contributions (other than contributions of Company Stock) that are made to meet Current Obligations and earnings attributable to such contributions; (5) The loan must be for a specific term and may not be payable at the demand of any person, except in the case of default; (6) In the event of default upon an Exempt Loan, the value of the Trust Fund transferred in satisfaction of the Exempt Loan shall not exceed the amount of default. If the lender is a disqualified person, an Exempt Loan shall provide for a transfer of Trust Funds upon default only upon and to the extent of the failure of the Plan to meet the payment schedule of the Exempt Loan; (7) Exempt Loan payments during a Plan Year must not exceed an amount equal to: (A) the sum, over all Plan Years, of all contributions and cash dividends paid by the Employer to the Plan with respect to such Exempt Loan and earnings on such Employer contributions and cash dividends, less (B) the sum of the Exempt Loan payments in all preceding Plan Years. A separate accounting shall be maintained for such Employer contributions, cash dividends and earnings until the Exempt Loan is repaid. (c) For purposes of this Section, the term "disqualified person" means a person who is a Fiduciary, a person providing services to the Plan, an Employer any of whose Employees are covered by the Plan, an employee organization any of whose members are covered by the Plan, an owner, direct or indirect, of 50% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of voting stock or of the total value of all classes of the stock, or an officer, director, 10% or more shareholder, or a highly compensated Employee. Article VI VALUATIONS 6.1 VALUATION OF THE TRUST FUND The Administrator shall direct the Trustee, as of each Valuation Date, to determine the net worth of the assets comprising the Trust Fund as it exists on the Valuation Date. In determining such net worth, the Trustee shall value the assets comprising the Trust Fund at their fair market value (or their contractual value in the case of a Contract or Policy) as of the Valuation Date and shall deduct all expenses for which the Trustee has not yet obtained reimbursement from the Employer or the Trust Fund. The Trustee may update the value of any shares held in the Participant Directed Account by reference to the number of shares held by that Participant, priced at the market value as of the Valuation Date. 6.2 METHOD OF VALUATION Valuations must be made in good faith and based on all relevant factors for determining the fair market value of securities. In the case of a transaction between a Plan and a disqualified person, value must be determined as of the date of the transaction. For all other Plan purposes, value must be determined as of the most recent Valuation Date under the Plan. An independent appraisal will not in itself be a good faith determination of value in the case of a transaction between the Plan and a disqualified person. However, in other cases, a determination of fair market value based on at least an annual appraisal independently arrived at by a person who customarily makes such appraisals and who is independent of any party to the transaction will be deemed to be a good faith determination of value. Company Stock not readily tradeable on an established securities market shall be valued by an independent appraiser meeting requirements similar to the requirements of the Regulations prescribed under Code Section 170(a)(1). Article VII DETERMINATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS 7.1 DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS UPON RETIREMENT Every Participant may terminate employment with the Employer and retire for the purposes hereof on the Participant's Normal Retirement Date. However, a Participant may postpone the termination of employment with the Employer to a later date, in which event the participation of such Participant in the Plan, including the right to receive allocations pursuant to Section 4.4, shall continue until such Participant's Late Retirement Date. Upon a Participant's Retirement Date or attainment of Normal Retirement Date without termination of employment with the Employer, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, the Trustee shall distribute, at the election of the Participant, all amounts credited to such Participant's Combined Account in accordance with Sections 7.5 and 7.6. 7.2 DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS UPON DEATH (a) Upon the death of a Participant before the Participant's Retirement Date or other termination of employment, all amounts credited to such Participant's Combined Account shall become fully Vested. If elected, distribution of the Participant's Combined Account shall commence not later than one (1) year after the close of the Plan Year in which such Participant's death occurs. The Administrator shall direct the Trustee, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 7.5 and 7.6, to distribute the value of the deceased Participant's accounts to the Participant's Beneficiary. (b) Upon the death of a Former Participant, the Administrator shall direct the Trustee, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 7.5 and 7.6, to distribute any remaining Vested amounts credited to the accounts of a deceased Former Participant to such Former Participant's Beneficiary. (c) Any security interest held by the Plan by reason of an outstanding loan to the Participant or Former Participant shall be taken into account in determining the amount of the death benefit. (d) The Administrator may require such proper proof of death and such evidence of the right of any person to receive payment of the value of the account of a deceased Participant or Former Participant as the Administrator may deem desirable. The Administrator's determination of death and of the right of any person to receive payment shall be conclusive. (e) The Beneficiary of the death benefit payable pursuant to this Section shall be the Participant's spouse. Except, however, the Participant may designate a Beneficiary other than the spouse if: (1) the spouse has waived the right to be the Participant's Beneficiary, or (2) the Participant is legally separated or has been abandoned (within the meaning of local law) and the Participant has a court order to such effect (and there is no "qualified domestic relations order" as defined in Code Section 414(p) which provides otherwise), or (3) the Participant has no spouse, or (4) the spouse cannot be located. In such event, the designation of a Beneficiary shall be made on a form satisfactory to the Administrator. A Participant may at any time revoke a designation of a Beneficiary or change a Beneficiary by filing written (or in such other form as permitted by the Internal Revenue Service) notice of such revocation or change with the Administrator. However, the Participant's spouse must again consent in writing (or in such other form as permitted by the Internal Revenue Service) to any change in Beneficiary unless the original consent acknowledged that the spouse had the right to limit consent only to a specific Beneficiary and that the spouse voluntarily elected to relinquish such right. (f) In the event no valid designation of Beneficiary exists, or if the Beneficiary is not alive at the time of the Participant's death, the death benefit will be paid to the Participant's estate. If the Beneficiary does not predecease the Participant, but dies prior to distribution of the death benefit, the death benefit will be paid to the Beneficiary's estate. (g) Notwithstanding anything in this Section to the contrary, if a Participant has designated the spouse as a Beneficiary, then a divorce decree or a legal separation that relates to such spouse shall revoke the Participant's designation of the spouse as a Beneficiary unless the decree or a qualified domestic relations order (within the meaning of Code Section 414(p)) provides otherwise. (h) Any consent by the Participant's spouse to waive any rights to the death benefit must be in writing (or in such other form as permitted by the Internal Revenue Service), must acknowledge the effect of such waiver, and be witnessed by a Plan representative or a notary public. Further, the spouse's consent must be irrevocable and must acknowledge the specific nonspouse Beneficiary. 7.3 DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS IN EVENT OF DISABILITY In the event of a Participant's Total and Permanent Disability prior to the Participant's Retirement Date or other termination of employment, all amounts credited to such Participant's Combined Account shall become fully Vested. In the event of a Participant's Total and Permanent Disability, the Administrator, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 7.5 and 7.6, shall direct the distribution to such Participant of all Vested amounts credited to such Participant's Combined Account. If such Participant elects, distribution shall commence not later than one (1) year after the close of the Plan Year in which Total and Permanent Disability occurs. 7.4 DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS UPON TERMINATION (a) If a Participant's employment with the Employer is terminated for any reason other than death, Total and Permanent Disability or retirement, then such Participant shall be entitled to such benefits as are provided hereinafter pursuant to this Section 7.4. If a portion of a Participant's Account is forfeited, Company Stock allocated to the Participant's Company Stock Account must be forfeited only after the Participant's Other Investments Account has been depleted. If interest in more than one class of Company Stock has been allocated to a Participant's Account, the Participant must be treated as forfeiting the same proportion of each such class. Distribution of the funds due to a Terminated Participant shall be made on the occurrence of an event which would result in the distribution had the Terminated Participant remained in the employ of the Employer (upon the Participant's death, Total and Permanent Disability or Normal Retirement). However, at the election of the Participant, the Administrator shall direct the Trustee that the entire Vested portion of the Terminated Participant's Combined Account to be payable to such Terminated Participant on or after the Anniversary Date coinciding with or next following termination of employment Any distribution under this paragraph shall be made in a manner which is consistent with and satisfies the provisions of Section 7.5 and 7.6, including, but not limited to, all notice and consent requirements of Code Section 411(a)(11) and the Regulations thereunder. If, for Plan Years beginning after August 5, 1997, the value of a Terminated Participant's Vested benefit derived from Employer and Employee contributions does not exceed $5,000 ($3,500 for Plan Years beginning prior to August 6, 1997) and, if the distribution is made prior to March 22, 1999, has never exceeded $5,000 ($3,500 for Plan Years beginning prior to August 6, 1997) at the time of any prior distribution, then the Administrator shall direct the Trustee to cause the entire Vested benefit to be paid to such Participant in a single lump sum. (b) A Participant shall become fully Vested in the Participant's Account immediately upon entry into the Plan. (c) The computation of a Participant's nonforfeitable percentage of such Participant's interest in the Plan shall not be reduced as the result of any direct or indirect amendment to this Plan. In the event that the Plan is amended to change or modify any vesting schedule, or if the Plan is amended in any way that directly or indirectly affects the computation of the Participant's nonforfeitable percentage, or if the Plan is deemed amended by an automatic change to a top heavy vesting schedule then each Participant with at least three (3) Years of Service as of the expiration date of the election period may elect to have such Participant's nonforfeitable percentage computed under the Plan without regard to such amendment or change. If a Participant fails to make such election, then such Participant shall be subject to the new vesting schedule. The Participant's election period shall commence on the adoption date of the amendment and shall end sixty (60) days after the latest of: (1) the adoption date of the amendment, (2) the effective date of the amendment, or (3) the date the Participant receives written notice of the amendment from the Employer or Administrator. 