Defined Contribution Plans For Merck Employees

What Is a Defined Contribution Plan?

As a Merck employee, it is important to understand what a defined contribution plan is in order to be better prepared when planning your finances. A defined contribution plan is a qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan that provides each participating employee with an individual plan account earmarked for the employee. Depending on the type of defined contribution plan, plan contributions may be made by (1) only the employer (e.g., a profit-sharing plan), (2) only the employee (e.g., a nonmatching 401(k) plan), or (3) both the employer and the employee (e.g., a matching 401(k) plan).

In the case of Merck employer contributions, the contribution amount is generally 'defined' in the plan document, often in terms of a percentage of the employee's pre-tax compensation. For plans that allow employee contributions, each employee can generally decide how much to contribute (up to the employee contribution limit), and can usually change his or her contribution at certain times of the year. Like employer contributions, Merck employee contributions are generally expressed in terms of a percentage of the employee's pre-tax compensation.

A defined contribution plan does not guarantee a certain level of benefits to a Merck employee at retirement or separation from service. Instead, the amount of benefits paid to each participant at retirement or separation from service is the vested balance of his or her individual account. A Merck employee's vested balance consists of (1) the employee's own contributions and related earnings, and (2) any employer contributions and related earnings that the employee has earned (i.e., become vested in) due to length of service with the employer. The dollar value of the account will depend on the total amount of money contributed and the performance of the underlying plan investments.

What Are the Differences Between a Defined Contribution Plan and a Defined Benefit Plan?

A defined contribution plan is one of two major types of qualified retirement plans. [A qualified retirement plan is a plan that receives favorable federal income tax treatment and, generally, meets the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).] The other major type of qualified retirement plan is a defined benefit plan. Although both are types of qualified plans, as a Merck employee you should understand the fundamental differences between defined contribution plans and defined benefit plans:

•  A defined benefit plan guarantees a specified level of benefits to each participating fortune 500 employee at retirement. A defined contribution plan, however, makes no guarantees as to the future benefits that participating employees will receive from the plan.
•  A defined contribution plan provides each participating Merck employee with an individual plan account. By contrast, a defined benefit plan does not establish or maintain individual plan accounts. The plan assets are held in a trust fund that is managed by a trustee and are not specifically earmarked for the employee in a separate account.
•  A defined benefit plan is typically funded solely by employer contributions — employees are generally not allowed to contribute to the plan. By contrast, many types of defined contribution plans are funded either solely by employee contributions, or by some combination of Merck employee and employer contributions.

How Much Will Employees Receive from a Defined Contribution Plan?

The amount of benefits that each participating Merck employee will receive from a defined contribution plan at retirement or separation from service depends on several factors, those of which include:

•  The total contributions (employer and employee) allocated to the participant's plan account
•  Any forfeitures of other Merck employees' accounts that are reallocated to the participant's plan account because the other employees no longer work for the employer
•  The performance of the underlying plan investments, and the participant's share of gains and losses on those investments

What Type of Employer Will Benefit Most from a Defined Contribution Plan?

A Merck employer that wants to benefit its young, well-paid owners and key employees will generally find a defined contribution plan most beneficial. That's because such employees typically have many years in which annual contributions can be made and invested, creating the opportunity for significant tax-deferred growth over the long term (depending on investment performance).

Example(s):  Parrot Enterprises has four owners of varying ages. As the following table illustrates, younger employees have the potential to amass extremely large sums of retirement funds through a defined contribution plan.

Participant	Current age	Annual compensation	Years to age 65	25% of pay contribution	Value of account at age 65 with 8% interest
Joe	25	$50,000	40	$12,500	$3,497,263
Mary	35	$50,000	30	$12,500	$1,529,323
Sam	45	$50,000	20	$12,500	$617,787
Anne	55	$50,000	10	$12,500	$195,569

Caution:  The above scenario is entirely hypothetical and not to be used as a reliable indicator of future benefits under a defined contribution plan. Both annual contributions and investment returns can vary from year to year — widely, in some cases. There is even the possibility that a participant's plan account may lose value if his or her plan investments perform poorly.

What Is the Maximum Tax-Deductible Contribution That an Employer Can Make to a Defined Contribution Plan?

As a Merck employer, the maximum annual tax-deductible contribution that you can make to a defined contribution plan is generally limited to 25% of the total compensation of all Merck employees participating in the plan. [Employee pre-tax deferrals to a 401(k) plan are deductible separately from this 25% limit.] The specific rules regarding deductibility of employer contributions are complex, however, so you should consult a tax advisor for guidance.

Caution:  For 2020, annual compensation in excess of $285,000 (up from $280,000 in 2019) for any individual plan participant cannot be included in calculating the maximum annual tax-deductible contribution.

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How Is Compensation Defined?

