#a Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation p-Fwc 1200 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 200054026 

NOV 1 8 2002 

I I 

Re: Appeal 1 Peter J. Schmitt Employees 

Retirement Plan (the "Plan") 

The Appeals Board reviewed your appeal of PBGC's July 30, 2001 

determination that you were not entitled to a vested benefit from 

the Plan. As explained below, the Appeals Board changed PBGC's 

determination and found that you met the eligibility requirements 

for a vested benefit under the terms of the Plan. 

PBGC determined you were not eligible to receive a vested 

benefit from the Plan because you did not: have at least five years 

of service when your employment with Peter J. Schmitt ("PJS") 

ended. PBGCfs letter said that the Plan required five years of 

vesting service to qualify for a vested pension benefit. 

Your September 12, 2001 appeal said that you are qualified to 

receive a vested pension benefit from the Plan. You enclosed a 

copy of a letter from PJS's Director of Employee Benefits, who 

informed you that based on your salary history, hire date and date 

of birth, their actuary, Wyatt Company ("Wyatt"), calculated your 

vested monthly accrued benefit to be $33.58, payable at age 65. 

Please note that the Plan did not have sufficient assets, when 

the Plan terminated on December 31, 1994, to provide all benefits 

that PBGC guarantees under the Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"). Therefore, PBGC must use Plan 

provisions, ERISA, and PBGC's regulations and policies to determine 

whether you are entitled to a PBGC benefit. 

Wyatt's calculation of your accrued benefit showed that you 

accrued annual benefits of $117.30 in 1987, $183.54 in 1988 and 

$102.06 in 1989. Using the Plan's benefit formula, your 1989 

accrual of $102.06 corresponds to earnings of $4,536 ($102.06 

divided by 2.25%) . Based on your rates of pay, you would have 

earned this amount within 6 months, which is consistent with a date 

of termination of May 28, 1989. 

Company records indicate that you started working for PJS on 
BEST COW AVAlLABLE 

September 23, 1986 and that your service ended on May 28, 1989. 

The form used by Wyatt appears to indicate that May 28, 1989 was 

your "Date of Leaven rather than your "Date of Termination." 

However, even if you earned vesting service between May 28, 1989 

and September 28, 1990, the date on which PJS considered you 

vested, the Appeals Board found that you would not have earned five 

years of vesting service based on a date of hire of September 23, 

1986 and a date of termination of September 28, 1990. 

Nevertheless, the Appeals Board found that the pension records 

PBGC obtained from PJS were not always complete with respect to 

some participants, and that PBGC has in some instances accepted 

PJS's determination that a participant was vested where PJSts 

actuary has calculated a vested accrued benefit for the 

participant. For these reasons, the Appeals Board decided to 

accept PJS's determination that you met the eligibility 

requirements for a vested benefit under the Plan. 

Please note that in some cases, a participant who has earned 

a vested Plan benefit may not be entitled to a PBGC payment due to 

limits on guaranteed benefits set by Congress when it enacted 

ERISA, or other factors. For example, if PBGC finds that you have 

received a one-time lump-sum payment in lieu of any future annuity 

payment, then PBGC would not be able to pay your benefit a second 

time. 

Decision 

Having applied the provisions of the Plan to the facts in this 

case, the Appeals Board found that you met the eligibility 

requirements for a vested benefit under the Plan. 

PBGC's Insurance Operations Department will send you a new 

benefit determination regarding the amount of your vested benefit 

and other matters. Your new determination will have a 45-day 

appeal right. 

We appreciate your patience while we completed our review. If 

you have additional questions, please call PBGC's Customer Service 

Center at 1-800-400-7242. 

Sincerely, 

Michel Louis 

Appeals Board Member