The Pension Fund of Local No. One, I.A.T.S.E. provides retirement benefits to the Local No. One membership. Established in 1962, the Fund has over 800 participants and beneficiaries currently receiving pension benefits, and over 2,300 participants who, along with their beneficiaries, will someday receive benefits from the Fund.
The Pension Plan, in conjunction with the Annuity Plan, is designed to help you provide for yourself and your family when you retire from active service. If you are starting to plan for your future retirement and would like to discuss your options regarding retirement dates and benefits, please contact the Fund Office and we will be more than happy to talk to you about your situation and provide you with an estimate of your projected benefit. Participants may receive a pension estimate once each year by making a request to the Fund Office.
For information regarding pension eligibility, benefit options and other aspects of the Pension Plan, please see below.
PLAN DOCUMENTS
Summary Plan Description The Summary Plan Description (also called the SPD) describes the key features of the Pension Fund benefits program. Please note that the SPD was issued in December of 2016, and any modifications by amendments and clarifications will be included below. Plan Changes and Clarifications 11-28-2017 benefit improvements 04-01-2018 updates to provisions related to disability claims 11-04-2018 suspension of benefits 03-09-2021 various changes and clarifications 08/04/2023 adjustment to required beginning date Annual Funding Notice: This is the most recent financial notice sent to participants of the Pension Fund. |
PENSION FORMS
Following are links to Pension Fund forms.
Participant Pension Application: Please use this form to apply for a pension benefit. Before applying, you should contact the Fund Office to receive a pension benefit projection that compares what your benefit would be depending on the benefit form you select (i.e., 10-year guarantee; 50%, 75% or 100% Joint and Survivor).
QDRO Application: Please use this form to apply for benefits under a Qualified Domestic Relations Order.
Retiree Work Report – AGE 60-64 : If you are currently retired and engage in work within the jurisdiction of Local No. One, you must report that work on this form if you are age 60 to 64 & 11 months.
Retiree Work Report – AGE 65: If you are currently retired and engage in work within the jurisdiction of Local No. One, you must report that work on this form if you are age 65 and older.
Pension Beneficiary Designation Form
Pension Non-Spouse Beneficiary
Beneficiary Applications:
Survivor Benefit Application: Please use this form to apply for pension benefits if you are the beneficiary of a Joint & Survivor pension.
10-Year Guarantee Application: Please use this form if you are the beneficiary of a 10-Year Guarantee pension.
Vested Death Benefit Application: Please use this form to apply for a Death Benefit.
RETIREMENT TYPES
There are a number of pension benefit types that have different eligibility requirements and payment amounts. Following are the types of pension benefits for which you may become qualified. Please remember that the actual benefit amount of each type of pension will depend on the pension option you elect (i.e., 10-Year Guarantee, or Joint & Survivor Benefits).
Normal Pension Benefit
ELIGIBILITY:
- You are at least age 65, and
- You have at least (i) 20 pension credits or (ii) 5 Future and/or Future-Future pension credits.
BENEFIT AMOUNT:
- Past Credits (1941-60): $75 per credit (max 20 Past Credits)Future Credits (1961-90): $75 per credit
- Future-Future Credits (1991- ): $100 per credit (max 40 Future-Future Credits)
- Max 50 Pension Credits Total
Early Retirement Pension
ELIGIBILITY:
- You are age 60 to 64, and
- You have at least (i) 20 pension credits or (ii) 5 Future and/or Future-Future pension credits.
BENEFIT AMOUNT:
The amount of an Early Retirement Pension is equal to the Normal Pension, but reduced by 2/9ths of 1% for each month that you retire before age 65.
30-Year Pension
ELIGIBILITY:
- You are age 55 to 59, and
- You have at least 30 Future and/or Future-Future pension credits.
BENEFIT AMOUNT:
The amount of a Thirty-Year Retirement Pension is equal to the Normal Pension, but reduced by 2/9ths of 1% for each month that you retire before age 65.
Disability Pension
ELIGIBILITY:
- You become totally and permanently disability before age 65, and
- You have at least 10 years of pension credit, including at least 1 year in either of the 2 calendar years immediately preceding or in the year in which the disability occurred.
BENEFIT AMOUNT:
The amount of a Disability Pension is equal to the Normal Pension.
Vested Pension
ELIGIBILITY:
- You are “vested” (in general you are vested if you have service after 12/31/1998 and 5 years of vesting credit), and
- You are at least age 65.
BENEFIT AMOUNT:
The amount of a Vested Pension is calculated based on the value of your pension credits at the time you ceased earning pension credits. Contact the Fund Office if you would like to know the value of pension credits in earlier years.
