Article 16. Disability Benefits
This Article 16
subsumes and replaces sections 5.07 through 5.12 of the Plan in effect before
November 1, 2004, and also governs a Participant’s continued eligibility to
receive Disability Benefits that were awarded under any prior edition of the
Plan.
Section 16.02 Types
of Disability Benefits Payable
(a) A “Full Disability Benefit,” as further described in
this Article 16, encompasses the benefit known under the terms of the Plan
in effect before November 1, 2004 as a “Disability Pension” benefit, except
for those Disability Pensions that were based on a disability onset date
before January 1, 1994. The monthly amount of a Participant’s Full
Disability Benefit will be equal to the monthly amount of the Normal
Retirement Pension that he would have been eligible to receive if he had
attained Normal Retirement Age on the effective date of his Full Disability
Benefit.
(b) An “Industry-Related Disability Benefit,” as further
described in this Article 16, encompasses the benefit known under the terms
of the Plan in effect before November 1, 2004 as an “Industry-Related
Disability Pension” benefit. The monthly amount of a Participant’s
Industry-Related Disability Benefit will be 10% greater than the monthly
amount of the Early Retirement Pension or, if applicable, the Special Early
Retirement Pension that he would have been eligible to receive on the
effective date of his Industry-Related Disability Benefit if he were then
age 55 or older. For purposes of determining the Early Retirement Pension
or, if applicable, the Special Early Retirement Pension that a Participant
would have been eligible to receive on the effective date of his
Industry-Related Disability Benefit, the Plan will use the Participant’s
actual age if he is over age 55, or if the Participant is under age 55, the
Plan will assume that he is age 55 on the effective date of his
Industry-Related Disability Benefit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
monthly amount of a Participant’s Industry-Related Disability Benefit will
never exceed the monthly amount that he would have received as a Full
Disability Benefit if he had satisfied the eligibility requirements for a
Full Disability Benefit on the effective date of his Industry-Related
Disability Benefit.
(c) A Disability Benefit that is based on a disability
onset date before January 1, 1994 will be treated as an “Industry-Related
Disability Benefit” for purposes of this Article 16, except as otherwise
provided. Under the terms of the Plan in effect before November 1, 2004, a
Disability Benefit that was based on a disability onset date before January
1, 1994 was known as a “Disability Pension.”
Section
16.03 Eligibility for a Full Disability Benefit
(a) A Participant will be eligible for a Full Disability
Benefit on and after January 1, 1994, if he satisfies the following
conditions:
(1) The U.S. Social
Security Administration has found him to be disabled for the purposes of,
and he is eligible to receive, Social Security Disability Insurance
benefits, as verified by proof of approval for Social Security Disability
Insurance benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration;
(2) He has
not attained Normal Retirement Age;
(3) He has at
least 10 years of Pension Credit, including, for applications received on or
after January 1, 2004, at least five (5) years of Future Service Credit;
(4) He worked
in Covered Employment for at least 435 hours in the 24-month period that
immediately preceded the date that he was found to be disabled by the U.S.
Social Security Administration; and
(5) After
September 1, 1988, he has not at any time performed any employment in the
Sheet Metal Industry that was not covered by a collective bargaining
agreement between the Union and the employer.
(b) In the event that a Participant would be
ineligible for a Full Disability Benefit pursuant to Section 16.03(a)(5),
his ineligibility may be obviated if he terminates the non-covered
employment described in Section 16.03(a)(5), returns to Covered Employment,
and earns a number of months of Pension Credit, as determined under Article
4, equal to the number of months during which he was previously employed for
at least one (1) hour in the non-covered employment described in
16.03(a)(5). A Participant’s or Employee’s opportunity to reestablish
eligibility for a Disability Benefit under this paragraph will be limited to
his first return to Covered Employment.
Section
16.04 Eligibility for an Industry-Related
Disability Benefit
(a) A Participant will be eligible
for an Industry-Related Disability Benefit if the Trustees determine, in
their sole and absolute discretion, that the Participant has become totally
and permanently unable to perform work in the Sheet Metal Industry, after
January 1, 1994, as a result of a physical or mental health impairment, and
at a time when:
(1) He has
not attained Normal Retirement Age;
(2) He has at
least 10 years of Pension Credit, including, for applications received on or
after January 1, 2004, at least five (5) years of Future Service Credit;
(3) He has
worked in Covered Employment for at least 435 hours in the 24-month period
that immediately preceded the date that the Trustees determine he became
totally and permanently unable to perform work in the Sheet Metal Industry
as a result of a physical or mental health impairment; and
(4) He has
not at any time after September 1, 1988 performed any employment in the
Sheet Metal Industry that was not covered by a collective bargaining
agreement between the Union and the employer.