7.5 DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS (a) The Administrator, pursuant to the election of the Participant, shall direct the Trustee to distribute to a Participant or such Participant's Beneficiary any amount to which the Participant is entitled under the Plan in one or more of the following methods: (1) One lump-sum payment. (2) Payments over a period certain in monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual installments. The period over which such payment is to be made shall not extend beyond the earlier of the Participant's life expectancy (or the life expectancy of the Participant and the Participant's designated Beneficiary) or the limited distribution period provided for in Section 7.5(b). (b) Unless the Participant elects in writing (or such other form as permitted by the Internal Revenue Service) a longer distribution period, distributions to a Participant or the Participant's Beneficiary attributable to Company Stock shall be in substantially equal monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual installments over a period not longer than five (5) years. In the case of a Participant with an account balance attributable to Company Stock in excess of $500,000, the five (5) year period shall be extended one (1) additional year (but not more than five (5) additional years) for each $100,000 or fraction thereof by which such balance exceeds $500,000. The dollar limits shall be adjusted at the same time and in the same manner as provided in Code Section 415(d). (c) Any distribution to a Participant, for Plan Years beginning after August 5, 1997, who has a benefit which exceeds $5,000 ($3,500 for Plan Years beginning prior to August 6, 1997) or, if the distribution is made prior to March 22, 1999, has ever exceeded $5,000 ($3,500 for Plan Years beginning prior to August 6, 1997) at the time of any prior distribution, shall require such Participant's written (or in such other form as permitted by the Internal Revenue Service) consent if such distribution commences prior to the time the benefit is "immediately distributable." A benefit is "immediately distributable" if any part of the benefit could be distributed to the Participant (or surviving spouse) before the Participant attains (or would have attained if not deceased) the later of the Participant's Normal Retirement Age or age 62. However, for distributions prior to October 17, 2000, if a Participant has begun to receive distributions pursuant to an optional form of benefit under which at least one scheduled periodic distribution has not yet been made, and if the value of the Participant's benefit, determined at the time of the first distribution under that optional form of benefit, exceeded $5,000 ($3,500 for Plan Years beginning prior to August 6, 1997), then the value of the Participant's benefit prior to October 17, 2000 is deemed to continue to exceed such amount. With regard to this required consent: (1) The Participant must be informed of the right to defer receipt of the distribution. If a Participant fails to consent, it shall be deemed an election to defer the commencement of payment of any benefit. However, any election to defer the receipt of benefits shall not apply with respect to distributions which are required under Section 7.5(f). (2) Notice of the rights specified under this paragraph shall be provided no less than thirty (30) days and no more than ninety (90) days before the date the distribution commences. (3) Written (or such other form as permitted by the Internal Revenue Service) consent of the Participant to the distribution must not be made before the Participant receives the notice and must not be made more than ninety (90) days before the date the distribution commences. (4) No consent shall be valid if a significant detriment is imposed under the Plan on any Participant who does not consent to the distribution. Any such distribution may commence less than thirty (30) days after the notice required under Regulation 1.411(a)-11(c) is given, provided that: (1) the Administrator clearly informs the Participant that the Participant has a right to a period of at least thirty (30) days after receiving the notice to consider the decision of whether or not to elect a distribution (and, if applicable, a particular distribution option), and (2) the Participant, after receiving the notice, affirmatively elects a distribution. (d) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Administrator may direct that cash dividends on shares of Company Stock allocable to Participants' or Former Participants' Company Stock Accounts be distributed to such Participants or Former Participants within ninety (90) days after the close of the Plan Year in which the dividends are paid. (e) Any part of a Participant's benefit which is retained in the Plan after the Anniversary Date on which the Participant's participation ends will continue to be treated as a Company Stock Account or as an Other Investments Account (subject to Section 7.4(a) as provided in Article IV. However, neither account will be credited with any further Employer contributions. (f) Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan to the contrary, the distribution of a Participant's benefits made on or after January 1, 1997 shall be made in accordance with the following requirements and shall otherwise comply with Code Section 401(a)(9) and the Regulations thereunder (including Regulation 1.401(a)(9)-2), the provisions of which are incorporated herein by reference: (1) A Participant's benefits shall be distributed or must begin to be distributed not later than April 1st of the calendar year following the later of (i) the calendar year in which the Participant attains age 70 1/2 or (ii) the calendar year in which the Participant retires, provided, however, that this clause (ii) shall not apply in the case of a Participant who is a "five (5) percent owner" at any time during the Plan Year ending with or within the calendar year in which such owner attains age 70 1/2. Such distributions shall be equal to or greater than any required distribution. Any Participant attaining age 70 1/2 in years after 1995 may elect by the April 1st of the calendar year following the year in which the Participant attained age 70 1/2 (or by December 31, 1997 in the case of a Participant attaining age 70 1/2 in 1996), to defer distributions until the calendar year following the calendar year in which the Participant retires. Alternatively, distributions to a Participant must begin no later than the applicable April 1st as determined under the preceding paragraph and must be made over a period certain measured by the life expectancy of the Participant (or the life expectancies of the Participant and the Participant's designated Beneficiary) in accordance with Regulations. (2) Distributions to a Participant and the Participant's Beneficiaries shall only be made in accordance with the incidental death benefit requirements of Code Section 401(a)(9)(G) and the Regulations thereunder. With respect to distributions under the Plan made for calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2002, the Plan will apply the minimum distribution requirements of Code Section 401(a)(9) in accordance with the Regulations under Code Section 401(a)(9) that were proposed on January 17, 2001, notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary. This amendment shall continue in effect until the end of the last calendar year beginning before the effective date of final Regulations under Code Section 401(a)(9) or such other date specified in guidance published by the Internal Revenue Service. (g) Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan to the contrary, distributions upon the death of a Participant shall be made in accordance with the following requirements and shall otherwise comply with Code Section 401(a)(9) and the Regulations thereunder. If it is determined, pursuant to Regulations, that the distribution of a Participant's interest has begun and the Participant dies before the entire interest has been distributed, the remaining portion of such interest shall be distributed at least as rapidly as under the method of distribution selected pursuant to Section 7.5as of the date of death. If a Participant dies before receiving any distributions of the interest in the Plan or before distributions are deemed to have begun pursuant to Regulations, then the death benefit shall be distributed to the Participant's Beneficiaries by December 31st of the calendar year in which the fifth anniversary of the Participant's date of death occurs. However, the 5-year distribution requirement of the preceding paragraph shall not apply to any portion of the deceased Participant's interest which is payable to or for the benefit of a designated Beneficiary. In such event, such portion shall be distributed over a period not extending beyond the life expectancy of such designated Beneficiary provided such distribution begins not later than December 31st of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the Participant died. However, in the event the Participant's spouse (determined as of the date of the Participant's death) is the designated Beneficiary, the requirement that distributions commence within one year of a Participant's death shall not apply. In lieu thereof, distributions must commence on or before the later of: (1) December 31st of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the Participant died; or (2) December 31st of the calendar year in which the Participant would have attained age 70 1/2. If the surviving spouse dies before distributions to such spouse begin, then the 5-year distribution requirement of this Section shall apply as if the spouse was the Participant. (h) For purposes of this Section, the life expectancy of a Participant and a Participant's spouse shall not be redetermined in accordance with Code Section 401(a)(9)(D). Life expectancy and joint and last survivor expectancy shall be computed using the return multiples in Tables V and VI of Regulation 1.72-9. (i) Except as limited by Sections 7.5 and 7.6, whenever the Trustee is to make a distribution or to commence a series of payments, the distribution or series of payments may be made or begun on such date or as soon thereafter as is practicable. However, unless a Former Participant elects in writing to defer the receipt of benefits (such election may not result in a death benefit that is more than incidental), the payment of benefits shall begin not later than the sixtieth (60th) day after the close of the Plan Year in which the latest of the following events occurs: (1) the date on which the Participant attains the earlier of age 65 or the Normal Retirement Age specified herein; (2) the tenth (10th) anniversary of the year in which the Participant commenced participation in the Plan; or (3) the date the Participant terminates his service with the Employer. 