$% Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PEE YIw.uI UK. 1200 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005-4026 

1. MAR 0 6 2004 

~e: Case 190225, Atlas Corporation 1978 Retirement Plan (the Plan) 

TheAppealsBoardreviw/ed yourapp& ofPBGC'sNovember6,2002,detaminationthatyou 

arenot entitledto aPBGC benefit from the Plan. Forthe reasons presented below, the Appeals Board 

changedthedetamination. TheBoardfoundthatyouare 1OOpercentvestedin yourbenefitaumak, and 

are entitled to a benefit under the Plan whose payment is guaranteed by the PBGC. 

Benefit Determination and Appeal 

PBGC's determinationletterinformed you thatwhm youtaminated anploymenkthePlanrequired 

10 yearsofserviceto qualify foravestedpen~ionbene~k and you hadonly 7.667 yearsofsemice. Your 

November 19,2002 appealstitqthatyou received statementsfmmtheAdas Cd'rporation(Atlas)showing 

howmuchmoney youwould~iveatretirement, which youinterpretasmeaningyouarellly vested in 

the Plan. 

~~~~f~rtherw~lainedina~arch 14,2003 IetterthataparticipqtinthePlanalsocould befilly 

vestedif he or she had been amember on September30,1978, in either of two predecessor plans (the 

Atlas Corporation 1963 ~etirement~lanorthe~tli~~,~~~ration~m~~o~ees~eti~ent~lan)~~heletter& 

advised youthat information received from Atlas Corpo~iltionidm~edparticipantswhowere 100percent 

vested intbePlanasaresultoftheirparticipation inoneoftbepredecessorplans, andthatyouwerenot 

one ofthose listed. PBGC asked you to forward any docurnentsshowing youwereaparticipantineither 

of the predecessor plans on September 30, 1978. You supplemented your appeal by e-rnail sent 

Makh 20,2003, inwhichyoustatedthatyouwereernployedwiththeBrockton Sole& PlasticsDivision 

ofAtlas from 1976tbrough 1984. You added that you were looking for lettershm Atlas showingthe 

amount you would receive, and that you do not understand why you arenot entitled to a benefit. 

The Record 

Therecord shows that youwere born on[ YOU startedto work for ~tlas on 

November 11, 1976, and became a paiticipant in the Plan on October I, 1978, the date it became 

effective. Your employment ended on June 15, 1984. 
-2 

&y~ Pmvisions 

 he governing docume"'of the plan in effect when your employment ended was the Plan as ' 

amended effective January 1,1983. Section 4.15 provided that 

"(a) aMemberwho completed 10 ormore years of service has akily vested 

interest in his Plan benefits. AMember's Amed Benefitbemmes nonforfeit his 

Normal Retirement ate regardless of length of service. A Member who has not 

completed 1 OYW of service and has not attained his~ormal ~etirkent~atehasno 

vested interest in Plan benefits. 

@)Notwithstanding subsection(a) above,'any ~m~loyeewhowas aMemberof 

the 1963 Retirement Plan or the Atlas Corporation Employees' Retirement Plan on 

September30,1978, andwhobecameaMemberofthisPlanonOctober 1,1978,shall 

bedeemedto havea IWhvested interest in Plan benefitsnotwithstandingthenumberof 

Years of Service such Employee actually has credited to him." 

Under Section3.5, "years of Service"were based on the total periodoftime during which an 

employmentrelationshipexistedwjth Atlas. Forevery IZmonths, an employeewas CreditedwithaYear 

of Service. Partial years were credited onthe basis of 1/12 of a year for each calendar month. 

Section3.1 ofthe Plan ~videdthatanemployeewho wasamemberofapredecessorplanon 

September30.1978, becameamemberofthe Planon October I, 1978 And.Section3.2 pmvidedthat 

an employeewho was not amember~fa~redecessor~lan on September30.1978, becameamember 

ofthe~lanonlune30or~ecember31,whichevwcamefin~foll'owingtheattainmentof age25andthe 

completion of one Year of Service. 

Discussion 

The record of the Plan's termination includes a'listing prepared by Atlas of inactive vested -- . 

participants updated throu&May l999on which you arelistedwithamonthlybenefitof$143.09inthe 

form ofalieannuity commencingon your age65 normal retirement date ofFebruary 1,201 3. In atable 

preparedby thePBGC from Planrecords, youareidentifiedas aseparatedvestedparticipantwithadate 

of hire of November I, 1976; a date of participation in the Plan of October 1, 1978; and a date of 

terminationofemploymentoflune~15,1984. According tothetable, theplan's fomeradminismtor 

determined you had an accmed monthly benefit on February 28.1997, of $143.09. 

Asaresultofatelephoneconversation withan appeals analyst, you forwardedcopiesofthree 

communications you received bearing - on your entitlement to a benefit. Two are letters dated June4.1999, - and Aupt 24,-1999, from James R Jensen, CFO, Secretary/Treasurer of Atlas, addressed ti 

"Participant"providingnotification, as required by law, regardingtermination ofthe Plan. Thethird is an 
undated handwritten note addressed to youfrom~dvising youthat"~s the. . . Plan is in 

terminatioqweareunableatth'1~timetoqudeywbenetitr. Fm letterswill notify youofyourbenefits." 

The record does not show in what capacity served. 

From the above, it appears that after your employment ended, you werestill considered to bea 

p~icipantinthePlanentitled toabenefit. ~be~~~eals~oard wn~ludedthat~ouwereamemberon 

September30,1978, of eitherthe 1963 ~etirement~lanorthe~tlas ~o~mtion~m~lo~eg'~etiremen~ 

Plan. Consequently, when you becameapa~tici~antin the Plan on October 1,1978, you had a 100% 

vested interest in Plan benefits without regard to the Years of Service credited to you. 

. . Decision 

Applying pmvisions ofthe Plan to the facts in this case, the Appeals Board changed PBGC's 

determination. The AppealsBoardfound -. thatyou are 1OOpercentvested invourbenefitawuals, and are 

entitled to a benefit under the Plan. 

You will receiveanewdetermimtionbasedon this decision from PBGC's InsuranceOperations 

Department, theoffice responsible for issuing benefitdinato Thenew determination will set forth 

thetype,amountandformofyourPBGCbenefit. Thenew determinationwill containanew45-day right 

to appeal. Ifyouneedother information from PBGC,pleasecall ourCustomerContact Center at 1-800- 

400-7242. 

Sincerely, 

Michel Louis 

Acting Chair, Appeals Board