(b) In the event that a Participant would be
ineligible for an Industry-Related Disability Benefit pursuant to Section
16.04(a)(4), his ineligibility may be obviated if he terminates the
non-covered employment of the type described in Section 16.04(a)(4) and then
returns to Covered Employment and earns a number of months of Pension
Credit, equal to the number of months during which he was previously
employed for at least one (1) hour in the non-covered employment of the type
described in Section 16.04(a)(4). A Participant’s or Employee’s opportunity
to reinstate eligibility for an Industry-Related Disability Benefit pursuant
to this paragraph will be limited to his first return to Covered Employment.
(c) Recipients of Disability Benefits who had a
disability onset date before January 1, 1994 will be deemed to be receiving
Industry-Related Disability Benefits for purposes of this Article 16,
including Section 16.06 (governing the termination of Disability Benefits),
except that the amount of any such recipient’s Disability Benefit is the
same as the amount of a Full Disability Benefit, and the initial eligibility
and effective date rules are found under the terms of the Plan in effect at
the time the Participant separated from Covered Employment. The
Participant’s ongoing eligibility for his Disability Benefit is governed by
this Article 16.
(d) A Participant applying for, or receiving, an
Industry-Related Disability Benefit may be required to submit to such health
examinations and/or tests as requested by the Trustees.
Section
16.05 Effective Dates of Disability Benefits
(a) Full Disability Benefit. Subject
to all other applicable Plan terms, for any Participant who meets the
requirements for a Full Disability Benefit, his Full Disability Benefit will
be effective on the later of: (i) the first day of the seventh (7th) month
after the date upon which the U.S. Social Security Administration finds him
disabled as provided under Section 16.03(a)(1); (ii) the first day of the
seventh (7th) month after the last month in which the Participant worked in
Covered Employment; or (iii) the first day of the month after a fully
completed application for a Full Disability Benefit is received.
(b) Industry-Related Disability Benefit. Subject to
all other applicable Plan terms, for any Participant who meets the
requirements for an Industry-Related Disability Benefit, his
Industry-Related Disability Benefit will be effective on the later of: (i)
the first day of the seventh (7th) month after the date upon which the
Participant is totally and permanently unable to perform work in the Sheet
Metal Industry, after January 1, 1994, as a result of a physical or mental
health impairment, as determined by the Trustees under Section 16.04 (a);
(ii) the first day of the seventh (7th) month after the last month in which
the Participant worked in Covered Employment; or (iii) the first day of the
month after a fully completed application for an Industry-Related Disability
Benefit is received.
Section
16.06 Termination of Disability Benefits
Continued
receipt of Disability Benefits is subject to all the provisions below and
all other applicable provisions of the Plan.
(a) As a condition of the ongoing receipt of Disability Benefits, a
Disability Benefit recipient is required to provide, upon request, such proof
as the Trustees determine to be necessary for purposes of verifying that the
Participant has not recovered from the disability upon which his initial
eligibility for Disability Benefits was based.
(b) A Full Disability Benefit recipient who is under Normal Retirement
Age will be deemed no longer disabled for any purpose under the Plan, and his
Disability Benefit will terminate under the following circumstances:
(1) The Full Disability Benefit recipient performs any work of any kind
whatsoever, regardless of compensation, for an employer engaged in the Sheet
Metal Industry and that employer is not signatory to a collective bargaining
agreement between the Union and the employer. For this purpose, an employer
may be the Full Disability Benefit recipient himself. Termination under this
subsection will be effective the first day of the month in which the
prohibited employment occurs; or
(2) The Full Disability Benefit recipient performs any work whatsoever
in Disqualifying Employment (as defined in Section 8.06(d)(1)).
(c) An Industry-Related Disability Benefit recipient who is under age
55 will be deemed no longer disabled for any purpose under the Plan, and his
Disability Benefits will terminate under the following circumstances:
(1) The Industry-Related Disability Benefit recipient performs any work
of any kind whatsoever, regardless of compensation, for an employer engaged in
the Sheet Metal Industry and that employer is not signatory to a collective
bargaining agreement between the Union and the employer. For this purpose, an
employer may be the Industry-Related Disability Benefit recipient himself.
Termination under this subsection will be effective the first day of the month
in which the prohibited employment occurs; or
(2) The Industry-Related Disability Benefit recipient performs any work
in Disqualifying Employment (as defined in Section 8.06(d)(1)) that would
result in a suspension of benefits under Section 8.06, if he were age 55 or
over.
(d) Effective for Plan Years beginning on or after January 1, 2005,
an Industry-Related Disability Benefit recipient who earns more than $35,000
from any employment whatsoever during a Plan Year in which he is under age
55 will be deemed no longer disabled for any purpose under the Plan, and his
Industry-Related Benefit will terminate on December 31 of that Plan Year.