7.6 HOW PLAN BENEFIT WILL BE DISTRIBUTED (a) Distribution of a Participant's benefit may be made in cash or Company Stock or both, provided, however, that if a Participant or Beneficiary so demands, such benefit shall be distributed only in the form of Company Stock. Prior to making a distribution of benefits, the Administrator shall advise the Participant or the Participant's Beneficiary, in writing (or such other form as permitted by the Internal Revenue Service), of the right to demand that benefits be distributed solely in Company Stock. (b) If a Participant or Beneficiary demands that benefits be distributed solely in Company Stock, distribution of a Participant's benefit will be made entirely in whole shares or other units of Company Stock. Any balance in a Participant's Other Investments Account will be applied to acquire for distribution the maximum number of whole shares or other units of Company Stock at the then fair market value. Any fractional unit value unexpended will be distributed in cash. If Company Stock is not available for purchase by the Trustee, then the Trustee shall hold such balance until Company Stock is acquired and then make such distribution, subject to Sections 7.5(i) and 7.5(f). (c) The Trustee will make distribution from the Trust only on instructions from the Administrator. (d) Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, if the Employer charter or by-laws restrict ownership of substantially all shares of Company Stock to Employees and the Trust Fund, as described in Code Section 409(h)(2)(B)(ii)(I), the Administrator shall distribute a Participant's Combined Account entirely in cash without granting the Participant the right to demand distribution in shares of Company Stock. (e) Except as otherwise provided herein, Company Stock distributed by the Trustee may be restricted as to sale or transfer by the by-laws or articles of incorporation of the Employer, provided restrictions are applicable to all Company Stock of the same class. If a Participant is required to offer the sale of Company Stock to the Employer before offering to sell Company Stock to a third party, in no event may the Employer pay a price less than that offered to the distributee by another potential buyer making a bona fide offer and in no event shall the Trustee pay a price less than the fair market value of the Company Stock. (f) If Company Stock acquired with the proceeds of an Exempt Loan (described in Section 5.3 hereof) is available for distribution and consists of more than one class, a Participant or the Participant's Beneficiary must receive substantially the same proportion of each such class. 7.7 DISTRIBUTION FOR MINOR OR INCOMPETENT BENEFICIARY In the event a distribution is to be made to a minor or incompetent Beneficiary, then the Administrator may direct that such distribution be paid to the legal guardian, or if none in the case of a minor Beneficiary, to a parent of such Beneficiary or a responsible adult with whom the Beneficiary maintains residence, or to the custodian for such Beneficiary under the Uniform Gift to Minors Act or Gift to Minors Act, if such is permitted by the laws of the state in which said Beneficiary resides. Such a payment to the legal guardian, custodian or parent of a minor Beneficiary shall fully discharge the Trustee, Employer, and Plan from further liability on account thereof. 7.8 LOCATION OF PARTICIPANT OR BENEFICIARY UNKNOWN In the event that all, or any portion, of the distribution payable to a Participant or Beneficiary hereunder shall, at the later of the Participant's attainment of age 62 or Normal Retirement Age, remain unpaid solely by reason of the inability of the Administrator, after sending a registered letter, return receipt requested, to the last known address, and after further diligent effort, to ascertain the whereabouts of such Participant or Beneficiary, the amount so distributable shall be treated as a Forfeiture pursuant to the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, effective 1/1/2002, or if later, the adoption date of this amendment and restatement, if the value of a Participant's Vested benefit derived from Employer and Employee contributions does not exceed $5,000 ($3,500 for Plan Years beginning prior to August 6, 1997), then the amount distributable may, in the sole discretion of the Administrator, either be treated as a Forfeiture, or be paid directly to an individual retirement account described in Code Section 408(a) or individual retirement annuity described in Code Section 408(b) at the time it is determined that the whereabouts of the Participant or the Participant's Beneficiary cannot be ascertained. In the event a Participant or Beneficiary is located subsequent to the Forfeiture, such benefit shall be restored, first from Forfeitures, if any, and then from an additional Employer contribution if necessary. However, regardless of the preceding, a benefit which is lost by reason of escheat under applicable state law is not treated as a Forfeiture for purposes of this Section nor as an impermissible forfeiture under the Code. 7.9 NONTERMINABLE PROTECTIONS AND RIGHTS No Company Stock acquired with the proceeds of a loan described in Section 5.3 hereof may be subject to a put, call, or other option, or buy-sell or similar arrangement when held by and when distributed from the Trust Fund, whether or not the Plan is then an ESOP. The protections and rights granted in this Section are nonterminable, and such protections and rights shall continue to exist under the terms of this Plan so long as any Company Stock acquired with the proceeds of a loan described in Section 5.3 hereof is held by the Trust Fund or by any Participant or other person for whose benefit such protections and rights have been created, and neither the repayment of such loan nor the failure of the Plan to be an ESOP, nor an amendment of the Plan shall cause a termination of said protections and rights. 7.10 QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER DISTRIBUTION All rights and benefits, including elections, provided to a Participant in this Plan shall be subject to the rights afforded to any "alternate payee" under a "qualified domestic relations order." Furthermore, a distribution to an "alternate payee" shall be permitted if such distribution is authorized by a "qualified domestic relations order," even if the affected Participant has not separated from service and has not reached the "earliest retirement age" under the Plan. For the purposes of this Section, "alternate payee," "qualified domestic relations order" and "earliest retirement age" shall have the meaning set forth under Code Section 414(p). Article VIII TRUSTEE 8.1 BASIC RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEE (a) The Trustee shall have the following categories of responsibilities: (1) Consistent with the "funding policy and method" determined by the Employer, to invest, manage, and control the Plan assets subject, however, to the direction of a Participant with respect to Participant Directed Accounts, the Employer or an Investment Manager if the Trustee should appoint such manager as to all or a portion of the assets of the Plan; (2) At the direction of the Administrator, to pay benefits required under the Plan to be paid to Participants, or, in the event of their death, to their Beneficiaries; and (3) To maintain records of receipts and disbursements and furnish to the Employer and/or Administrator for each Plan Year a written annual report pursuant to Section 8.8. (b) In the event that the Trustee shall be directed by a Participant (pursuant to the Participant Direction Procedures), or the Employer, or an Investment Manager with respect to the investment of any or all Plan assets, the Trustee shall have no liability with respect to the investment of such assets, but shall be responsible only to execute such investment instructions as so directed. (1) The Trustee shall be entitled to rely fully on the written (or other form acceptable to the Administrator and the Trustee, including, but not limited to, voice recorded) instructions of a Participant (pursuant to the Participant Direction Procedures), or the Employer, or any Fiduciary or nonfiduciary agent of the Employer, in the discharge of such duties, and shall not be liable for any loss or other liability, resulting from such direction (or lack of direction) of the investment of any part of the Plan assets. (2) The Trustee may delegate the duty of executing such instructions to any nonfiduciary agent, which may be an affiliate of the Trustee or any Plan representative. (3) The Trustee may refuse to comply with any direction from the Participant in the event the Trustee, in its sole and absolute discretion, deems such directions improper by virtue of applicable law. The Trustee shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or expense which may result from the Trustee's refusal or failure to comply with any directions from the Participant. (4) Any costs and expenses related to compliance with the Participant's directions shall be borne by the Participant's Directed Account, unless paid by the Employer. (c) If there shall be more than one Trustee, they shall act by a majority of their number, but may authorize one or more of them to sign papers on their behalf. 8.2 INVESTMENT POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE TRUSTEE (a) The Trustee shall invest and reinvest the Trust Fund to keep the Trust Fund invested without distinction between principal and income and in such securities or property, real or personal, wherever situated, as the Trustee shall deem advisable, including, but not limited to, stocks, common or preferred, open-end or close-end mutual funds, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness or ownership, and real estate or any interest therein. The Trustee shall at all times in making investments of the Trust Fund consider, among other factors, the short and long-term financial needs of the Plan on the basis of information furnished by the Employer. In making such investments, the Trustee shall not be restricted to securities or other property of the character expressly authorized by the applicable law for trust investments; however, the Trustee shall give due regard to any limitations imposed by the Code or the Act so that at all times the Plan may qualify as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust. (b) The Trustee may employ a bank or trust company pursuant to the terms of its usual and customary bank agency agreement, under which the duties of such bank or trust company shall be of a custodial, clerical and record-keeping nature. (c) In the event the Trustee invests any part of the Trust Fund, pursuant to the directions of the Administrator, in any shares of stock issued by the Employer, and the Administrator thereafter directs the Trustee to dispose of such investment, or any part thereof, under circumstances which, in the opinion of counsel for the Trustee, require registration of the securities under the Securities Act of 1933 and/or qualification of the securities under the Blue Sky laws of any state or states, then the Employer at its own expense, will take or cause to be taken any and all such action as may be necessary or appropriate to effect such registration and/or qualification. 