Big Lots 2009 Annual Report Download - page 104

C-7
(v) Distribution upon Termination of Employment. Upon Termination of a Participant’s
employment for any reason, the Participant, or his/her Beneficiary in the event of his/her
death, shall be entitled to payment of the entire Deferred Bonus Account in one lump-sum
payment payable on the date of the first regular payroll after the thirtieth day following the
date of Termination of employment, or in ten (10) substantially equal annual installment
payments payable as set forth below, as elected by the Participant at the time the Participant
elects to defer all or part of his or her Bonus pursuant to Section 6.04(b). Installment
payments shall be payable beginning on the thirtieth day following the date of Termination
and, thereafter, on the first regular payroll date of each succeeding Fiscal Year following the
year during which the first anniversary of the date of Termination of employment occurs.
(vi) Six-Month Distribution Delay. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, if the
Participant is a “specified employee” (within the meaning of IRC section 409A and the
Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder and as determined under the Company’s
policy for determining specified employees) on the date of the Participant’s Termination,
and the Participant is entitled to a distribution under the Plan that is required to be delayed
pursuant to IRC section 409A(a)(2), then such distribution shall not be paid or provided (or
begin to be paid or provided) until the first business day of the seventh month following the
Participant’s date of Termination (or, if earlier, the Participant’s death).
(vii) Distribution in Event of Financial Emergency. If requested by a Participant while in the
employ of the Company or an Affiliate and if the Committee (or in the case of Participants
who are not Covered Associates, its designee) determines that an Unforeseeable Financial
Emergency has occurred with respect to a Participant, all or a portion of the Deferred Bonus
Account of the Participant may be distributed at the sole discretion of the Committee (or
its designee, as applicable) in an amount no greater than the amount reasonably necessary
to satisfy the emergency need (including amounts necessary to pay any Federal, state or
local income taxes reasonably anticipated to result from such distribution). The Participant
must supply written evidence of the Unforeseeable Financial Emergency and must declare,
under penalty of perjury, that the Participant has no other resources available to meet the
emergency, including the resources of the Participant’s spouse and minor children that are
reasonably available to the Participant. The Participant must also declare that the need cannot
be met by reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise, or by reasonable
liquidation of the Participant’s assets (or the assets of the spouse or minor children of the
Participant) to the extent such liquidation will not itself cause severe financial hardship. Any
such distribution shall be paid within 7 days of the determination by the Committee that an
Unforeseeable Financial Emergency exists.
(viii) Cash Outs. Notwithstanding the provisions in Sections 6.04(b)(v) and (vii), once distributions
of the Deferred Bonus Account begin, if the amount remaining in a Participant’s Deferred
Bonus Account at any time is less than $5,000, the Committee shall pay the balance in the
Participant’s Deferred Bonus Account in a lump sum. within thirty (30) days; provided,
however, that the payment results in the termination and liquidation of the Participant’s
interest under the Plan and all other plans or arrangements that, along with the Plan, would
be treated as a single nonqualified deferred compensation plan under IRC section 409A.
(ix) Beneficiary Designation.
(1) A Participant may designate a Beneficiary who is to receive, upon his/her death,
the distributions that otherwise would have been paid to him/her. All designations
shall be in writing and shall be effective only if and when delivered to the Secretary
of the Company during the lifetime of the Participant. If a Participant designates
a Beneficiary without providing in the designation that the Beneficiary must be
living at the time of each distribution, the designation shall vest in the Beneficiary
all of the distribution whether payable before or after the Beneficiary’s death, and
any distributions remaining upon the Beneficiary’s death shall be made to the
Beneficiary’s estate.