When did participants in Del Taco's Qualified Plan stop accruing benefits?
Del_Taco Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
on a pre-tax basis. Our contributions under the non-qualified deferred compensation plan were $0.2 million in fiscal year 2024, $0.1 million in fiscal year 2023, and less than $0.1 million in fiscal year 2022.
Defined benefit pension plans — We sponsor two defined benefit pension plans, a "Qualified Plan" covering substantially all full-time employees hired prior to January 1, 2011, and an unfunded supplemental executive retirement plan ("SERP") which provides certain employees additional pension benefits and was closed to new participants effective January 1, 2007. In fiscal 2011, the Board of Directors approved changes to our Qualified Plan whereby participants no longer accrue benefits effective December 31, 2015. Benefits under both plans are based on the employees' years of service and compensation over defined periods of employment.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, the Company amended its Qualified Plan to purchase certain annuity contracts from a third-party company, relieving the Company of its related obligation for future payment (the "Annuity Purchase
Source: Item 21 — FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (FDD page 58)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Del Taco's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, participants in the company's Qualified Plan stopped accruing benefits on December 31, 2015. The Qualified Plan covered substantially all full-time employees hired before January 1, 2011. This means that any employee hired on or after January 1, 2011, would not be eligible to participate in this specific pension plan.
Del Taco also maintained an unfunded supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP), which provided additional pension benefits to certain employees. However, the SERP was closed to new participants effective January 1, 2007. Benefits under both the Qualified Plan and the SERP are based on an employee's years of service and compensation over defined periods of employment.
In fiscal year 2023, Del Taco amended its Qualified Plan to purchase annuity contracts from a third-party company, relieving the company of its obligation for future payments. As a result, the Qualified Plan paid $14.4 million from its plan assets to the third party, reducing the plan's pension benefit obligation.