8.3 OTHER POWERS OF THE TRUSTEE The Trustee, in addition to all powers and authorities under common law, statutory authority, including the Act, and other provisions of the Plan, shall have the following powers and authorities, to be exercised in the Trustee's sole discretion: (a) To purchase, or subscribe for, any securities or other property and to retain the same. In conjunction with the purchase of securities, margin accounts may be opened and maintained; (b) To sell, exchange, convey, transfer, grant options to purchase, or otherwise dispose of any securities or other property held by the Trustee, by private contract or at public auction. No person dealing with the Trustee shall be bound to see to the application of the purchase money or to inquire into the validity, expediency, or propriety of any such sale or other disposition, with or without advertisement; (c) To vote upon any stocks, bonds, or other securities; to give general or special proxies or powers of attorney with or without power of substitution; to exercise any conversion privileges, subscription rights or other options, and to make any payments incidental thereto; to oppose, or to consent to, or otherwise participate in, corporate reorganizations or other changes affecting corporate securities, and to delegate discretionary powers, and to pay any assessments or charges in connection therewith; and generally to exercise any of the powers of an owner with respect to stocks, bonds, securities, or other property. However, the Trustee shall not vote proxies relating to securities for which it has not been assigned full investment management responsibilities. In those cases where another party has such investment authority or discretion, the Trustee will deliver all proxies to said party who will then have full responsibility for voting those proxies; (d) To cause any securities or other property to be registered in the Trustee's own name or in the name of one or more of the Trustee's nominees, in a clearing corporation, in a depository, or in entry form or in bearer form, but the books and records of the Trustee shall at all times show that all such investments are part of the Trust Fund; (e) To borrow or raise money for the purposes of the Plan in such amount, and upon such terms and conditions, as the Trustee shall deem advisable; and for any sum so borrowed, to issue a promissory note as Trustee, and to secure the repayment thereof by pledging all, or any part, of the Trust Fund; and no person lending money to the Trustee shall be bound to see to the application of the money lent or to inquire into the validity, expediency, or propriety of any borrowing; (f) To keep such portion of the Trust Fund in cash or cash balances as the Trustee may, from time to time, deem to be in the best interests of the Plan, without liability for interest thereon; (g) To accept and retain for such time as the Trustee may deem advisable any securities or other property received or acquired as Trustee hereunder, whether or not such securities or other property would normally be purchased as investments hereunder; (h) To make, execute, acknowledge, and deliver any and all documents of transfer and conveyance and any and all other instruments that may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the powers herein granted; (i) To settle, compromise, or submit to arbitration any claims, debts, or damages due or owing to or from the Plan, to commence or defend suits or legal or administrative proceedings, and to represent the Plan in all suits and legal and administrative proceedings; (j) To employ suitable agents and counsel and to pay their reasonable expenses and compensation, and such agent or counsel may or may not be agent or counsel for the Employer; (k) To apply for and procure from responsible insurance companies, to be selected by the Administrator, as an investment of the Trust Fund such annuity, or other Contracts (on the life of any Participant) as the Administrator shall deem proper; to exercise, at any time or from time to time, whatever rights and privileges may be granted under such annuity, or other Contracts; to collect, receive, and settle for the proceeds of all such annuity or other Contracts as and when entitled to do so under the provisions thereof; (l) To invest funds of the Trust in time deposits or savings accounts bearing a reasonable rate of interest or in cash or cash balances without liability for interest thereon; (m) To invest in Treasury Bills and other forms of United States government obligations; (n) To invest in shares of investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940; (o) To deposit monies in federally insured savings accounts or certificates of deposit in banks or savings and loan associations; (p) To vote Company Stock as provided in Section 8.5; (q) To consent to or otherwise participate in reorganizations, recapitalizations, consolidations, mergers and similar transactions with respect to Company Stock or any other securities and to pay any assessments or charges in connection therewith; (r) To deposit such Company Stock (but only if such deposit does not violate the provisions of Section 8.5 hereof) or other securities in any voting trust, or with any protective or like committee, or with a trustee or with depositories designated thereby; (s) To sell or exercise any options, subscription rights and conversion privileges and to make any payments incidental thereto; (t) To exercise any of the powers of an owner, with respect to such Company Stock and other securities or other property comprising the Trust Fund. The Administrator, with the Trustee's approval, may authorize the Trustee to act on any administrative matter or class of matters with respect to which direction or instruction to the Trustee by the Administrator is called for hereunder without specific direction or other instruction from the Administrator; (u) To sell, purchase and acquire put or call options if the options are traded on and purchased through a national securities exchange registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or, if the options are not traded on a national securities exchange, are guaranteed by a member firm of the New York Stock Exchange regardless of whether such options are covered; (v) To appoint a nonfiduciary agent or agents to assist the Trustee in carrying out any investment instructions of Participants and of any Investment Manager or Fiduciary, and to compensate such agent(s) from the assets of the Plan, to the extent not paid by the Employer; (w) To do all such acts and exercise all such rights and privileges, although not specifically mentioned herein, as the Trustee may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of the Plan. 8.4 LOANS TO PARTICIPANTS (a) The Trustee may, in the Trustee's discretion, make loans to Participants and Beneficiaries under the following circumstances: (1) loans shall be made available to all Participants and Beneficiaries on a reasonably equivalent basis; (2) loans shall not be made available to Highly Compensated Employees in an amount greater than the amount made available to other Participants and Beneficiaries; (3) loans shall bear a reasonable rate of interest; (4) loans shall be adequately secured; and (5) loans shall provide for periodic repayment over a reasonable period of time. (b) Loans made pursuant to this Section (when added to the outstanding balance of all other loans made by the Plan to the Participant) may, in accordance with a uniform and nondiscriminatory policy established by the Administrator, be limited to the lesser of: (1) $50,000 reduced by the excess (if any) of the highest outstanding balance of loans from the Plan to the Participant during the one year period ending on the day before the date on which such loan is made, over the outstanding balance of loans from the Plan to the Participant on the date on which such loan was made, or (2) one-half (1/2) of the present value of the non-forfeitable accrued benefit of the Participant under the Plan. For purposes of this limit, all plans of the Employer shall be considered one plan. (c) Loans shall provide for level amortization with payments to be made not less frequently than quarterly over a period not to exceed five (5) years. However, loans used to acquire any dwelling unit which, within a reasonable time, is to be used (determined at the time the loan is made) as a "principal residence" of the Participant shall provide for periodic repayment over a reasonable period of time that may exceed five (5) years. For this purpose, a "principal residence" has the same meaning as a "principal residence" under Code Section 1034. Loan repayments may be suspended under this Plan as permitted under Code Section 414(u)(4). (d) Any loans granted or renewed shall be made pursuant to a Participant loan program. Such loan program shall be established in writing and must include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) the identity of the person or positions authorized to administer the Participant loan program; (2) a procedure for applying for loans; (3) the basis on which loans will be approved or denied; (4) limitations, if any, on the types and amounts of loans offered, including what constitutes a hardship or financial need; (5) the procedure under the program for determining a reasonable rate of interest; (6) the types of collateral which may secure a Participant loan; and (7) the events constituting default and the steps that will be taken to preserve Plan assets. Such Participant loan program shall be contained in a separate written document which, when properly executed, is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of the Plan. Furthermore, such Participant loan program may be modified or amended in writing from time to time without the necessity of amending this Section. (e) Notwithstanding anything in this Plan to the contrary, if a Participant or Beneficiary defaults on a loan made pursuant to this Section, then the loan default will be a distributable event to the extent permitted by the Code and Regulations. (f) Notwithstanding anything in this Section to the contrary, any loans made prior to the date this amendment and restatement is adopted shall be subject to the terms of the plan in effect at the time such loan was made. 8.5 VOTING COMPANY STOCK The Trustee shall vote all Company Stock held by it as part of the Plan assets. Provided, however, that if any agreement entered into by the Trust provides for voting of any shares of Company Stock pledged as security for any obligation of the Plan, then such shares of Company Stock shall be voted in accordance with such agreement. If the Trustee does not timely receive voting directions from a Participant or Beneficiary with respect to any Company Stock allocated to that Participant's or Beneficiary's Company Stock Account, the Trustee shall vote such Company Stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Employer has a registration-type class of securities, each Participant or Beneficiary shall be entitled to direct the Trustee as to the manner in which the Company Stock which is entitled to vote and which is allocated to the Company Stock Account of such Participant or Beneficiary is to be voted. If the Employer does not have a registration-type class of securities, each Participant or Beneficiary in the Plan shall be entitled to direct the Trustee as to the manner in which voting rights on shares of Company Stock which are allocated to the Company Stock Account of such Participant or Beneficiary are to be exercised with respect to any corporate matter which involves the voting of such shares with respect to the approval or disapproval of any corporate merger or consolidation, recapitalization, reclassification, liquidation, dissolution, sale of substantially all assets of a trade or business, or such similar transaction as prescribed in Regulations. For purposes of this Section the term "registration-type class of securities" means: (A) a class of securities required to be registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and (B) a class of securities which would be required to be so registered except for the exemption from registration provided in subsection (g)(2)(H) of such Section 12. If the Employer does not have a registration-type class of securities and the by-laws of the Employer require the Plan to vote an issue in a manner that reflects a one-man, one-vote philosophy, each Participant or Beneficiary shall be entitled to cast one vote on an issue and the Trustee shall vote the shares held by the Plan in proportion to the results of the votes cast on the issue by the Participants and Beneficiaries. 8.6 DUTIES OF THE TRUSTEE REGARDING PAYMENTS At the direction of the Administrator, the Trustee shall, from time to time, in accordance with the terms of the Plan, make payments out of the Trust Fund. The Trustee shall not be responsible in any way for the application of such payments. 