Pension Protection Act Blog

2. Transfers from ESOP to Non-ESOP Portion of Plan. (a) In the case of any event that the Plan Administrator determines would cause a nonallocation year (as defined in section xxx of the Plan) to occur (referred herein as a “nonallocation event”), shares of employer stock held under the Plan before the date of the nonallocation event, shall be transferred from the ESOP portion of the Plan to the Non-ESOP portion of the Plan as provided in (2)(a). Actions that may cause a nonallocation event, include, but are not limited to, a contribution to the Plan in the form of shares of employer stock, a distribution from the Plan in the form of shares of employer stock, a change of investment within a Plan account of a disqualified person (as defined in section xxx of the Plan) that alters the number of shares of employer stock held in the account of the disqualified person, or the issuance by the employer of synthetic equity as defined by section 409(p)(6)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code and section 1.409(p)-1(f) of the Treasury Regulations. A nonallocation event occurs only if (i) the total number of shares of employer stock that, held in the ESOP account of those Participants who are or who would be disqualified persons after taking into account the Participant’s synthetic equity and the nonallocation event, exceeds (ii) 49.9% of the total number of shares of employer stock outstanding after taking the nonallocation event into account (causing a nonallocation year to occur as described in Section xxx of the Plan). No transfer under this section shall be greater than the excess, if any, of (i) over (ii). Before the nonallocation event occurs, the Plan Administrator shall determine the extent to which a transfer is required to be made and shall take steps to ensure that all action necessary to implement the transfer are taken before the nonallocation event occurs.

(b)(1) Except as provided for in (b)(2), at the date of the transfer, the total number of shares transferred, as provided for in (a)(1), shall be charged against the accounts of Participants who are disqualified persons (i) by first reducing the ESOP account of the Participant who is a disqualified person whose account has the largest number of shares (with the addition of synthetic equity shares) and (ii) thereafter by reducing the ESOP accounts of each succeeding Participant who is a disqualified person who has the largest number of shares in his or her their account (with the addition of synthetic equity shares. Immediately following the transfer, the number of transferred shares charged against any Participant’s account in the ESOP portion of the Plan shall be credited to an account established for that Participant in the Non-ESOP portion of the Plan.

(2) Notwithstanding (b)(1), the number of shares transferred shall be charged against the accounts of Participants who are disqualified persons (1) by first reducing the account of the Participant with the fewest shares (including synthetic equity) who is a disqualified person and who is a Highly Compensated Employee (as defined in Section xxx of the Plan) to cause the Participant not to be a disqualified person, and thereafter reducing the account of each other Participant who is a disqualified person and a Highly Compensated Employee, in order of who has the fewest ESOP shares (including synthetic equity). A transfer under this (b)(2) only applies to the extent that the transfer results in fewer shares being transferred than in a transfer under (b)(1).

(c) (1) If two or more Participants described in (b) have the same number of shares, the account of the Participant with the longest service shall be reduced first.
(2) Beneficiaries of the Plan are treated as Plan Participants for purposes of this section.

3. Income Taxes. If the Trust owes income taxes as a result of unrelated business taxable income under section 512(e) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to shares of employer stock held in the Non-ESOP portion of the Plan, the income tax payments made by the Trustee shall be charged against the accounts of each Participant or Beneficiary who has an account in the Non-ESOP portion of the Plan in proportion to the ratio of the shares of employer stock in such Participant’s or Beneficiary’s account in the non-ESOP portion of the Plan to the total shares of employer stock in the non-ESOP portion of the Plan. The Employer shall purchase shares of employer stock from the Trustee with cash (based on the fair market value of the shares so purchased) from each such account to the extent necessary for the Trustee to make the income tax payments.