Retirement Benefits & Qualifications
"Retirement" or "Retired" means the termination of employment with all Contributing Employers. A Participant is considered Retired on the first day of the month following the month in which the Participant last worked in Covered Employment, subject to the provisions regarding Delayed Retirement and Suspension of Benefits.
Types of Pensions
Regular Pension
(Normal Retirement Age)
You are eligible to Retire on a Regular Pension if you have attained your Normal Retirement Age. If you earn an Hour of Service under this Plan on or after January 1, 2022, the amount of your Regular Pension is equal to the sum of your Legacy Pension and your Variable Pension.
Early Retirement Pension
You are eligible to Retire on an Early Retirement Pension if you are at least age 55 and have earned at least 10 years of Vesting Service. The amount of your Early Retirement Pension is calculated in the same manner as the Regular Pension, and is reduced in accordance with the early retirement rules.
Unreduced Early Retirement Pension (Rule of 85)
You are eligible to Retire with an Unreduced Early Retirement Pension under the Plan if you are an Active Participant who is at least age 55 and the sum of your attained age on your last birthday and years of Vesting Service equals at least 85.
Vested Pension
You are eligible to Retire on a Vested Pension if you are Vested at the time you terminate Covered Employment or you have earned fewer than 10 years of Vesting Service or you have attained Normal Retirement Age (generally age 65) and you are not eligible for any other type of Pension offered under the Plan.
Disability Pension
You are eligible to receive a Disability Pension for your entire Accrued Benefit under the Plan if you are Totally and Permanently Disabled or you have not yet attained your Normal Retirement Age or you have earned at least 5 years of Vesting Service or you are an Active Participant or you complete and file with the Fund office a pension application; and you provide the Fund office with a copy of your Social Security Disability Award with an effective date on or after January 1, 2016.
Delayed Retirement Pension
If you are working in Covered Employment as of your Normal Retirement Age (generally age 65), you may elect to start receiving your benefit as of your Normal Retirement Date or any later date that you elect, but no later than your Required Beginning Date. If you elect to begin receiving your benefit and you continue working in Covered Employment, your benefit will be recalculated as of each January 1 to take into account additional earned benefits for the prior Plan Year.
PENSION FORMS AND DOWNLOADS
KEYWORDS & DEFINITIONS
Accrued Benefit means the amount of a Participant's monthly Regular Pension calculated at any point in time payable as of the Participant's Normal Retirement Date. The Accrued Benefit equals the sum of the Participant's Legacy Pension (if any) and the Participant's Variable Pension. Separate rules may apply to the Participant's Legacy Pension, as described in this SPD or in a prior SPD.
Active Participant means a vested Participant who is credited with a total of at least 2,000 Hours of Service in the 5 Calendar Years immediately preceding his pension starting date ("Annuity Starting Date"), including the Calendar Year in which his Annuity Starting Date occurs (except if a Participant's Annuity Starting Date is January 1, then the Participant must be credited with a total of at least 2,000 Hours of Service in the 5 full prior Calendar Years).
Annuity Starting Date means the first day of the first month for which a pension benefit is payable from the Fund.
Beneficiary means the person named by you on the applicable forms provided by the Fund and who is or may become entitled to benefits under the Plan. A designation of beneficiary will not be effective for any purpose unless and until it has been filed with the Fund. The Beneficiary on file as shown by the records of the Plan at the time of your death is conclusive as to the identity of the Beneficiary and payment made in accordance therewith will constitute a complete discharge of all obligations under the Plan. Effective for deaths on or after July 1, 2016, if no Beneficiary has been designated, or if your Beneficiary is not alive when you die, any death benefits payable on your behalf will be paid to your Surviving Spouse, or if none, to your estate. A Beneficiary may also be designated in an entered court order if the order contains a clear designation of rights to the Beneficiary. A Beneficiary designation in a court order meeting this requirement will govern over any prior or subsequent conflicting designation filed with the Fund.
A Beneficiary may waive his or her rights as a Beneficiary under the Plan in an entered court order, provided that such order contains a clear waiver of rights. A waiver in a court order meeting this requirement will govern over a prior conflicting designation that has been filed with the Fund. If such waiver is on file with the Fund and no new designation has been made, the Fund will pay your benefits in accordance with the same procedures that apply to Participants who die without designating a Beneficiary, as described in the preceding paragraph.
Break-In-Service occurs in any Calendar Year during which you fail to earn at least 500 Hours of Service.
Contribution or Contributions means money paid or payable to the Fund as required by a Contributing Employer pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or other written agreement.
Covered Employment means employment with a Contributing Employer for which Contributions to the Fund are required under a collective bargaining agreement or other written agreement. Covered Employment may also include work in a job classification for a Contributing Employer that was not considered Covered Employment at the time the Participant worked in that job, provided that it was immediately before or after work in Covered Employment and the employer was party to a collective bargaining agreement with the Council or Local Union at the time the work was performed. For a Participant on or after January 1, 2016, Covered Employment may also include work prior to the Contribution Period.
Hurdle Rate is five percent (5.0%)
Legacy Pension means any benefit accrued by a Participant as of December 31, 2021, including a Participant’s Pre-January 1, 2016 Accrued Benefit and a Participant’s Post-January 1, 2016 Accrued Benefit.
Market Value Return for a given Plan Year is determined by the formula 2 x I / (A + B – I), where: “I” is the dollar amount of the investment return on the fair market value of plan assets during the Plan Year attributable to the Variable Pension, reduced by all investment expenses during the Plan Year related to assets attributable to the Variable Pension, including (but not limited to) investment manager and investment consultant fees and expenses; “A” is the fair market value of Plan assets attributable to the Variable Pension as of the first day of the Plan Year; and “B” is the fair market value of Plan assets attributable to the Variable Pension as of the last day of the Plan Year.
Normal Retirement Age means, for the Participant's Pre-January 1, 2016 Accrued Benefit, the Normal Retirement Age determined under the terms of the New Jersey Plan. For a Participant's Post-January 1, 2016 Accrued Benefit and a Participant’s Variable Pension, Normal Retirement Age means the date on which you attain age 65 or, if later, the date on which you attain your 5th anniversary of participation in the Plan.
Variable Pension means any benefit accrued on or after January 1, 2022.
Variable Pension Adjustment for each Plan Year is equal to one plus the Market Value Return for the immediately preceding Plan Year, divided by one plus the Hurdle Rate. The Variable Pension Adjustment for any Plan Year cannot exceed 1.0500.