Annual Additions Limit

For purposes of the annual additions limit (see below), compensation generally includes all taxable personal services income, such as wages, salaries, fees, commissions, bonuses, and tips. For Merck employees, It does not include pension-type income, such as payments from qualified plans, nonqualified pensions, and taxable compensation due to participation in various types of stock and stock option plans. In addition, compensation includes voluntary salary deferrals to 401(k) plans and cafeteria plans. The maximum amount of annual compensation that can be used to determine the annual additions limit for any single plan participant is $285,000 (for 2020, up from $280,000 in 2019).

Highly Compensated Employee

For 2020, a highly compensated employee for a Merck company is an individual who:

•  Was a 5% owner of the employer during 2019 or 2020, or
•  Had compensation in 2019 in excess of $125,000 and, at the election of the employer, was in the top 20% of employees in terms of compensation for that year. (This $125,000 limit rises to $130,000 in 2020.)

For this purpose, compensation includes all taxable personal services income, such as wages, salaries, fees, commissions, bonuses, and tips. In addition, it includes elective or salary-reduction contributions to cafeteria and salary deferral plans such as 401(k) plans.

What Are the Maximum Annual Additions That Can Be Allocated to Each Plan Participant's Account?

Annual additions are the sum of (1) total contributions (employer and employee) made to an individual participant's plan account for the year, and (2) any forfeitures of other employees' accounts that are reallocated to the participant's plan account. The maximum annual additions that can be allocated to any individual participant's plan account are the lesser of (1) 100% of the participant's compensation for the year, or (2) $57,000 (for 2020, up from $56,000 in 2019). As mentioned, the maximum amount of annual compensation that can be used to determine the annual additions limit for any single plan participant is $285,000 (for 2020, up from $280,000 in 2019).

Caution:  You must treat all qualified defined contribution plans you maintain as a single plan for purposes of calculating the annual additions limit.

Tip:  For 401(k) plans, employees age 50 and older can make catch-up contributions of up to $6,500 in 2020 in excess of the $57,000 annual additions dollar limit.

What Are The Types of Qualified Defined Contribution Plans?

Here are brief descriptions of the major types of qualified defined contribution plans..

Profit-Sharing Plan

A profit-sharing plan is a defined contribution plan that allows for Merck employer discretion in determining the level of annual contributions to the plan. In fact, the business can contribute nothing at all in a given year if it so chooses. As the name suggests, a profit-sharing plan is usually a sharing of the Merck employer's profits that may fluctuate from year to year. Generally, corporations will contribute to profit-sharing plans in one of two ways: either according to a written formula or in a purely discretionary manner.

401(K) Plan

A 401(k) plan, sometimes called a cash or deferred arrangement (CODA), is a defined contribution plan in which Merck employees elect either to receive cash payments from their employer immediately or to defer receipt of the income. If deferred, the amount deferred consists of pre-tax dollars that are invested in the employee's plan account. A 401(k) plan can also allow employees to make after-tax Roth contributions. Often, the Merck employer matches all or part of the employees' deferrals to encourage employee participation. The 401(k) plan is the most widely used type of defined contribution plan. An individual 401(k) plan can be established that covers only a business owner, or the business owner and his or her spouse.

Money Purchase Pension Plan

A money purchase pension plan is a defined contribution plan in which the Merck employer makes an annual contribution to each employee's account in the plan. The amount of the contribution is determined by a set formula that cannot be changed, regardless of whether or not the corporation is showing a profit. Typically, the business's contribution will be based on a certain percentage of a Merck employee's compensation.

Age-Weighted Profit-Sharing Plan

An age-weighted profit-sharing plan is a defined contribution plan in which contributions are allocated based on the age of plan participants as well as on their compensation. This type of plan benefits older participants with fewer years until retirement by allowing them to receive much larger contributions to their accounts than younger participants. As a Merck employee, you may want to consider this plan if you are older and close to retirement.

Target Benefit Plan

For Merck employees, a target benefit plan is a hybrid of a defined benefit plan and a money purchase pension plan. It resembles a defined benefit plan in that the annual contribution is based on the amount needed to fund a specific amount of retirement benefits (the 'target' benefit). It resembles a money purchase pension plan in that the actual benefit received by the participant at retirement is based on his or her individual balance.

New Comparability Plan

A new comparability plan is a variation of the traditional profit-sharing plan. This type of plan is unique in that plan participants are divided into two or more classes based on their age and other factors. The new comparability plan therefore allows Merck businesses to maximize plan contributions to higher-paid workers, key employees, and owner/employees, while minimizing contributions to the other employees.

Thrift/Savings Plan

A thrift or savings plan is a defined contribution plan that is similar to a profit-sharing plan, but has features that provide for (and encourage) after-tax employee contributions to the plan. The Merck employee must pay tax on his or her own contributions before they are invested in the plan. Typically, a thrift/savings plan supplements after-tax employee contributions with matching employer contributions.

ESOP Plan

An ESOP plan, sometimes called a stock bonus plan, is a defined contribution plan in which participants' accounts are invested in stock of the Merck employer's corporation. This type of plan is funded solely by the employer. When a plan participant retires or leaves the company, the participant receives his or her vested balance in the form of cash or employer securities.