Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

1200 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005-4026 

RE: Appeal (( Peter J. Schmitt (PJS) 

Employees Retirement Plan (the 'PJS Plan") 

The Appeals Board reviewed your appeal of PBGC's September 24, 

2001 (remailed October 31, 2001) determination of your benefit. As 

explained below, the Board changed PBGC's determination by finding 

that because you are not eligible for a vested pension benefit from 

the PJS Plan you are not entitled to receive a payment from PBGC. 

We, therefore, are denying your appeal. 

PBGC's Determination and Your Appeal 

PBGC determined that you are entitled to a one-time payment 

of $120, which is the lump-sum value of your $22.18 monthly benefit 

accrued under the PJS Plan multiplied by a 15% vesting rate. PBGC 

noted you also would receive interest caclulated for the full 

months between the PJS Plan's termination date (December 31, 1994) 

and the date PBGC makes the payment. 

In your November 5, 2001 appeal, you asked what became of the 

$13,310.50 of compensation and $11,768.43 of final average 

compensation reported on a December 31, 1985 Personal Benefit 

Statement. You included a copy of that Statement with your appeal. 

Your appeal also stated that you had six years of service, and you 

suggested that, on a graduated scale, you should be 60% vested. 

Discussion 

The Compensation Shown on Your December 31, 1985 

Personal Benefit Statement 

The Appeals Board's review of the 1985 Personal Benefit 

Statement you included with your appeal found that it relates to 

your benefit entitlement under the prior Betsy Ross Foods pension 
plan, not the PJS Plan. The "compensation" figures you referred I to are the wages you received for your employment with.Betsy Ross 

Foods, not pension benefit amounts. Your Betsy Ross Foods benefit 

was determined based on these compensation figures, as well as your 

I* service with Betsy Ross Foods, as shown on this Statement. 

According to information in your file, an annuity contract 

purchased on your behalf from The Lincoln National Pension Company 

(Lincoln) will provide your Betsy Ross Foods pension, which is 

separate from and in addition to your PJS Plan benefit. 

Please note that PBGC's 0ctober 31, 2001 benefit determination 

relates solely to your benefit from the PJS Plan. PBGC' s 

determination has no effect at all on your Betsy Ross annuity. If 

you have not already done so, you may contact Lincoln directly 

regarding possible commencement dates of your Betsy Ross annuity. 

Whether Your Vesting Percentage Should Be Increased to 60% 

Documents in PBGC files show you started working for Betsy 

Ross Foods on May 31, 1979 and that your PJS employment ended on 

March 21, 1986. Because the PJS Plan granted credit for employment 

with Betsy Ross Foods for vesting purposes, you had six full years 

of vesting service when your PJS employment ended. 

Douments in PBGC files reveal that the PJS Plan provisions in 

effect when your employment with PJS ended required a participant 

to have completed ten years of service in order to qualify for a 

nonforfeitable (vested) pension benefit. See Enclosure. As the 

Enclosure states the Plan did not provide for partial vesting for 

participants like you who were hired in 1979 and who left 

employment with less than ten years of service. Thus, because the 

Plan did not provide for pro rata vesting while you were a PJS Plan 

member, the Appeals Board found that you did not meet the PJS 

Plan's requirements for entitlement to a deferred vested pension. 

For this reason, you are not 60% vested in your PJS Plan benefit, 

as you claimed inyour appeal. 

Decision 

Having applied the PJS Plan provisions to the facts of your 

case, the Appeals Board found that you are not entitled to a vested 

pension benefit under the PJS Plan and, thus, not entitled to a 

payment from PBGC. We, therefore, must deny your appeal. 
This is the agency's final action on this matter and you may, 

if you wish, ask a court to review this decision. We regret that 

this decision is not favorable, but the Appeals Board does not have 

the authority to change the terms of a participant's plan. 

If you need other information from PBGC, please call the 

Customer Contact Center at 1-800-400-7242. 

Sincerely, 

V Harriet D. Verburg 

Chair, Appeals Board 

Enclosure