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SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTION
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| Union Trustees | Employer Trustees |
| Michael J. Sullivan, Chairman c/o Sheet Metal Workers' International Association 1750 New York Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006 |
Ronald Palmerick,
Co-Chairman c/o AABCO Sheet Metal 255 Randolph Street Brooklyn, New York 11237 |
| Charles Holt c/o Sheet Metal Workers' Local 12 1200 Gulf Lab Rd. Harmarville, Pittsburgh, PA 15238 |
Bruce Stockwell c/o U.S. Sheet Metal, Inc. 3200 Enterprise Drive Saginaw, Michigan 48603 |
| John G. Agrela c/o Sheet Metal Workers' Local 73 205 West Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60606 |
Phil Meyers c/o Bright Sheet Metal Co., Inc. 2749 Tobey Drive Indianapolis, Indiana 46219 |
| Kenneth D. Alexander c/o Sheet Metal Workers' Local 2 2902 Blue Ridge Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64129 |
R. Dean Steward c/o Heating & Plumbing Engineers 407 West Fillmore Place P.O. Box 7285 Colorado Springs, CO 80907 |
All correspondence for the Trustees should be mailed to:
Board of Trustees
Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund
Edward F. Carlough Plaza
601 North Fairfax Street, Suite 500
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
703-739-7000
Plan Funding
The benefits described in this booklet are provided through Employer contributions to the Fund. Contributions are determined under the provisions of the Employer’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Union. You are not required or permitted to contribute to the Plan.
Contributing Employers
If you make a written request, the Pension Benefits Department will provide you with information as to whether a particular Employer is contributing to the Fund on behalf of employees working under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the address of any such Employer. See Appendix B for a list of Local Union Pension Funds that have merged with the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund.
Trust Fund
All assets are held in trust by the Trustees for the purpose of providing benefits to eligible employees and their dependents and to defray the costs of administration.
Plan Documents
This booklet summarizes the official Plan Document. This edition of your Summary Plan Description replaces any prior Summary Plan Description and other summaries of the provisions of the Plan, but does not replace the official Plan Document
This summary is intended to be written in clear, understandable and informal language. However, you should refer to the official Plan Document for more extensive information about your benefit Plan. If there is a conflict between the information summarized in this booklet and the official Plan Document, that Document will govern.
Other important documents governing the Plan are the Agreement and Declaration of Trust and the Collective Bargaining Agreement. You may request copies of these documents from the Pension Benefits Department.
Type of Plan and Benefits
The Plan is a defined benefit pension plan that provides retirement benefits to eligible Participants.
Your coverage by the Plan does not constitute a guarantee of your continued employment.
Plan Year
The records of the Plan are kept separately for each Plan Year. The Plan Year is the calendar year that begins on January 1 and ends December 31.
Identification Numbers and Plan Number
The following identification numbers have been assigned to the Pension Plan and its fiduciaries:
Employer Identification Number: 52-6112463
Pension Plan Number: 001
Maximum Pensions
The Internal Revenue Service has established a maximum monthly pension that anyone can receive from a plan. While the maximum is quite high and will rarely apply, it is stated in the Plan’s legal document. You will be contacted if the maximum affects you.
Top Heavy Provisions
In the unlikely event that the Plan becomes “top heavy,” meaning that it benefits highly compensated employees more than non-highly compensated employees, you may reach Vested Status faster than under the rules outlined in this booklet. You will receive notice if the Plan becomes top heavy. For further details about the top heavy rules, you may refer to the Plan Document or contact the Pension Benefits Department.
You May Not Assign Your Benefits
This Plan is intended to pay benefits only to you or your eligible survivors. You cannot use your benefits as collateral for loans or assign them in any other way, except in connection with qualified domestic relations orders issued by a court of law. A qualified domestic relations order requires payment of alimony, child support or other marital assets, which could include all or a portion of your benefit from this Plan, to a spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent. You will be notified if such an order is received with respect to your benefits.
The Plan will make reasonable arrangements to recover an overpayment or erroneous payment of benefits. This includes offsetting future pension payments to recover overpayments or erroneous payments. Such arrangements do not constitute an assignment or alienation of your benefits.
If the Plan Is Ended or Modified
The Board of Trustees reserves the right to terminate, modify, suspend or amend the Pension Plan at any time, in whole or in part, under circumstances allowed by ERISA and the terms of the governing Trust Agreement. The Board will make such changes to the Plan by Plan Amendment adopted by majority vote at a meeting of the Board of Trustees. You will be notified in writing of any changes that are made.
If the Plan terminates or ends, the money in the Trust Fund, to the extent possible, will be used to provide the benefits that are due according to the priority required by law and stated in the Plan Document. Generally, the funds would first be used to provide the benefits of retired Participants and Participants with longer service, and then would be used to provide the benefits of shorter service Participants.
Benefits may be paid as soon as the Plan termination has been approved by government agencies, or payment may be deferred to a later time. The Board of Trustees will determine when benefits are to be paid and will obtain government approval, if necessary.
| Benefits at Plan Termination. The Trustees have the right to end this Plan. If there are not enough assets to pay benefits when the Plan ends, the PBGC provides insurance to help pay for most benefits. |
The PBGC Guarantees Pension Benefits
Your pension benefits under this multiemployer plan are insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal insurance agency. A multiemployer plan is a collectively bargained pension arrangement involving two or more unrelated employers, usually in a common industry.
