The ABC-NABET Retirement Trust Plan (the "Retirement Plan") was first established in 1963 by the Board of Trustees of the ABC-NABET Retirement Trust Fund, which Board was appointed by ABC, Inc. (the "Company") and NABET-CWA (the "Union") pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the Company and the Union. Pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement (the "CBA"), the Retirement Plan is maintained for the benefit of all regular employees covered by the CBA, as well as employees on whose behalf contributions to the Retirement Plan must be made pursuant to the provisions of Stipulation 19 of the CBA. The Retirement Plan is a single employer, jointly trusteed defined benefit plan that is subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"). The Retirement Plan also includes a defined contribution supplementary portion that is funded through voluntary after-tax employee contributions, equal to 3%, 4%, or 5% of a Retirement Plan participant's base pay, which can then be invested in any of several mutual funds (currently maintained by Putnam Investments).
The Board of Trustees has six members, plus two alternate trustees. Half of the members of the Board of Trustees are appointed by the Company and half are appointed by the Union. As a result of recent collective bargaining between the Company and the Union, the authority to set benefit levels and make changes to the Retirement Plan that would directly or indirectly affect such benefit levels has been transferred from the Board of Trustees to the Company and the Union in their collective bargaining capacities. Accordingly, while the Board of Trustees oversees the administration of the Plan and the investment of the assets of the Plan, it no longer sets benefit levels. Contributions to fund the retirement benefits under the Retirement Plan are governed by the CBA.