This plan and the trust provided for hereunder are created for the exclusive benefit of employees of the Town. Under no circumstances, except as provided for in Article XIII hereof, either in the event of the termination or amendment of the plan or otherwise, shall the trust fund or any part of the corpus, income or avails thereof be used for or diverted to purposes other than the exclusive benefit of participants, retired participants, terminated participants, contingent annuitants and beneficiaries, except after satisfaction of all liabilities under the plan, in which case any remaining assets shall be paid over to the Town, provided that the trustee's reasonable fees and expenses for operating and/or terminating the trust after termination of the plan shall be paid from the trust fund.
The Town shall have the right, by action at a Town Meeting, to amend the plan in whole or in part at any time and from time to time, provided that no such amendment shall divert any part of the trust fund (remaining after the payment of all costs and expenses properly chargeable thereto) to purposes other than the exclusive benefit of the employees at any time prior to the satisfaction of all liabilities with respect to employees under the plan and trust. Any such amendment may be retroactive in its operation. No amendment shall be made which would affect the trustee without the trustee's written consent thereto. Anything contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the Board shall have the power to amend this plan without further action by the Town to the extent that any amendments may be required by the Internal Revenue Service as a condition to the qualification of this plan under the Internal Revenue Code.
This plan shall not be construed as creating any contract of employment between the Town and any employee, and the Town shall have the right in all respects to deal with its employees, their hiring, discharge, compensation and conditions of employment as though this plan did not exist. No employee shall have any right to question the action of the Town in terminating its contributions to the trust or in terminating the plan in its entirety.
The trust fund is established for the purpose of providing for the support of persons who are to receive benefits under the plan. No benefit payable at any time under the plan shall be subject in any manner to alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, attachment, garnishment or encumbrance of any kind. Any attempt to alienate, sell, transfer, assign, pledge or otherwise encumber any such benefits, whether presently or thereafter payable, shall be void.
The Town, the Board and the trustee shall be discharged from all liability in acting upon any notice, request, consent, letter, telegram or other paper or document believed by them to be genuine and to have been signed or sent by the proper person.
If the Board shall determine that any person entitled to benefits of any form under the plan is legally, physically or mentally incapable of receiving and receipting for the payment of such benefits, then the Board may direct the trustee to make such payments or any part thereof to such other person, persons or institutions as the Board believes are then maintaining or have custody of such recipient, until claim for such payment is made by his or her duly appointed conservator or other legal representative. Such payment shall constitute a complete discharge of the liability of the trustee to the extent thereof.
If any payments due hereunder shall amount to less than $20 a month, the Board may direct that such payments be made less frequently in such a manner that each payment will amount to at least $20.
The titles of the various articles and sections of this chapter are inserted herein solely for convenience of reference, do not constitute a part of the plan and shall be disregarded in construing, interpreting or applying any or all of the provisions hereof.