8.7 TRUSTEE'S COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES AND TAXES The Trustee shall be paid such reasonable compensation as set forth in the Trustee's fee schedule (if the Trustee has such a schedule) or as agreed upon in writing by the Employer and the Trustee. However, an individual serving as Trustee who already receives full-time pay from the Employer shall not receive compensation from the Plan. In addition, the Trustee shall be reimbursed for any reasonable expenses, including reasonable counsel fees incurred by it as Trustee. Such compensation and expenses shall be paid from the Trust Fund unless paid or advanced by the Employer. All taxes of any kind whatsoever that may be levied or assessed under existing or future laws upon, or in respect of, the Trust Fund or the income thereof, shall be paid from the Trust Fund. 8.8 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEE (a) Within a reasonable period of time after the later of the Anniversary Date or receipt of the Employer contribution for each Plan Year, the Trustee, or its agent, shall furnish to the Employer and Administrator a written statement of account with respect to the Plan Year for which such contribution was made setting forth: (1) the net income, or loss, of the Trust Fund; (2) the gains, or losses, realized by the Trust Fund upon sales or other disposition of the assets; (3) the increase, or decrease, in the value of the Trust Fund; (4) all payments and distributions made from the Trust Fund; and (5) such further information as the Trustee and/or Administrator deems appropriate. (b) The Employer, promptly upon its receipt of each such statement of account, shall acknowledge receipt thereof in writing and advise the Trustee and/or Administrator of its approval or disapproval thereof. Failure by the Employer to disapprove any such statement of account within thirty (30) days after its receipt thereof shall be deemed an approval thereof. The approval by the Employer of any statement of account shall be binding on the Employer and the Trustee as to all matters contained in the statement to the same extent as if the account of the Trustee had been settled by judgment or decree in an action for a judicial settlement of its account in a court of competent jurisdiction in which the Trustee, the Employer and all persons having or claiming an interest in the Plan were parties. However, nothing contained in this Section shall deprive the Trustee of its right to have its accounts judicially settled if the Trustee so desires. 8.9 AUDIT (a) If an audit of the Plan's records shall be required by the Act and the regulations thereunder for any Plan Year, the Administrator shall direct the Trustee to engage on behalf of all Participants an independent qualified public accountant for that purpose. Such accountant shall, after an audit of the books and records of the Plan in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, within a reasonable period after the close of the Plan Year, furnish to the Administrator and the Trustee a report of the audit setting forth the accountant's opinion as to whether any statements, schedules or lists that are required by Act Section 103 or the Secretary of Labor to be filed with the Plan's annual report, are presented fairly in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied consistently. (b) All auditing and accounting fees shall be an expense of and may, at the election of the Employer, be paid from the Trust Fund. (c) If some or all of the information necessary to enable the Administrator to comply with Act Section 103 is maintained by a bank, insurance company, or similar institution, regulated, supervised, and subject to periodic examination by a state or federal agency, then it shall transmit and certify the accuracy of that information to the Administrator as provided in Act Section 103(b) within one hundred twenty (120) days after the end of the Plan Year or by such other date as may be prescribed under regulations of the Secretary of Labor. 8.10 RESIGNATION, REMOVAL AND SUCCESSION OF TRUSTEE (a) Unless otherwise agreed to by both the Trustee and the Employer, a Trustee may resign at any time by delivering to the Employer, at least thirty (30) days before its effective date, a written notice of resignation. (b) Unless otherwise agreed to by both the Trustee and the Employer, the Employer may remove a Trustee at any time by delivering to the Trustee, at least thirty (30) days before its effective date, a written notice of such Trustee's removal. (c) Upon the death, resignation, incapacity, or removal of any Trustee, a successor may be appointed by the Employer; and such successor, upon accepting such appointment in writing and delivering same to the Employer, shall, without further act, become vested with all the powers and responsibilities of the predecessor as if such successor had been originally named as a Trustee herein. Until such a successor is appointed, the remaining Trustee or Trustees shall have full authority to act under the terms of the Plan. (d) The Employer may designate one or more successors prior to the death, resignation, incapacity, or removal of a Trustee. In the event a successor is so designated by the Employer and accepts such designation, the successor shall, without further act, become vested with all the powers and responsibilities of the predecessor as if such successor had been named as Trustee herein immediately upon the death, resignation, incapacity, or removal of the predecessor. (e) Whenever any Trustee hereunder ceases to serve as such, the Trustee shall furnish to the Employer and Administrator a written statement of account with respect to the portion of the Plan Year during which the individual or entity served as Trustee. This statement shall be either (i) included as part of the annual statement of account for the Plan Year required under Section 8.8 or (ii) set forth in a special statement. Any such special statement of account should be rendered to the Employer no later than the due date of the annual statement of account for the Plan Year. The procedures set forth in Section 8.8 for the approval by the Employer of annual statements of account shall apply to any special statement of account rendered hereunder and approval by the Employer of any such special statement in the manner provided in Section 8.8 shall have the same effect upon the statement as the Employer's approval of an annual statement of account. No successor to the Trustee shall have any duty or responsibility to investigate the acts or transactions of any predecessor who has rendered all statements of account required by Section 8.8 and this subparagraph. 8.11 TRANSFER OF INTEREST Notwithstanding any other provision contained in this Plan, the Trustee at the direction of the Administrator shall transfer the Vested interest, if any, of a Participant to another trust forming part of a pension, profit sharing or stock bonus plan maintained by such Participant's new employer and represented by said employer in writing as meeting the requirements of Code Section 401(a), provided that the trust to which such transfers are made permits the transfer to be made. 8.12 TRUSTEE INDEMNIFICATION Employer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trustee against any and all claims, losses, damages, expenses and liabilities the Trustee may incur in the exercise and performance of the Trustee's power and duties hereunder, unless the same are determined to be due to gross negligence or willful misconduct. 8.13 DIRECT ROLLOVER (a) Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary that would otherwise limit a "distributee's" election under this Section, a "distributee" may elect, at the time and in the manner prescribed by the Administrator, to have any portion of an "eligible rollover distribution" that is equal to at least $500 paid directly to an "eligible retirement plan" specified by the "distributee" in a "direct rollover." (b) For purposes of this Section the following definitions shall apply: (1) An "eligible rollover distribution" is any distribution of all or any portion of the balance to the credit of the "distributee," except that an "eligible rollover distribution" does not include: any distribution that is one of a series of substantially equal periodic payments (not less frequently than annually) made for the life (or life expectancy) of the "distributee" or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of the "distributee" and the "distributee's" designated beneficiary, or for a specified period of ten years or more; any distribution to the extent such distribution is required under Code Section 401(a)(9); the portion of any other distribution that is not includible in gross income (determined without regard to the exclusion for net unrealized appreciation with respect to employer securities); any hardship distribution described in Code Section 401(k)(2)(B)(i)(IV); and any other distribution that is reasonably expected to total less than $200 during a year. (2) An "eligible retirement plan" is an individual retirement account described in Code Section 408(a), an individual retirement annuity described in Code Section 408(b), an annuity plan described in Code Section 403(a), or a qualified trust described in Code Section 401(a), that accepts the "distributee's" "eligible rollover distribution." However, in the case of an "eligible rollover distribution" to the surviving spouse, an "eligible retirement plan" is an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity. (3) A "distributee" includes an Employee or former Employee. In addition, the Employee's or former Employee's surviving spouse and the Employee's or former Employee's spouse or former spouse who is the alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, as defined in Code Section 414(p), are "distributees" with regard to the interest of the spouse or former spouse. (4) A "direct rollover" is a payment by the Plan to the "eligible retirement plan" specified by the "distributee." Article IX AMENDMENT, TERMINATION AND MERGERS 9.1 AMENDMENT (a) The Employer shall have the right at any time to amend this Plan subject to the limitations of this Section. However, any amendment which affects the rights, duties or responsibilities of the Trustee or Administrator, may only be made with the Trustee's or Administrator's written consent. Any such amendment shall become effective as provided therein upon its execution. The Trustee shall not be required to execute any such amendment unless the amendment affects the duties of the Trustee hereunder. (b) No amendment to the Plan shall be effective if it authorizes or permits any part of the Trust Fund (other than such part as is required to pay taxes and administration expenses) to be used for or diverted to any purpose other than for the exclusive benefit of the Participants or their Beneficiaries or estates; or causes any reduction in the amount credited to the account of any Participant; or causes or permits any portion of the Trust Fund to revert to or become property of the Employer. (c) Except as permitted by Regulations (including Regulation 1.411(d)-4) or other IRS guidance, no Plan amendment or transaction having the effect of a Plan amendment (such as a merger, plan transfer or similar transaction) shall be effective if it eliminates or reduces any "Section 411(d)(6) protected benefit" or adds or modifies conditions relating to "Section 411(d)(6) protected benefits" which results in a further restriction on such benefit unless such "Section 411(d)(6) protected benefits" are preserved with respect to benefits accrued as of the later of the adoption date or effective date of the amendment. "Section 411(d)(6) protected benefits" are benefits described in Code Section 411(d)(6)(A), early retirement benefits and retirement-type subsidies, and optional forms of benefit. A Plan amendment that eliminates or restricts the ability of a Participant to receive payment of the Participant's interest in the Plan under a particular optional form of benefit will be permissible if the amendment satisfies the conditions in (1) and (2) below: (1) The amendment provides a single-sum distribution form that is otherwise identical to the optional form of benefit eliminated or restricted. For purposes of this condition (1), a single-sum distribution form is otherwise identical only if it is identical in all respects to the eliminated or restricted optional form of benefit (or would be identical except that it provides greater rights to the Participant) except with respect to the timing of payments after commencement. (2) The amendment is not effective unless the amendment provides that the amendment shall not apply to any distribution with an annuity starting date earlier than the earlier of: (i) the ninetieth (90th) day after the date the Participant receiving the distribution has been furnished a summary that reflects the amendment and that satisfies the Act requirements at 29 CFR 2520.104b-3 (relating to a summary of material modifications) or (ii) the first day of the second Plan Year following the Plan Year in which the amendment is adopted. In addition, no such amendment shall have the effect of terminating the protections and rights set forth in Section 7.9, unless such termination shall then be permitted under the applicable provisions of the Code and Regulations; such a termination is currently expressly prohibited by Regulation 54.4975-11(a)(3)(ii). 