MERGER OF WELLS FRGO BNK, N.. ND WCHOVI BNK, N.. The Pension and Life ssurance Plan of Wachovia Bank National ssociation (the "Plan") Questions & nswers 1. Changes to your membership of the Plan Q1: How does the merger between Wells Fargo Bank, N.. ("Wells Fargo") and Wachovia Bank, N.. ("Wachovia") affect my membership of the DB Plan? : s we explained in our presentations to Wachovia staff in the week commencing 27 January 2010 the merger between Wells Fargo and Wachovia is scheduled to take place on 20 March 2010 (the "Transfer Date") 1 under UK legislation (the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 ("TUPE")), the employments of Wachovia employees will automatically be transferred to Wells Fargo on the Transfer Date Wachovia employees who are currently members of the Plan will no longer be entitled to remain as an active member in the Plan after the Transfer Date. The Transfer Date will be recorded as your date of leaving the Plan. Q2: Following the TUPE transfer of employments from Wells Fargo to Wachovia under TUPE do former Wachovia staff have the right to accrue benefits in the Plan after the Transfer Date? : No, Wachovia staff don't have the right to accrue future service benefits in the Plan after the Transfer Date. They will, however, be entitled to a deferred pension from the Plan (see section 2). Wells Fargo is, however, required to offer former Wachovia staff membership of a defined contribution, or money purchase, arrangement; and to offer to match contributions paid by a former Wachovia employee to that arrangement up to a combined maximum of 6 of total earnings each year. Wells Fargo intends to do more than the legal minimum as is required under UK legislation (see section 3). 1 This is the anticipated date of the Bank Charter Consolidation. We will inform you if this date changes. 1 Wachovia Defined Pension Plan - Q and 's - 16 March 2010
2. Your benefits in the Plan Q3: How will my pension be worked out under the current Plan when I leave? : When you leave pensionable service (see below) you will become a deferred member of the Plan and you will be entitled to a deferred pension calculated as follows 1/60 th* x your Pensionable Service (see below) x your Final Pensionable Salary (see below) The deferred pension will be revalued (increased) from the date of leaving to the date of your retirement in accordance with legislative requirements. Your Pensionable Service is the number of complete years and months from the date you joined the Plan up to the date you leave the Plan. Your Final Pensionable Salary is the annual average of your basic salary (less an amount equal to the basic state pension for a single person) in the best 3 consecutive Plan years in the ten years ending on the day before you leave Pensionable Service. * For pensionable service up until pril 2006, benefits are on the basis outlined above. For service after pril 2006, benefits will accrue on the basis shown, unless you elected not to make personal contributions, in which case benefits since pril 2006 will be calculated as 1/80 th x Pensionable Service x Final Pensionable Salary. Your annual benefit statement will provide further information on how the formula applies to you. Please note that members may have special legacy terms applying to their benefits as a result of benefits provided before the Wachovia and CoreStates plans merged. If you need further information on your entitlement, then you should contact Helen Edwards. Further details of your pension benefits, including how they are calculated are set out in the Plan's explanatory booklet. Q4: I understand there is a deficit in the Plan, how will this be funded in the future? : s at 1 June 2008, the Plan had a deficit on an ongoing basis of about 3.6 million. It is likely that this position will have worsened since this information was produced. Following the merger of the two businesses, Wells Fargo will be responsible for ensuring the Plan is properly funded. In the coming weeks Wells Fargo will work with the Plan's trustees to agree an appropriate funding and investment programme so that the trustees will be in a position to pay benefits in full when they fall due. Q5: How has the deficit in the Plan arisen? : In common with the experience of many other DB pension plans, the deficit in the Plan has grown to its current level due to factors which have been driving up the cost of pensions and making defined benefit pensions more expensive to fund, which are outside the control of both the employer and the trustees. The key factors are:- People are living longer. Whilst this is good news for members, it means that pensions have to be paid for longer than anticipated. s a result the total cost to the Plan is increasing and the burden falls on the employer. Salary and inflation rises have differed significantly from the assumptions made. 2 Wachovia Defined Pension Plan - Q and 's - 16 March 2010
The sustained fall in real bond yields over recent years has meant that the cost of funding an annuity has increased substantially. In other words it is much more expensive to pay for a given amount of pension than it has been historically. The turbulent economy and falling stock markets have meant that pension assets have reduced in value. The law requires pension schemes to have a number of safeguards. The trustees have to carry out various checks to ensure that the Plan is being well managed and that the money building up in the Plan is secure and invested prudently. The trustees have performed their role diligently and responsibly. Q6: What will happen to any additional voluntary contributions (VCs) I have paid to the Plan? There is no change to the VC arrangements. Your VCs will remain invested with Clerical Medical and Scottish Widows and will be used to provide additional benefits for you on retirement. VCs will, however, cease to be paid when your membership of the Plan ceases. Q7: Can I transfer my Plan benefits to the new pension plan (or to alternative arrangements)? It is possible to transfer the value of your Plan benefits to an alternative registered pension scheme, but you should ensure that this is the most appropriate course of action to undertake. You are strongly encouraged to take advice on this issue and you can find details of an independent financial adviser through www.unbiased.co.uk. 3. Your future pension benefits after the transfer date Q8: Will Wells Fargo be offering any replacement pension arrangements after the Transfer Date? : Yes, as from the Transfer Date you will be invited to join a new Stakeholder Pension Plan (the "Stakeholder Plan"). The first contribution to the new Plan will be your pril contribution, if you have completed your pplication Form and returned it to Helen Edwards by 6 pril 2010. Q9: How will the Stakeholder Plan work? : n account will be opened for you in the Stakeholder Plan it is like a savings account but specifically for your retirement savings. The key features of the Stakeholder Plan are Contributions are as follows - Core Company contribution Voluntary member Company matching Total Company contribution TOTL ll ages 3 0 0 3 3.0 Under 30 3 2.5 3 6 8.5 ge 31-40 3 2.5 5 8 10.5 ge 41-50 3 2.5 7 10 12.5 51 and over 3 2.5 10 13 15.5 3 Wachovia Defined Pension Plan - Q and 's - 16 March 2010
