Administration of Fund

PURPOSE: This rule sets forth general rules regarding the administration of the plan. (1) Plan Administration. The board shall have sole discretionary responsibility for the operation, interpretation, and administration of the plan and for determining eligibility for plan benefits. Any action taken on any matter within the discretion of the board shall be final, conclusive, and binding on all parties. In order to discharge its duties hereunder, the board shall have the power and authority to delegate ministerial duties and to employ such outside professionals as may be required for prudent administration of the plan. The board shall also have authority to enter into agreements as may be necessary to implement this plan. Any individual member of the board who is otherwise eligible may participate in the plan, but shall not be entitled to make decisions solely with respect to his or her own participation and benefits under the plan. (2) To implement the plan, the board shall enter into a trust agreement, so that plan funds shall be segregated from an employer’s own assets and held in trust by the trustee for the exclusive benefit of participants and their beneficiaries. Any or all benefits that may accrue to any participant or beneficiary under this plan shall be subject to the terms and conditions of said trust agreement. Except as provided in section (5), it shall be impossible under any circumstances at any time for any part of the corpus or income of the trust fund to be used for, or diverted to purposes other than the exclusive benefit of participants and their beneficiaries and paying administrative expenses of the plan or to revert to or inure to the benefit of an employer, except as otherwise permitted or required by law. (3) Plan Expenses. All expenses of plan administration, including (by way of illustration and not limitation) those incurred by the board and the fees of the trustee shall be paid from the trust fund. Notwithstanding the foregoing, expenses incurred in connection with a distribution of benefits (including without limitation, a refund of contributions) may be allocated to and charged against the participant’s interest in the plan. (4) Claims for Benefits. A claim for a benefit under this plan shall be reviewed by the board (or by its designee) in accordance with the procedure outlined in 16 CSR 50-2.035. An appeal of an adverse claim decision shall be processed in accordance with 16 CSR 50-1.020. (5) Facility of Payments. If any participant shall be physically, mentally, or legally incapable of receiving or acknowledging receipt of any payment under the plan to which he or she is entitled, the board, upon the receipt of satisfactory evidence of his or her incapacity and satisfactory evidence that another person or institution is maintaining him/her and that no guardian or committee has been appointed for him/her, may cause any payment otherwise payable to him/her to be made to such person or institution so maintaining him/her. (6) In the event that a person required to provide notice under the plan claims to have mailed or otherwise sent such notice, but the notice was not received by the board or other intended recipient, the board may, in its discretion, conduct an investigation into the facts and circumstances to determine whether notice was in fact properly sent. In the event that the board determines that such notice was properly sent, even if not received, the board may, in its sole discretion, deem such notice properly given in accordance with the plan based on the facts and circumstances. (7) With respect to any individual who becomes a participant on or after January 1, 2006, the county clerk shall provide the board or its designee with a copy of the Form I-9 with respect to such participant, or such other information as the board may designate as appropriate, including, for example, such participant’s driver’s license, Social Security card, and/or birth certificate, upon such participant’s entry date or at such other time and in such manner as may be prescribed by the board or its designee. (8) Upon termination or partial termination of the plan, a participant’s interest under the plan as of such date shall become fully vested to the extent funded. AUTHORITY: section 50.1032, RSMo 2000.* Original rule filed Sept. 29, 2000, effective March 30, 2001. Amended: Filed Nov. 10, 2005, effective May 30, 2006. Amended: Filed Feb. 21, 2006, effective Sept. 30, 2006. Amended: Filed Dec. 19, 2011, effective July 30, 2012. *Original authority: 50.1032, RSMo 1995.