9.2 TERMINATION (a) The Employer shall have the right at any time to terminate the Plan by delivering to the Trustee and Administrator written notice of such termination. Upon any full or partial termination, all amounts credited to the affected Participants' Combined Accounts shall become 100% Vested as provided in Section 7.4 and shall not thereafter be subject to forfeiture, and all unallocated amounts, including Forfeitures, shall be allocated to the accounts of all Participants in accordance with the provisions hereof. (b) Upon the full termination of the Plan, the Employer shall direct the distribution of the assets of the Trust Fund to Participants in a manner which is consistent with and satisfies the provisions of Sections 7.5 and 7.6. Except as permitted by Regulations, the termination of the Plan shall not result in the reduction of "Section 411(d)(6) protected benefits" in accordance with Section 9.1(c). 9.3 MERGER, CONSOLIDATION OR TRANSFER OF ASSETS This Plan and Trust may be merged or consolidated with, or its assets and/or liabilities may be transferred to any other plan and trust only if the benefits which would be received by a Participant of this Plan, in the event of a termination of the Plan immediately after such transfer, merger or consolidation, are at least equal to the benefits the Participant would have received if the Plan had terminated immediately before the transfer, merger or consolidation, and such transfer, merger or consolidation does not otherwise result in the elimination or reduction of any "Section 411(d)(6) protected benefits" in accordance with Section 9.1(c). Article X TOP HEAVY 10.1 TOP HEAVY PLAN REQUIREMENTS For any Top Heavy Plan Year, the Plan shall provide the special vesting requirements of Code Section 416(b) pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Plan and the special minimum allocation requirements of Code Section 416(c) pursuant to Section 4.4of the Plan. 10.2 DETERMINATION OF TOP HEAVY STATUS (a) This Plan shall be a Top Heavy Plan for any Plan Year in which, as of the Determination Date, (1) the Present Value of Accrued Benefits of Key Employees and (2) the sum of the Aggregate Accounts of Key Employees under this Plan and all plans of an Aggregation Group, exceeds sixty percent (60%) of the Present Value of Accrued Benefits and the Aggregate Accounts of all Key and Non-Key Employees under this Plan and all plans of an Aggregation Group. If any Participant is a Non-Key Employee for any Plan Year, but such Participant was a Key Employee for any prior Plan Year, such Participant's Present Value of Accrued Benefit and/or Aggregate Account balance shall not be taken into account for purposes of determining whether this Plan is a Top Heavy Plan (or whether any Aggregation Group which includes this Plan is a Top Heavy Group). In addition, if a Participant or Former Participant has not performed any services for any Employer maintaining the Plan at any time during the five year period ending on the Determination Date, any accrued benefit for such Participant or Former Participant shall not be taken into account for the purposes of determining whether this Plan is a Top Heavy Plan. (b) Aggregate Account: A Participant's Aggregate Account as of the Determination Date is the sum of: (1) the Participant's Combined Account balance as of the most recent valuation occurring within a twelve (12) month period ending on the Determination Date. (2) an adjustment for any contributions due as of the Determination Date. Such adjustment shall be the amount of any contributions actually made after the Valuation Date but due on or before the Determination Date, except for the first Plan Year when such adjustment shall also reflect the amount of any contributions made after the Determination Date that are allocated as of a date in that first Plan Year. (3) any Plan distributions made within the Plan Year that includes the Determination Date or within the four (4) preceding Plan Years. However, in the case of distributions made after the Valuation Date and prior to the Determination Date, such distributions are not included as distributions for top heavy purposes to the extent that such distributions are already included in the Participant's Aggregate Account balance as of the Valuation Date. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, all distributions, including distributions under a terminated plan which if it had not been terminated would have been required to be included in an Aggregation Group, will be counted. Further, distributions from the Plan (including the cash value of life insurance policies) of a Participant's account balance because of death shall be treated as a distribution for the purposes of this paragraph. (4) any Employee contributions, whether voluntary or mandatory. However, amounts attributable to tax deductible qualified voluntary employee contributions shall not be considered to be a part of the Participant's Aggregate Account balance. (5) with respect to unrelated rollovers and plan-to-plan transfers (ones which are both initiated by the Employee and made from a plan maintained by one employer to a plan maintained by another employer), if this Plan provides the rollovers or plan-to-plan transfers, it shall always consider such rollovers or plan-to-plan transfers as a distribution for the purposes of this Section. If this Plan is the plan accepting such rollovers or plan-to-plan transfers, it shall not consider such rollovers or plan-to-plan transfers as part of the Participant's Aggregate Account balance. (6) with respect to related rollovers and plan-to-plan transfers (ones either not initiated by the Employee or made to a plan maintained by the same employer), if this Plan provides the rollover or plan-to-plan transfer, it shall not be counted as a distribution for purposes of this Section. If this Plan is the plan accepting such rollover or plan-to-plan transfer, it shall consider such rollover or plan-to-plan transfer as part of the Participant's Aggregate Account balance, irrespective of the date on which such rollover or plan-to-plan transfer is accepted. (7) For the purposes of determining whether two employers are to be treated as the same employer in (5) and (6) above, all employers aggregated under Code Section 414(b), (c), (m) and (o) are treated as the same employer. (c) "Aggregation Group" means either a Required Aggregation Group or a Permissive Aggregation Group as hereinafter determined. (1) Required Aggregation Group: In determining a Required Aggregation Group hereunder, each plan of the Employer in which a Key Employee is a participant in the Plan Year containing the Determination Date or any of the four preceding Plan Years, and each other plan of the Employer which enables any plan in which a Key Employee participates to meet the requirements of Code Sections 401(a)(4) or 410, will be required to be aggregated. Such group shall be known as a Required Aggregation Group. In the case of a Required Aggregation Group, each plan in the group will be considered a Top Heavy Plan if the Required Aggregation Group is a Top Heavy Group. No plan in the Required Aggregation Group will be considered a Top Heavy Plan if the Required Aggregation Group is not a Top Heavy Group. (2) Permissive Aggregation Group: The Employer may also include any other plan not required to be included in the Required Aggregation Group, provided the resulting group, taken as a whole, would continue to satisfy the provisions of Code Sections 401(a)(4) and 410. Such group shall be known as a Permissive Aggregation Group. In the case of a Permissive Aggregation Group, only a plan that is part of the Required Aggregation Group will be considered a Top Heavy Plan if the Permissive Aggregation Group is a Top Heavy Group. No plan in the Permissive Aggregation Group will be considered a Top Heavy Plan if the Permissive Aggregation Group is not a Top Heavy Group. (3) Only those plans of the Employer in which the Determination Dates fall within the same calendar year shall be aggregated in order to determine whether such plans are Top Heavy Plans. (4) An Aggregation Group shall include any terminated plan of the Employer if it was maintained within the last five (5) years ending on the Determination Date. (d) "Determination Date" means (a) the last day of the preceding Plan Year, or (b) in the case of the first Plan Year, the last day of such Plan Year. (e) Present Value of Accrued Benefit: In the case of a defined benefit plan, the Present Value of Accrued Benefit for a Participant other than a Key Employee, shall be as determined using the single accrual method used for all plans of the Employer and Affiliated Employers, or if no such single method exists, using a method which results in benefits accruing not more rapidly than the slowest accrual rate permitted under Code Section 411(b)(1)(C). The determination of the Present Value of Accrued Benefit shall be determined as of the most recent valuation date that falls within or ends with the 12_month period ending on the Determination Date except as provided in Code Section 416 and the Regulations thereunder for the first and second plan years of a defined benefit plan. (f) "Top Heavy Group" means an Aggregation Group in which, as of the Determination Date, the sum of: (1) the Present Value of Accrued Benefits of Key Employees under all defined benefit plans included in the group, and (2) the Aggregate Accounts of Key Employees under all defined contribution plans included in the group, exceeds sixty percent (60%) of a similar sum determined for all Participants. Article XI MISCELLANEOUS 11.1 PARTICIPANT'S RIGHTS This Plan shall not be deemed to constitute a contract between the Employer and any Participant or to be a consideration or an inducement for the employment of any Participant or Employee. Nothing contained in this Plan shall be deemed to give any Participant or Employee the right to be retained in the service of the Employer or to interfere with the right of the Employer to discharge any Participant or Employee at any time regardless of the effect which such discharge shall have upon the Employee as a Participant of this Plan. 11.2 ALIENATION (a) Subject to the exceptions provided below, and as otherwise permitted by the Code and Act, no benefit which shall be payable out of the Trust Fund to any person (including a Participant or the Participant's Beneficiary) shall be subject in any manner to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance, or charge, and any attempt to anticipate, alienate, sell, transfer, assign, pledge, encumber, or charge the same shall be void; and no such benefit shall in any manner be liable for, or subject to, the debts, contracts, liabilities, engagements, or torts of any such person, nor shall it be subject to attachment or legal process for or against such person, and the same shall not be recognized by the Trustee, except to such extent as may be required by law. (b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to the extent a