ll contributions are shown as a percentage of pensionable salary and the Company contribution will be subject to a new increased earnings cap of 150,000. Members will only be entitled to the Company matching contributions shown if they contribute a minimum of 2.5 of pensionable salary p.a. to the Plan. You can make additional contributions above 2.5 (you are permitted to pay up to 100 of your earnings), but the Company will only make a matching contribution on the first 2.5. Please note that before making any additional contributions, you should read Question 15 below about new rules for higher earners. s is the case under the current Wachovia Stakeholder Plan, salary sacrifice will be used to allow contributions to be paid by the Company on your behalf in a tax and National Insurance efficient way. This is subject to HMRC confirmation. You can decide how to invest your account from a wide choice of investment funds. For members who feel unable to make an investment choice, there will be a default option. You should, however, try to ensure that the investments you make are appropriate for your own circumstances and are reviewed on a regular basis. Information / enrollment sessions will be held in March, during which you will be provided general information on investment options. However, if you have additional questions about the Stakeholder Plan and wish to meet privately to learn more about the investment options and considerations, an individual meeting will be arranged at your request. The value of your account changes to reflect how much is paid in and how the funds perform. The value of your account can go down as well as up. When you are ready to receive your pension, you can take part of your account as a taxfree cash sum. The balance of your account will then normally be used to buy a pension secured by an annuity policy for you. Your pension will be based on the value of your account and the annuity rates which apply, when you retire. You are allowed to choose the type of pension you require and can choose which provider you use from the open market. You decide: - whether your spouse/partner should receive a pension on your death; and/or - whether your pension increases during retirement. Q10: Is there any change in the Normal Retirement ge (NR) for pension benefits? The NR for members of the Plan will still be age 60. For Stakeholder Plan members, NR is 65, but it is permissible for retirement to be taken at any age from 55 onwards. Q11: What is the definition of pensionable earnings? In the Plan, Pensionable Earnings are defined as Basic Salary less the single person s Basic State Pension. In the Stakeholder Plan, Pensionable Earnings are defined as Basic Salary with no offset but subject to an earnings cap of 150,000 for Company contributions. Q12: What should I do if I want to join the Stakeholder Plan? Further information will be sent to you in relation to the new Stakeholder Plan and you will also be invited to information sessions in March. In order to join the Stakeholder Plan you will need to complete an pplication Form and return it to Helen Edwards in Human Resources.. This will be sent to you with the further information mentioned above. Q13: How will the changes affect the State benefits that I am entitled to? : s a member of the DB Plan, you and the Company paid a lower rate of National Insurance contributions and although you remained entitled to Basic State Pension benefits, you were 4 Wachovia Defined Pension Plan - Q and 's - 16 March 2010
contracted out of the State Second Pension (an additional earnings-related pension). s a result of being contracted-out, the DB Plan effectively paid this as part of your overall benefits from the Plan. Under the new Stakeholder Plan, employees will be contracted in to the State Second Pension (S2P). Thus employees and the Company will pay higher National Insurance Contributions (NI) but in return you will receive a higher pension from the State as S2P will be on top of the Stakeholder Plan benefits. The proposed changes will not affect any entitlement to the Basic State Pension. Q14: What happens if I die in service? : If you die in service a pension will be paid to your surviving spouse from the Plan, based on pensionable service up to the transfer date additional benefits will be payable from the Plan in relation to the value of any money purchase VCs paid. a death-in-service lump sum will be payable from an insurance policy arranged by the Company equal to 4 times your notional salary if you are single or 10 times your notional salary if you are married or have a civil partner a lump sum equal to the value of your personal account in the Stakeholder Plan. Q15: Will I be affected by the recent change in personal taxation for higher earners? If you have taxable income from all sources in excess of 100,000, then you are likely to be impacted by recent announcements of changes in personal allowances and income tax rates from pril 2010. If you have earnings in excess of 130,000, then there are further pensions-related changes which may also apply. If you are in this category, you may need to take action to ensure you do not inadvertently trigger a tax charge. In particular, you should seek advice before making any additional payments in excess of the core contributions to the Stakeholder Plan. This includes VCs and any salary/bonus waiver. If you have taxable earnings in excess of 100,000 (and remember this is not just earnings from Wachovia) then you should contact Helen Edwards for further information. Q16: Who should I contact if I have further questions? If you have any further questions you can contact Helen Edwards in Human Resources. 5 Wachovia Defined Pension Plan - Q and 's - 16 March 2010