Under the multiemployer plan program, the PBGC provides financial assistance through loans to plans that are insolvent. A multiemployer plan is considered insolvent if the plan is unable to pay benefits (at least equal to the PBGC’s guaranteed benefit limit) when due.
The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Under the multiemployer program, the PBGC guarantee equals a Participant’s Years of Service multiplied by (1) 100% of the first $11 of the monthly benefit accrual rate and (2) 75% of the next $33. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee limit is $35.75 per month times a Participant’s Years of Service. For example, the maximum annual guarantee for a retiree with 30 Years of Service would be $12,870.
The PBGC guarantee generally covers:
§ Normal and early retirement benefits,
§ Disability benefits if you become disabled before the Plan becomes insolvent, and
§ Certain benefits for your survivors.
The PBGC guarantee generally does not cover:
§ Benefits greater than the maximum guaranteed amount set by law,
§ Benefits based on Plan provisions that have been in place for fewer than five years at the earlier of:
The date the Plan terminates, or
The time the Plan becomes insolvent,
§ Benefits that are not vested because you have not worked long enough,
§ Benefits for which you have not met all of the requirements at the time the Plan becomes insolvent, and
§ Non-pension benefits, such as 401(h) Medicare benefits, health insurance, life insurance, certain death benefits, vacation pay and severance pay.
For more information about the PBGC and the benefits it guarantees, ask your Plan Administrator or contact:
PBGC’s Technical Assistance Division
1200 K Street N.W., Suite 930
Washington, D.C. 20005-4026
You may also call the PBGC at 202-326-4000 (not a toll-free number). TTY/TDD users may call the federal relay service toll-free at 800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4000. Additional information about the PBGC’s pension insurance program is available through the PBGC’s website on the Internet at http://www.pbgc.gov.
Your Rights Are Protected by ERISA
As a Participant in the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund, you are entitled to certain rights and protections under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA provides that all Plan Participants are entitled to the following rights.
Receive Information about Your Plan and Benefits
You have the right to:
§ Examine, without charge, at the Plan Administrator’s office and at other specified locations, such as worksites and Union halls, all documents governing the Plan. These include insurance contracts and Collective Bargaining Agreements, and a copy of the latest annual report (Form 5500 Series) filed by the Plan with the U.S. Department of Labor and available at the Public Disclosure Room of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA).
§ Obtain, upon written request to the Plan Administrator, copies of documents governing the operation of the Plan. These include insurance contracts and Collective Bargaining Agreements, and copies of the latest annual report (Form 5500 Series) and updated summary plan description. The Plan Administrator may make a reasonable charge for the copies.
§ Receive a summary of the Plan’s annual financial report. The Plan Administrator is required by law to furnish each Participant with a copy of this summary annual report.
§ Obtain a statement telling you whether you have a right to receive a pension at Normal Retirement Age and if so, what your benefits would be at Normal Retirement Age if you stop working under the Plan now. If you do not have a right to a pension, the statement will tell you how many more years you have to work to get a right to a pension. This statement must be requested in writing and is not required to be given more than once every 12 months. The Plan must provide the statement free of charge.
Prudent Actions by Plan Fiduciaries
In addition to creating rights for Plan Participants, ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the operation of the employee benefit plan. The people who operate your Plan, called “fiduciaries” of the Plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interest of you and other Plan Participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your Employer, your Union or any other person, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a pension benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA.
Enforce Your Rights
If your claim for a pension benefit is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you have a right to know why this was done, to obtain copies of documents relating to the decision without charge, and to appeal any denial, all within certain time schedules.
Under ERISA, there are steps you can take to enforce the above rights. For instance, if you request a copy of the Plan Documents or the latest annual report from the Plan and do not receive them within 30 days, you may file suit in a federal court. In such a case, the court may require the Plan Administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to $110 a day until you receive the materials, unless the materials were not sent because of reasons beyond the control of the Plan Administrator.
If you have a claim for benefits that is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you may file suit in a state or federal court. In addition, if you disagree with the Plan’s decision or lack thereof concerning the qualified status of a domestic relations order, you may file suit in federal court. If it should happen that Plan fiduciaries misuse the Plan’s money, or if you are discriminated against for asserting your rights, you may seek assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, or you may file suit in a federal court. The court will decide who should pay court costs and legal fees. If you are successful, the court may order the person you have sued to pay these costs and fees. If you lose, the court may order you to pay these costs and fees, for example, if it finds your claim is frivolous.
If you choose to file suit for a denial of a benefit you must first exhaust your appeal rights and file an action within the time frames outlined in the section Applying for Your Pension Benefit.
Assistance With Your Questions
If you have any questions about your Plan, you should contact the Plan Administrator. If you have any questions about this statement or about your rights under ERISA, or if you need assistance in obtaining documents from the Plan Administrator, you should contact the nearest office of the PWBA, U.S. Department of Labor, listed in your telephone directory or:
Division of Technical Assistance and
Inquiries
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210
You may also obtain certain publications about your rights and responsibilities under ERISA by calling the publication hotline of the PWBA. For single copies of publications, contact the PWBA brochure request line at 800-998-7542 or contact the PWBA field office nearest you.
You may also find answers to your Plan questions and a list of PWBA field offices at the website of the PWBA at http://www.dol.gov/dol/pwba/.