(e) Notwithstanding subsection (d) above, a Disability Benefit
recipient who is in pay status as of January 1, 2003, and who has a
disability onset date before January 1, 1994, will be deemed no longer
disabled for any purposes under the Plan if he earns more than $35,000 in
any Plan Year. In that case, his Disability Benefit will terminate the
later of December 31st of the year in which the earnings
limitation is exceeded or December 31, 2003, unless he has attained Normal
Retirement Age as of such date.
(f) Recovery from Disability.
(1) A Disability Benefit recipient who has not attained Normal
Retirement Age will be deemed to have recovered from his disability and his
Disability Benefit will terminate if:
(A) the Participant is receiving a Full Disability Benefit with a
disability onset date after December 31, 1993, and he ceases to be eligible
to receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits; or
(B) the Participant is receiving an Industry-Related Disability
Benefit, and the Trustees determine, in their sole and absolute discretion,
that the Participant has ceased to be totally and permanently unable to work
in the Sheet Metal Industry as a result of a physical or mental health
impairment.
(2) The termination of Disability Benefits under subsection (f)(1)(A)
above will take effect as of the first day of the month following the month
in which the Participant first ceases to be eligible for Social Security
Disability Insurance benefits. The termination of Disability Benefits under
subsection (f)(1)(B) above will take effect as of the first day of the month
following the month that the Participant first ceased to be totally and
permanently unable to work in the Sheet Metal Industry as a result of a
physical or mental health impairment, as determined by the Trustees.
(g) A
Disability Benefit recipient who has attained Normal Retirement Age and who
ceases to be disabled for any reason after such date will continue to
receive his Disability Benefits as if it were a Normal Retirement Pension,
but with no adjustment in the amount or form of his Disability Benefit.
However, the continued receipt of Disability Benefits by any recipient who
is age 55 or over, including a Disability Benefit recipient who has attained
Normal Retirement Age, will be subject to the suspension of benefits rules
in Section 8.06, as well as all other applicable terms and conditions
specified in the Plan.
Section
16.07 Effect of Termination of Disability
Benefits on Future Benefits
If a Participant’s Disability Benefit is terminated pursuant to Section 16.06,
any pension to which he may be entitled under Article 5 will not be affected
by the prior receipt of any Disability Benefits that the Participant was
eligible to receive. However, in accordance with Section 8.05(a)(5), if a
Participant received Disability Benefits after the time he ceased to be
eligible to receive those benefits, the amount of those payments received
after the loss of his eligibility will be recouped from the benefits
subsequently payable to the Participant or his Beneficiary, unless the
Participant has already repaid the Plan.
Section
16.08 Conversion from an Industry-Related Disability Benefit to Full
Disability Benefit
(a) A recipient of an
Industry-Related Disability Benefit may elect to convert to a Full
Disability Benefit if, and only if, he meets all of the following
requirements:
(1) the
Industry-Related Disability Benefit recipient meets the eligibility
requirements of Section 16.03 (a) and his proof of approval for Social
Security Disability Insurance benefits from the U.S. Social Security
Administration specifies a date of disability that coincides with the date
on which the Participant became totally and permanently unable to perform
work in the Sheet Metal Industry as a result of a physical or mental health
impairment, as determined by the Trustees;
(2) he worked
in Covered Employment for at least 435 hours in the 24-month period that
immediately preceded the date that he was found to be disabled by the U.S.
Social Security Administration; and
(3) proof of
approval for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits from the U.S.
Social Security Administration is provided to the Fund Office prior to the
conversion.
(b) Conversion for eligible recipients from an
Industry-Related Disability Benefit to a Full Disability Benefit will be
effective as follows:
(1) For
Participants who were found disabled before January 1, 2000 by the U.S.
Social Security Administration, the conversion from an Industry-Related
Disability Benefit to a Full Disability Benefit will take effect as of the
month following the month in which proof of approval for Social Security
Disability Insurance benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration
is received by the Fund Office.
(2) For
Participants who were found disabled by the U.S. Social Security
Administration after December 31, 1999 and who have submitted proof of
approval for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits from the U.S.
Social Security Administration to the Fund Office before January 1, 2005,
the conversion from an Industry-Related Disability Benefit to a Full
Disability Benefit will be retroactive to the effective date of the
Industry-Related Disability Benefit.
(3) For
Participants whose proof of approval for Social Security Disability
Insurance benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration is received
by the Fund Office after December 31, 2004, the conversion from an
Industry-Related Disability Benefit to a Full Disability Benefit will be
effective on the later of: (i) the month following the month in which the
Fund receives such proof of approval; or (ii) the effective date on which
the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits commence.