Participant or Beneficiary is indebted to the Plan by reason of a loan made pursuant to Section 8.4, as a result of a loan from the Plan. At the time a distribution is to be made to or for a Participant's or Beneficiary's benefit, such proportion of the amount to be distributed as shall equal such indebtedness shall be paid to the Plan, to apply against or discharge such indebtedness. Prior to making a payment, however, the Participant or Beneficiary must be given written notice by the Administrator that such indebtedness is to be so paid in whole or part from the Participant's Combined Account. If the Participant or Beneficiary does not agree that the indebtedness is a valid claim against the Vested Participant's Combined Account, the Participant or Beneficiary shall be entitled to a review of the validity of the claim in accordance with procedures provided in Sections 2.8 and 2.9. (c) Subsection (a) shall not apply to a "qualified domestic relations order" defined in Code Section 414(p), and those other domestic relations orders permitted to be so treated by the Administrator under the provisions of the Retirement Equity Act of 1984. The Administrator shall establish a written procedure to determine the qualified status of domestic relations orders and to administer distributions under such qualified orders. Further, to the extent provided under a "qualified domestic relations order," a former spouse of a Participant shall be treated as the spouse or surviving spouse for all purposes under the Plan. (d) Subsection (a) shall not apply to an offset to a Participant's accrued benefit against an amount that the Participant is ordered or required to pay the Plan with respect to a judgment, order, or decree issued, or a settlement entered into, on or after August 5, 1997, in accordance with Code Sections 401(a)(13)(C) and (D). 11.3 CONSTRUCTION OF PLAN This Plan and Trust shall be construed and enforced according to the Code, the Act and the laws of the State of Washington, other than its laws respecting choice of law, to the extent not pre-empted by the Act. 11.4 GENDER AND NUMBER Wherever any words are used herein in the masculine, feminine or neuter gender, they shall be construed as though they were also used in another gender in all cases where they would so apply, and whenever any words are used herein in the singular or plural form, they shall be construed as though they were also used in the other form in all cases where they would so apply. 11.5 LEGAL ACTION In the event any claim, suit, or proceeding is brought regarding the Trust and/or Plan established hereunder to which the Trustee, the Employer or the Administrator may be a party, and such claim, suit, or proceeding is resolved in favor of the Trustee, the Employer or the Administrator, they shall be entitled to be reimbursed from the Trust Fund for any and all costs, attorney's fees, and other expenses pertaining thereto incurred by them for which they shall have become liable. 11.6 PROHIBITION AGAINST DIVERSION OF FUNDS (a) Except as provided below and otherwise specifically permitted by law, it shall be impossible by operation of the Plan or of the Trust, by termination of either, by power of revocation or amendment, by the happening of any contingency, by collateral arrangement or by any other means, for any part of the corpus or income of any Trust Fund maintained pursuant to the Plan or any funds contributed thereto to be used for, or diverted to, purposes other than the exclusive benefit of Participants, Former Participants, or their Beneficiaries. (b) In the event the Employer shall make an excessive contribution under a mistake of fact pursuant to Act Section 403(c)(2)(A), the Employer may demand repayment of such excessive contribution at any time within one (1) year following the time of payment and the Trustees shall return such amount to the Employer within the one (1) year period. Earnings of the Plan attributable to the contributions may not be returned to the Employer but any losses attributable thereto must reduce the amount so returned. (c) Except for Sections 3.5, 3.6, and 4.1(f), any contribution by the Employer to the Trust Fund is conditioned upon the deductibility of the contribution by the Employer under the Code and, to the extent any such deduction is disallowed, the Employer may, within one (1) year following the final determination of the disallowance, whether by agreement with the Internal Revenue Service or by final decision of a competent jurisdiction, demand repayment of such disallowed contribution and the Trustee shall return such contribution within one (1) year following the disallowance. Earnings of the Plan attributable to the contribution may not be returned to the Employer, but any losses attributable thereto must reduce the amount so returned. 11.7 EMPLOYER'S AND TRUSTEE'S PROTECTIVE CLAUSE The Employer, Administrator and Trustee, and their successors, shall not be responsible for the validity of any Contract issued hereunder or for the failure on the part of the insurer to make payments provided by any such Contract, or for the action of any person which may delay payment or render a Contract null and void or unenforceable in whole or in part. 11.8 INSURER'S PROTECTIVE CLAUSE Except as otherwise agreed upon in writing between the Employer and the insurer, an insurer which issues any Contracts hereunder shall not have any responsibility for the validity of this Plan or for the tax or legal aspects of this Plan. The insurer shall be protected and held harmless in acting in accordance with any written direction of the Trustee, and shall have no duty to see to the application of any funds paid to the Trustee, nor be required to question any actions directed by the Trustee. Regardless of any provision of this Plan, the insurer shall not be required to take or permit any action or allow any benefit or privilege contrary to the terms of any Contract which it issues hereunder, or the rules of the insurer. 11.9 RECEIPT AND RELEASE FOR PAYMENTS Any payment to any Participant, the Participant's legal representative, Beneficiary, or to any guardian or committee appointed for such Participant or Beneficiary in accordance with the provisions of the Plan, shall, to the extent thereof, be in full satisfaction of all claims hereunder against the Trustee and the Employer, either of whom may require such Participant, legal representative, Beneficiary, guardian or committee, as a condition precedent to such payment, to execute a receipt and release thereof in such form as shall be determined by the Trustee or Employer. 11.10 ACTION BY THE EMPLOYER Whenever the Employer under the terms of the Plan is permitted or required to do or perform any act or matter or thing, it shall be done and performed by a person duly authorized by its legally constituted authority. 11.11 NAMED FIDUCIARIES AND ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILITY The "named Fiduciaries" of this Plan are (1) the Employer, (2) the Administrator and (3) the Trustee, and (4) any Investment Manager appointed hereunder. The named Fiduciaries shall have only those specific powers, duties, responsibilities, and obligations as are specifically given them under the Plan including, but not limited to, any agreement allocating or delegating their responsibilities, the terms of which are incorporated herein by reference. In general, the Employer shall have the sole responsibility for making the contributions provided for under Section 4.1; and shall have the authority to appoint and remove the Trustee and the Administrator; to formulate the Plan's "funding policy and method"; and to amend or terminate, in whole or in part, the Plan. The Administrator shall have the sole responsibility for the administration of the Plan, including, but not limited to, the items specified in Article II of the Plan, as the same may be allocated or delegated thereunder. The Trustee shall have the sole responsibility of management of the assets held under the Trust, except to the extent directed pursuant to Article II or with respect to those assets, the management of which has been assigned to an Investment Manager, who shall be solely responsible for the management of the assets assigned to it, all as specifically provided in the Plan. Each named Fiduciary warrants that any directions given, information furnished, or action taken by it shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Plan, authorizing or providing for such direction, information or action. Furthermore, each named Fiduciary may rely upon any such direction, information or action of another named Fiduciary as being proper under the Plan, and is not required under the Plan to inquire into the propriety of any such direction, information or action. It is intended under the Plan that each named Fiduciary shall be responsible for the proper exercise of its own powers, duties, responsibilities and obligations under the Plan as specified or allocated herein. No named Fiduciary shall guarantee the Trust Fund in any manner against investment loss or depreciation in asset value. Any person or group may serve in more than one Fiduciary capacity. 11.12 HEADINGS The headings and subheadings of this Plan have been inserted for convenience of reference and are to be ignored in any construction of the provisions hereof. 11.13 APPROVAL BY INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if, pursuant to an application for qualification filed by or on behalf of the Plan by the time prescribed by law for filing the Employer's return for the taxable year in which the Plan is adopted, or such later date that the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service or the Commissioner's delegate should determine that the Plan does not initially qualify as a tax-exempt plan under Code Sections 401 and 501, and such determination is not contested, or if contested, is finally upheld, then if the Plan is a new plan, it shall be void ab initio and all amounts contributed to the Plan by the Employer, less expenses paid, shall be returned within one (1) year and the Plan shall terminate, and the Trustee shall be discharged from all further obligations. If the disqualification relates to an amended plan, then the Plan shall operate as if it had not been amended. 11.14 UNIFORMITY All provisions of this Plan shall be interpreted and applied in a uniform, nondiscriminatory manner. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Plan and any Contract purchased hereunder, the Plan provisions shall control. 11.15 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION APPROVAL The Employer may request an interpretative letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that the transfers of Company Stock contemplated hereunder do not involve transactions requiring a registration of such Company Stock under the Securities Act of 1933. In the event that a favorable interpretative letter is not obtained, the Employer reserves the right to amend the Plan and Trust retroactively to their Effective Dates in order to obtain a favorable interpretative letter or to terminate the Plan. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Plan has been executed the day and year first above written. Gold Reserve Corporation By /s/ Rockne J. Timm EMPLOYER /s/ Rockne J. Timm TRUSTEE /s/ A. Douglas Belanger TRUSTEE /s/ Robert A. McGuinness TRUSTE EXHIBIT 4.2 AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN FOR EGTRRA AMENDMENT NUMBER ONE TO GOLD RESERVE KSOP AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN FOR EGTRRA AMENDMENT NUMBER ONE TO GOLD RESERVE KSOP BY THIS AGREEMENT, Gold Reserve KSOP(herein referred to as the Plan) is hereby amended as follows: PREAMBLE 1.1 Adoption and effective date of amendment. This amendment of the Plan is adopted to reflect certain provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA). This amendment is intended as good faith compliance with the requirements of EGTRRA and is to be construed in accordance with EGTRRA and guidance issued thereunder. Except as otherwise provided, this amendment shall be effective as of the first day of the first Plan Year beginning after December 31, 2001. 