PENSION BENEFIT OPTIONS
Joint & Survivor Benefit
If you are married (for at least one year), this is the default form of benefit unless rejected by both you and your spouse. If you have not been married for at least one year, this form of benefit is optional. Under a Joint and Survivor benefit (J&S), your beneficiary will receive 50%, 75% or 100% of your pension benefit after your death, for the duration of your beneficiary’s lifetime. The amount of your benefit will be actuarially reduced, based on the number of years your beneficiary is either younger or older than you. The amount of this reduction will be highest for a 100% J&S benefit election, and lowest for a 50% benefit election.
Please contact the Fund Office if you would like to see a projection of what your pension benefit would be if you elected either a 50%, 75% or 100% Joint & Survivor pension benefit.
10-Year Guarantee
The 10-Year (120-month) Guarantee is a provision that guarantees that the Fund will pay your benefit for at least 10 years if you should die before the 10-year period is over. If you do not elect a J&S benefit, your beneficiary will receive the remainder of the 120 guaranteed pension payments. If you have a J&S benefit and both you and your primary beneficiary die before the 10-year period is over, your secondary beneficiary will receive the remaining payments.
Pre-Retirement Death Benefit
If you die before you retire and were eligible for a Normal, Early, 30-Year Service or Vested Pension, your spouse will be eligible for a 100% Joint & Survivor pension benefit. However, if you and your spouse had previously filed a J&S rejection, or your spouse waived the J&S pension after your death, your spouse will be eligible for a 10-Year Guarantee pension. If you were not married, but eligible for a pension at the time of death, your designated Beneficiary will be entitled to the 10-Year Guarantee or the J&S Pension. If you were eligible to retire at the time of your death, pension payments will begin in the month following your death. If you were married, but not yet eligible to retire at the time of your death, pension payments will begin in the month after the date you would have reached your earliest retirement age.
If you are not married, or if you and your spouse have rejected the J&S benefit and the 10-Year Guarantee, your beneficiary will be eligible for a “Death Benefit” if, at the time of your death, you:
- were under age 60,
- had at least 10 Future and/or Future-Future credits, and
- two of your pension credits were earned in the four calendar years immediately before the year in which you died.
The amount of the “Death Benefit” is calculated as the number of pension credits times $3,500, to a maximum of $105,000 (30 pension credits). It is paid in 96 monthly installments. After the first six months, your beneficiary would be able to elect to take the remainder of the benefit over 45 months.
RETIREE MEDICAL COVERAGE
Participant Eligibility
You are eligible for retiree medical coverage if:
- you were eligible for Welfare Fund benefits for three of the five Plan years immediately before your retirement; and
- (a) you have 25 years of pension credit at the time you retire, or
(b) you have 20 years of pension credit at the time you retire AND had 12 years of pension credit as of January 1, 2008.
Please note that you MUST elect retiree medical coverage BEFORE you receive your first pension check. Failure to elect retiree coverage prior to receiving your first pension check is considered a rejection of the coverage, and that rejection may not be reversed.
Dependent Eligibility
If you qualify and elect coverage for yourself, you may also elect coverage for your dependents at the time of your retirement. Eligible dependents include:
- your spouse to whom you are legally married or your same-sex partner if your relationship is legally recognized as a marriage or civil union in the state or jurisdiction where the marriage or civil union was performed,
- unmarried dependent children (until the end of the calendar year in which they turn age 19),
- unmarried dependent children in full-time attendance at an accredited school or college (until the end of the calendar year in which they turn age 23), and
- unmarried mentally or physically incapacitated children over the age of 19 who are incapable of self-sustained employment and dependent on you for support. (Please note that proof of incapacity MUST be provided no later than 30 days after the child turns age 19.)
Coverage for dependents is subject to various documentation requirements. Please see the Summary Plan Description or call the Fund Office for details.
Coverage Changes after your Retirement Date
Generally speaking, you may only make changes with respect to the enrollment of dependents at the time you first elect retiree medical coverage.
However, if you originally declined coverage for a dependent because the dependent had other health insurance coverage, and your dependent later loses that coverage for reasons other than failure to pay premiums or termination of coverage for cause, your dependent may be eligible for enrollment after your initial election. In such case, you MUST request enrollment within 30 days after the other coverage for your dependent ends, submit valid documentation verifying the loss of other coverage, and pay any additional premium that might be required.
Dependents acquired after retirement cannot be added to your coverage except if you later re-qualify as an active employee. However, if you are deemed by the Trustees to be totally and permanently disabled and acquire a child through birth or adoption with a spouse to whom you were married to prior to retirement, you may request enrollment for the child. An enrollment request MUST be made within 30 days of the child’s birth or adoption date. Call the Fund Office for further information if you believe you qualify under this situation.
