§ 31. Final average earnings.

"Final Average Earnings" shall mean the arithmetic annual average of the Earnings paid to a Participant by the Adopting Employer for a specified number of consecutive years (12 month periods) of Credited Service preceding the Participant's most recent Termination in which the Participant's Earnings were the highest. The number of years to be used in determining Final Average Earnings shall be designated by the Adopting Employer in the Adoption Agreement. The Administrator shall prescribe a formula for the determination of Final Average Earnings. Calculation of Final Average Earnings shall be subject to the following:

(a)

If a Participant terminates employment or is on an unpaid leave of absence and he later returns to employment with the Employer, the period(s) prior to and following such absence from employment shall be considered consecutive.

(b)

If a Participant has not completed the number of consecutive years of Credited Service necessary to compute Final Average Earnings under this Section as of the date of his most recent Termination preceding Retirement, then his Final Average Earnings shall be determined by dividing his total Earnings for his entire period of Credited Service by his total number of years of Credited Service. In computing the number of years of Credited Service for this purpose, incomplete years of Credited Service shall be converted to fractional equivalents of years and included in the computation.