The Dow Chemical Company was founded in 1897 by Canadian-born chemist Herbert Henry Dow, who had invented a new method of extracting the bromine that was trapped underground in brine at Midland, Michigan. The company is currently the largest chemical manufacturer in the World. With presence in 156 Countries and more than 45,000 employees around the world.

Dow provides a Pension Plan for employees on its U.S. payroll and for employees of some of its wholly owned U.S. subsidiaries. Because it is a defined benefit plan, the amount of a retiree's pension is calculated using pay and years of service as an employee, rather than by the market value of the Plan assets, as in a defined contribution plan.

For the Dow Employees Pension Plan, we included the following factors:

Data comes from the most recent Dow Employees Pension Plan Form 5500 (Year: 2004) found at www.freeERISA.com. If you have questions or concerns, the best person to ask is your Plan Administrator or your financial advisor.

Note: The accountants' audit report was issued with a disclaimer (vs. being "unqualified" as usual.

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