1.2 Supersession of inconsistent provisions. This amendment shall supersede the provisions of the Plan to the extent those provisions are inconsistent with the provisions of this amendment. LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS 2.1 Effective date. This Article shall be effective for "limitation years" beginning after December31, 2001. 2.2 Maximum annual addition. Except to the extent permitted under ArticleIX of this amendment and Code Section 414(v), the "annual addition" that may be contributed or allocated to a Participant's account under the Plan for any "limitation year" shall not exceed the lesser of: a $40,000, as adjusted for increases in the costofliving under Code Section415(d), or b one hundred percent (100%) of the Participant's "415 Compensation" for the "limitation year." The "415 Compensation" limit referred to in (b) shall not apply to any contribution for medical benefits after separation from service (within the meaning of Code Section401(h) or Code Section 419A(f)(2)) which is otherwise treated as an "annual addition." ARTICLE III INCREASE IN COMPENSATION LIMIT The annual Compensation of each Participant taken into account in determining allocations for any Plan Year beginning after December31, 2001, shall not exceed $200,000, as adjusted for cost of living increases in accordance with Code Section 401(a)(17)(B). ARTICLE IV MODIFICATION OF TOP HEAVY RULES 4.1 Effective date. This Article shall apply for purposes of determining whether the Plan is a topheavy plan under Code Section416(g) for Plan Years beginning after December31, 2001, and whether the Plan satisfies the minimum benefits requirements of Code Section416(c) for such years. This Article amends Article X of the Plan. 4.2 Determination of topheavy status. a Key employee. Key employee means any Employee or former Employee (including any deceased Employee) who at any time during the Plan Year that includes the determination date was an officer of the Employer having "415 Compensation" greater than $130,000 (as adjusted under Code Section 416(i)(1) for Plan Years beginning after December31, 2002), a 5percent owner of the Employer, or a 1percent owner of the Employer having "415 Compensation" of more than $150,000. The determination of who is a key employee will be made in accordance with Code Section 416(i)(1) and the applicable regulations and other guidance of general applicability issued thereunder. b Determination of present values and amounts. This section(b) shall apply for purposes of determining the present values of accrued benefits and the amounts of account balances of Employees as of the determination date. 1 Distributions during year ending on the determination date. The present values of accrued benefits and the amounts of account balances of an Employee as of the determination date shall be increased by the distributions made with respect to the Employee under the Plan and any plan aggregated with the Plan under Code Section 416(g)(2) during the 1year period ending on the determination date. The preceding sentence shall also apply to distributions under a terminated plan which, had it not been terminated, would have been aggregated with the Plan under Code Section 416(g)(2)(A)(i). In the case of a distribution made for a reason other than separation from service, death, or disability, this provision shall be applied by substituting 5year period for 1year period. 2 Employees not performing services during year ending on the determination date. The accrued benefits and accounts of any individual who has not performed services for the Employer during the 1-year period ending on the determination date shall not be taken into account. 4.3 Minimum benefits. Employer matching contributions shall be taken into account for purposes of satisfying the minimum contribution requirements of Code Section 416(c)(2) and the Plan. The preceding sentence shall apply with respect to matching contributions under the Plan or, if the Plan provides that the minimum contribution requirement shall be met in another plan, such other plan. Employer matching contributions that are used to satisfy the minimum contribution requirements shall be treated as matching contributions for purposes of the actual contribution percentage test and other requirements of Code Section401(m). 4.4 Applicability. The top-heavy requirements of Code Section 416, Article X of the Plan and this Article IV shall not apply in any Plan Year beginning after December31, 2001 , in which the Plan consists solely of a cash or deferred arrangement which meets the requirements of Code Section 401(k)(12) and matching contributions with respect to which the requirements of Code Section 401(m)(11) are met. ARTICLE V DIRECT ROLLOVERS OF PLAN DISTRIBUTIONS 5.1 Effective date. This Article shall apply to distributions made after December31, 2001 . 5.2 Modification of definition of eligible retirement plan. For purposes of the direct rollover provisions in Section8.13 p.68 of the Plan, an eligible retirement plan shall also mean an annuity contract described in Code Section403(b) and an eligible plan under Code Section457(b) which is maintained by a state, political subdivision of a state, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or political subdivision of a state and which agrees to separately account for amounts transferred into such plan from this Plan. The definition of eligible retirement plan shall also apply in the case of a distribution to a surviving spouse, or to a spouse or former spouse who is the alternate payee under a qualified domestic relation order, as defined in Code Section414(p). ARTICLE VI ROLLOVERS FROM OTHER PLANS The Administrator, operationally and on a nondiscriminatory basis, may limit the source of rollover contributions that may be accepted by this Plan. ARTICLE VII ROLLOVERS DISREGARDED IN INVOLUNTARY CASHOUTS 7.1 Applicability and effective date. This Article applies to rollover contributions and involuntary cashouts, and shall be effective with respect to distributions made on and after 1/1/02 with respect to Participants who separate from service on or after 1/1/02. 7.2 Rollovers disregarded in determining value of account balance for involuntary distributions. For purposes of Section7.4(a) p.51of the Plan, the value of a Participant's nonforfeitable account balance shall be determined without regard to that portion of the account balance that is attributable to rollover contributions (and earnings allocable thereto) within the meaning of Code Sections 402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), 408(d)(3)(A)(ii), and 457(e)(16). If the value of the Participant's nonforfeitable account balance as so determined is $5,000 or less, the Plan shall immediately distribute the Participant's entire nonforfeitable account balance. ARTICLE VIII REPEAL OF MULTIPLE USE TEST The multiple use test described in Treasury Regulation Section 1.401(m)2 and Section 4.7(a)(2) p.35 of the Plan shall not apply for Plan Years beginning after December 31, 2001. ARTICLE IX CATCHUP CONTRIBUTIONS 9.1 Effective date. This Article shall apply to catchup contributions made on and after 1/1/02. 9.2 Applicability. All Employees who are eligible to make salary reductions under this Plan and who have attained age 50 before the close of the Plan Year shall be eligible to make catchup contributions in accordance with, and subject to the limitations of, Code Section414(v). Such catchup contributions shall not be taken into account for purposes of the provisions of the Plan implementing the required limitations of Code Sections402(g) and 415. The Plan shall not be treated as failing to satisfy the provisions of the Plan implementing the requirements of Code Section 401(k)(3), 401(k)(11), 401(k)(12), 410(b), or 416, as applicable, by reason of the making of such catchup contributions. ARTICLE X DISTRIBUTION UPON SEVERANCE FROM EMPLOYMENT 10.1 . Effective date. This Article shall apply for distributions occurring on and after 1/1/02 regardless of when severance from employment occurred. 10.2 . New distributable event. A Participant's Elective Contributions and earnings attributable to these contributions shall be distributed on account of the Participant's severance from employment. However, such a distribution shall be subject to the other provisions of the Plan regarding distributions, other than provisions that require a separation from service before such amounts may be distributed. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Amendment has been executed this 28th day of 2002. Gold Reserve Corporation By s/ Rockne J. Timm EMPLOYER s/ Rockne J. Timm TRUSTEE s/ A. Douglas Belanger TRUSTEE s/ Robert A. McGuinness TRUSTEE EXHIBIT 5.1 AUSTRING, FENDRICK, FAIRMAN & PARKKARI BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS LORNE N. AUSTRING DEBRA L. FENDRICK THE DRURY BUILDING H. SHAYNE FAIRMAN KEITH D. PARKKARI 3081 Third Avenue KATHLEEN M. AVERY GREGORY A. FEKETE Whitehorse, Yukon STACY K. HENNINGS Y1A 4Z7 PHONE: (867) 668-4405 FAX: (867) 668-3710 E-MAIL: laustring@lawyukon.com OUR FILE NO: 014910-21 December 1, 2003 Gold Reserve Inc. Suite 200 926 West Sprague Avenue Spokane, Washington, USA 99201 Dear Sirs/Mesdames: Re: Securities and Exchange Commission Form S-8 We are Yukon counsel to Gold Reserve Inc., a corporation incorporated under the laws of the Yukon Territory (the "Company"). The Company intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") a registration statement (the "Registration Statement") on Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"). The Registration Statement covers (a) 200,000 Class A Common Shares, no par value per share, of the Company (the "Class A Common Shares"), including the Class A Common Share Purchase Rights attaching to such shares pursuant to that certain Shareholder Rights Plan Agreement, dated as of June 11, 2003, between the Company and Computershare Trust Company of Canada (the "Rights Agreement"), which shall be issued pursuant to the Gold Reserve KSOP Plan, as amended (the "Plan"), and (b) such additional Class A Common Shares as may become issuable pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of the Plan (such shares are collectively referred to as the "Securities"). In rendering this opinion we have examined such corporate records, documents and instruments of the Company and such certificates of public officials, have received such representations from officers of the Company, and have reviewed such questions of law as in our judgment are necessary, relevant or appropriate to enable us to render the opinion expressed below. In such examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all corporate records, documents and instruments submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as conformed, certified or photostatic copies thereof, and the authenticity of the originals of such conformed, certified or photostatic copies. Based upon such examination and review and upon representations made to us by officers of the Company, we are of the opinion that upon issuance and delivery of the Securities in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Plan and, as appropriate, the Rights Agreement, and upon receipt by the Company of the full consideration for the Securities as determined pursuant to the Plan and, as appropriate, the Rights Agreement, the Securities will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. This firm consents to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Yours truly, s/ Austring, Fendrick, Fairman & Parkkari EXHIBIT 23.2 CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of our report dated February 14, 2003 relating to the consolidated financial statements of Gold Reserve Inc., which appears in Gold Reserve Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2002. s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Vancouver, B.C., Canada November 24, 2003