Please note that if your coverage is terminated either voluntarily, or due to non-payment of your self-pay premium, you will not be permitted to resume coverage in the future.
Medicare Coverage
If you are eligible for Medicare Coverage at the time you retire and qualify for the Fund’s retiree medical coverage, you will have Medicare as your primary coverage carrier, and the Fund as your secondary coverage carrier. Please note that you MUST have Medicare Part B in place before you retire, and you should contact Medicare and make your application three months before your anticipated retirement date. You can start the process by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.
If you retire before you are eligible for Medicare coverage, you will be covered by Tier I, II or III “Active” coverage until you become eligible for Medicare. The Tier that you qualify for will be the highest Tier for which you had coverage in 3 of the 5 Plan years prior to retirement. (Please note that years prior to 7/1/2005 are considered to be Tier III for this purpose.) In this case, you are obligated to apply for Medicare Part B a few months before you become eligible. For those of you who took an early retirement pension, that would mean age 65. If you are receiving a disability pension you may become eligible for Medicare after you have been receiving Social Security Benefits for a period of two years. It is your responsibility to know when you become eligible, and to apply for Medicare so that it is in place on the date you become eligible for Medicare coverage.
With regard to your dependents, if you become Medicare eligible before they are eligible, they will continue to have the Fund as their primary coverage carrier. If they later become Medicare eligible, they have the same obligation to make sure that Medicare Part B coverage is in place on the date of their eligibility. Also, if you are not Medicare eligible, and your dependent is or becomes eligible before you, he/she will have Medicare as the primary coverage carrier and the Fund as secondary coverage carrier effective on the date he/she becomes Medicare eligible.
Dependent Coverage after the Death of the Retiree
If you die before you have received 60 monthly pension payments, your enrolled dependents will continue to be covered until they have been covered to 60 months from the time of your retirement. In this event, the self-pay premium will be waived.
PENSION CREDITING
You receive a pension credit by meeting a minimum earnings requirement or working 1000 hours in “covered employment” (employment for which an employer paid contribution to the Pension Plan) during a calendar year. Currently, the minimum earnings requirement is $35,000. (See the Pension Plan Summary Plan Description or contact the Fund Office for information regarding the minimum earnings requirement in prior years.)
Vesting
In general, participants become vested when they earn five years of vesting credits. In prior years the requirement has been different, and you should contact the Fund Office if you have questions regarding your vesting status. Once you are vested in the Plan, you have a non-forfeitable right to a pension benefit and can’t lose any credits you have or earn in the future due to breaks in service.
Loss of Credits due to Breaks in Service
If you are NOT vested, and your covered earnings during the year are not at least ½ of the minimum earnings requirement (currently $17,500), you incur a 1-year Break in Service. If you incur consecutive Breaks in Service that exceed (1) your years of vesting service, or if greater (2) five years, you incur a Permanent Break in Service. When you incur a Permanent Break in Service, any credits earned before the break will be permanently lost.
The rules for Breaks in Service were different in past years, and there are some exceptions and grace periods that may be applicable to your situation. If you have any questions regarding whether a break in your service is considered Permanent under the Rules of the Plan, please contact the Fund Office.
EMPLOYMENT AFTER RETIREMENT
After you retire, you must follow the Plan rules outlined below regarding any post-retirement employment in Local No. One’s jurisdiction (“disqualifying employment”). You must notify the Fund Office of ANY post-retirement employment by registered or certified mail within 15 days of the employment, so that a determination can be made as to whether it is “disqualifying employment.” You may also request an advance determination from the Fund Office.
If your pension benefit is suspended for engaging in disqualifying employment, the suspension period will be the month in which the employment took place and the following six months. All disqualifying employment MUST be reported to the Fund Office. If you fail to inform the Fund Office about the disqualifying employment, the suspension may be extended for up to 12 months after the month of the disqualifying employment.
Before Age 60
If you engage in ANY disqualifying employment, your pension benefit will be suspended.
Age 60 to 64
You may engage in disqualifying employment up to four days per month. If you work more than four days, your pension benefit will be suspended. All work MUST be reported to the Fund Office using the Age 60-64 Work Report Form.
Age 65 to April 1 after turning Age 70-1/2
You may engage in disqualifying employment up to seven days per month. If you work eight or more days, your pension benefit will be suspended. All work MUST be reported to the Fund Office using the Age 65+ Work Report Form.
April 1 after turning Age 70-1/2
After April 1 following the date you become age 70-1/2, your benefits will not be suspended if you engage in disqualifying employment.
Disability Exception
You may work for up to nine months without having your Disability Pension benefits suspended. You must notify the Fund Office in writing if you are going to use the Disability Pension exception before you return to employment.