EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
The Company maintains active defined contribution retirement plans for its employees (the "Benefit Plans"). All associates satisfying certain service requirements are eligible to participate in the Benefit Plans. The Company makes cash contributions each payroll period up to specified percentages of associates’ contributions as approved by the Board of Directors.
The Company also maintains a restoration plan to provide certain associates deferred compensation that they would have received under the Benefit Plans as a matching contribution if not for the maximum compensation limits under the Internal Revenue Code. The Company funds the restoration plan through contributions made to a grantor trust, which are then used to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock in the open market.
The Company’s contributions to the Benefit Plans and the restoration plan were $184 million, $182 million and $171 million for fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. At February 2, 2014, the Benefit Plans and the restoration plan held a total of 11 million shares of the Company’s common stock in trust for plan participants.
