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| RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN |
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Making Contributions
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Vesting
Any money that you defer into your 401(k) plan is always 100% yours
and is not subject to vesting. However, any money that the company contributes
to your retirement plan is subject to vesting rules.
Your vested interest in your retirement plan money is that portion
which is absolutely yours and cannot be taken away from you, even if
you quit or are fired. For each year of service that you complete at
Valassis, or any of its predecessor companies (in which Valassis has
or had a controlling interest), you will earn an additional 20% vesting
towards your account as follows:
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Years
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Vesting
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1
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20%
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2
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40%
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3
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60%
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4
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80%
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5
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100%
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A Year of Service is a Plan Year in which you worked at least 1,000
hours.
If you leave the Company for any reason before completing five years
of service, you will only be allowed to withdraw your personal 401(k)
contribution balance and any vested interest you have in company contributions
that were made to your account (i.e. profit sharing or prior company
matches). If you leave the company after you complete five Years of
Service, you are entitled to the full amount of your account. Also,
if you leave and receive a payout, you can re-enter the Plan at your
prior account balance and vesting/Year of Service if you return to work
at Valassis Communications within five years of separation. You must,
of course repay the Plan for your original payout amount.
Note: Vesting for VRMS, Prevision, NCH and VDM associates
will be based on their original hire date with their company, not the
date that Valassis took a controlling interest.
401(k) Contributions
Associate Contributions: You can elect to defer between 1% and 50% of
your earnings as a "pre-tax" (traditional 401k) or "post-tax"
(Roth 401k) subject to limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Service.
For 2009, associates are allowed to defer up to $16,500 or 50% of their
earnings into their 401(k) plan. Associates that are 50 years or older
(or turning 50 in 2009) are allowed to defer an additional $5,500 as
"catch-up" contributions. The payroll system will automatically
stop your deductions once you have hit the maximum amount allowed (assuming
you have not contributed to a 401(k) plan with another employer during
the same calendar year).
An election regarding the amount you wish to have withheld from your
paycheck may be made at any time and will be in force until you choose
to discontinue or change it.
Changing your 401(k) Contribution Amount: In order to make changes
to your elected contribution amount (or discontinue your deductions),
you can log onto www.retireonline.com.
Profit Sharing Contributions
All associates who have met the Profit Sharing eligibility requirements
and are employed with Valassis on December 31st of each year are eligible
for any discretionary profit sharing contribution that is approved by
the Board of Directors.
You will share in the Company's contribution for every Plan Year that
you:
- were an "eligible" participant (see profit sharing eligibility
section)
- were employed on the last day of the Plan Year and
- completed 1,000 hours of Service
You do not share in the contribution if, during that plan year, you
quit work or fail to complete 1,000 Hours of Service, except in the
case of retirement, total disability, or death. If you were disabled
during the Plan Year, no more than 50% of your Hours of Service can
come from your disability period.
You will share in the contribution for the Plan Year if you retire
on or after your "normal retirement date" (as defined by the
Plan Document), or if you become totally disabled or die during the
Plan Year.
Currently the Plan Year ends on December 31st of each calendar year.
Once the financial statements are completed and audited, the contribution
amount is calculated based on the performance target. The contribution
percentage amount is announced and everyone is notified of his or her
actual contribution figure in February of the following year. The contributions
are normally posted to the participant accounts at the end of February,
following Plan Year-end.
 
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