All amounts deferred or contributed in accordance with Article
III shall be paid by the applicable employer as promptly as possible, but in no event later than two business days from the applicable payroll date, to the trust fund. Thereafter, amounts deferred or contributed shall be invested by the Trustee in accordance with the investment instructions received by the Trustee from the administrative service agency, within two business days following receipt by the trust fund of such amounts deferred or contributed (or, if later, on the first business day coincident with or immediately following receipt by the Trustee of the investment instructions from the administrative service agency related to such amounts deferred or contributed). All such amounts deferred or contributed shall be invested by the Trustee (in accordance with the investment instructions received from the administrative service agency) in the investment options provided by one or more financial organizations appointed by the Committee in accordance with the regulations, and shall be held, managed, invested and reinvested in accordance with the applicable agreement entered into by the Committee or the Trustee with each such financial organization.
A participant who has enrolled in the plan pursuant to Article
II shall, by filing a direction with the administrative service agency in writing or in such other manner as the Committee may authorize, specify the percentage (in multiples of 1%) of his or her amounts deferred or contributed, that shall be allocated to each investment option made available by the Committee. A participant's investment allocation elections shall be applied in the same manner to both before-tax deferrals and Roth contributions (to the extent applicable).
Any deferral and contribution allocation direction given by
a participant shall be deemed to be a continuing direction until changed
by the participant. A participant may change his or her deferral and
contribution allocation direction with respect to future amounts deferred
or contributed, as of any enrollment date, by giving notice in writing
or in such other manner as the Committee may authorize to the administrative
service agency prior to any enrollment date. Any change to a participant's
deferral and contribution allocation direction shall be applied in
the same manner to both before-tax deferrals and Roth contributions
(to the extent applicable). All such future deferrals and contributions
shall be invested by the Trustee in the investment options in accordance
with such changed direction.
The administrative service agency shall have the right to decline
to implement any investment direction upon its determination that:
A. The person giving the direction is legally incompetent to do so;
B. Implementation of the investment direction would be contrary to the
plan or applicable law or governmental ruling or regulation, including
Treasury regulations;
C. Implementation of the investment direction would be contrary to a
court order, including a qualified domestic relations order;
D. Implementation of the investment direction would be contrary to the
rules, regulations or prospectuses of the investment funds; or
E. Implementation of the investment direction would be contrary to the
investment guidelines or terms of any agreements applicable to the
Stable Value Fund or any similar investment fund then available under
the plan.
Each participant is solely responsible for the allocation of
his or her amounts deferred or contributed, and each account participant
is solely responsible for the investment allocation of his or her
account, in each case, in and among the investment options. Each account
participant shall assume all risk in connection with the allocation
of amounts in and among the investment options and for any losses
incurred or deemed to be incurred as a result of the account participant's
allocation or failure to allocate any amount to an investment option
or any decrease in the value of any investment option. Neither the
Committee, any Trustee, any employer nor the administrative service
agency is empowered to advise a participant as to the manner in which
the account participant's account shall be allocated among the investment
options. The fact that a particular investment option is available
to participants for investment under the plan shall not be construed
by any account participant as a recommendation for investment in such
investment option. If the Committee elects to make available investment
guidance services or investment advice services to account participants,
such services shall be utilized only at the voluntary election of
the account participant and shall not limit the account participant's
responsibility under this § 50-4.6 for the allocation of
his or her accounts in and among the investment options.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the plan, during any
period when an alternate payee account is created and segregated on
behalf of an alternate payee pursuant to a qualified domestic relations
order from the accounts of the related participant, the alternate
payee shall be entitled to direct the allocation of investments of
such alternate payee account in accordance with §§ 50-4.2
and 50-4.4, as applicable, and shall be subject to the provisions
of §§ 50-4.5 and 50-4.6, but only to the extent provided
in such order. In the event that an alternate payee fails to specify
an investment direction on the date of creation of the alternate payee
account pursuant to § 50-4.9, such alternate payee's alternate
payee account shall be invested in the same manner as the relevant
participant's corresponding before-tax deferral account, Roth account
(to the extent applicable) and rollover accounts on such date and,
except as otherwise provided by the qualified domestic relations order,
shall remain invested in accordance with such initial allocation until
the alternate payee directs otherwise or until such time as the alternate
payee ceases to have an alternate payee account under the plan by
reason of distribution or otherwise.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the plan, during any
period following the death of a participant and prior to distribution
of the entire plan benefit of such participant, such participant's
beneficiary shall be entitled to direct the allocation of investments
of such plan benefit in accordance with § 50-4.4 or, as
applicable, his or her proportional interest in such plan benefit,
in accordance with § 50-4.4 and shall be subject to the
provisions of §§ 50-4.5 and 50-4.6. In the event that
a beneficiary fails to specify an investment direction on the date
of creation of the beneficiary account pursuant to § 50-4.4,
such beneficiary's beneficiary account shall be invested in the same
manner as the relevant participant's corresponding before-tax deferral
account, Roth account (to the extent applicable) and rollover accounts
on such date.
Unless otherwise directed by the account participant, the same
deferral and contribution allocation direction applicable to an account
participant pursuant to § 50-4.2 or § 50-4.3,
as applicable, shall apply to all Section 457 transfers and rollover
contributions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in accordance with procedures
established by the administrative service agency, an account participant
may make an alternative initial allocation election in accordance
with the procedures set forth in § 50-4.4 for any applicable
Section 457 transfer or rollover contribution. Thereafter, such account
participant may direct the administrative service agency to liquidate
his or her interest in any of the investment options and transfer
the proceeds thereof to one or more other investment options in accordance
with § 50-4.4 (in each case subject to the limitations set
forth in §§ 50-4.5 and 50-4.6). All rollover contributions
shall be invested by the Trustee in the investment options in accordance
with such directions as soon as administratively practicable.
Notwithstanding anything in this Article
IV to the contrary, if the Committee eliminates one or more of the investment funds or investment options or undertakes similar activity on behalf of the plan, the Committee shall be authorized to liquidate, without an account participant's consent and without the need for prior notice to the account participant, the portion of each account invested in such eliminated investment fund or investment option and direct the proceeds of such liquidation in one or more remaining or replacement investment funds or investment options in accordance with such liquidation and transfer procedures as the Committee may determine to be necessary or advisable in connection with such elimination.