Eligibility

You are eligible to participate in the Plan if you are:

• A sheet metal worker who works in the unionized segment of the Sheet Metal Industry for an Employer that contributes to the Plan according to the terms of a CBA
• An employee who works in an applicable job classification for a Local Union or a Related Organization (e.g., a JATC) that contributes to the Plan according to the terms of an Adoption Agreement or a Participation Agreement
• An Owner-Member, who owns stock in, or is an officer or director of, a Contributing Employer, or whose spouse owns stock in, or is an officer or director of, a Contributing Employer, as long as:
  • The Contributing Employer is required to contribute to the Plan on behalf of the Owner-Member pursuant to a CBA;
  • The Owner-Member is working in Covered Employment; or
  • The owner is not included in a collective bargaining unit represented by the Union but is permitted to be treated as included (according to Department of Treasury rules) and the Employer contributes to the Plan on behalf of the Owner-Member.

Participation

Your Plan participation begins on the first January 1 or July 1 immediately after you have completed a Year of Service, which is a 12-month period in which you had at least 870 Hours of Work in Covered Employment.

Example: If you start working in Covered Employment on October 7, 2019 and work 870 hours in Covered Employment by October 6, 2020, your Plan participation will begin on January 1, 2021.

Even if you miss the 870-hour requirement during your first 12 months of Covered Employment, you can still become a Participant if you have at least 870 Hours of Work in Covered Employment during a Plan Year.

Example: If you start working in Covered Employment on October 7, 2019 and fail to work 870 hours in Covered Employment by October 6, 2020 but do complete 870 hours during the 2020 Plan Year—that is, during the 2020 calendar year—your Plan participation will begin on January 1, 2021.

When Participation Ends

Once your participation has begun, it will continue as long as you remain in Covered Employment or are Vested in your benefit. Generally, participation ends only if you have an extended absence or incur a One-Year Break in Service (generally a calendar year in which you earn less than 435 Hours in Covered Employment). See How Your Service Counts for more information on absences and Breaks in Service.

Special Rules for Owner-Members

An Owner-Member is not eligible to earn benefits in the Plan if his or her Employer is knowingly delinquent in making Plan contributions under the terms of the CBA.

The Owner-Member of the delinquent Employer stops being a Covered Employee—and therefore cannot earn Pension Credit and Normal Retirement Pension benefits—as of the first of the month following the seventh month the Employer is delinquent. An Owner-Member will return to Covered Employment after the one-year period following the date the delinquent Employer has resolved the delinquency and has resumed making timely contributions to the Plan on behalf of each Owner-Member and its other Employees.

Example: Jack is the owner of a company which has a CBA requiring Plan contributions. Jack is working in Covered Employment under the terms of the CBA and his company is required to contribute based on his work in Covered Employment. Jack’s company fails to send in its January contributions, which were due by February 20, 2019. Jack’s company is now delinquent. If the Employer does not resolve the delinquency within six months, Jack is no longer working in Covered Employment as of September 2019, which represents the seventh month following the due date of the January 2019 hours. If Jack’s company sends in the late contributions and late fees in October 2019 and makes 12 months of timely contributions for Jack and the other Employees for all months through October 2020, Jack will return to Covered Employment on November 1, 2020 and begin to earn Pension Credit and Normal Retirement Pension benefits. During the period of delinquency, Jack’s company must continue to report on Jack’s behalf under the terms of the CBA; however, he will not earn Pension Credit and Normal Retirement Pension benefits.