If You Are Single
If you are not married on your Effective Date, the standard form of payment is the Lifetime Pension (a single life annuity). It pays you monthly pension payments for your lifetime and stops when you die.
60-Month Certain Payments Feature
If you are covered under the First Alternative or the Second Alternative, and you die before you have received 60 monthly pension payments, payments continue to your Beneficiary until a total of 60 monthly payments have been made.
The 60-Month Certain Payment Feature does not apply to Disability Benefits or to pensions paid in the form of a 75% or 100% Joint and Survivor Annuity.
If You Are Married
A Joint and Survivor Annuity provides you with monthly
pension payments for life and, after you die, for the life of your spouse. The Plan
has three Joint and Survivor options:
- 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity
- 75% Joint and Survivor Annuity
- 100% Joint and Survivor Annuity.
Your benefit will automatically be paid as a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity if you are married on your Effective Date, unless you elect the 75% or 100% Joint and Survivor Annuity or your spouse completes a notarized Joint and Survivor Annuity Rejection Form.
If you get married after your Effective Date, your form of benefit payment will not be changed to a Joint and Survivor Annuity. Similarly, if you elect a Joint and Survivor Annuity and are later divorced or remarried, you cannot change your form of payment.
If you retire with a Joint and Survivor Annuity and your spouse dies before you, you may be entitled to an increase. Under the Plan, some Participants may be eligible for a Pop-Up feature, which results in an increase in all or a portion of monthly pension payments.
Lump
Sum Payment Option
If the total value of your benefit is less than $1,000, it
will be paid automatically in one lump sum. If the lump sum value of your
benefit is greater than $1,000 but less than $5,000, you may elect to have it
paid in a single lump sum. This payment will be in place of any monthly benefit
payments to you, your spouse or any other person.
Deferring Your Pension
You may choose to defer your pension start date so that you begin receiving payments after your Normal Retirement Age. The monthly benefit amount for a deferred pension is the greater of the benefit payable on the Effective Date or the accrued benefit at Normal Retirement Age, actuarially increased for each calendar month between Normal Retirement Age and the Effective Date.
Overpayment of Benefits
If the Plan overpays you or your beneficiary for any reason, you must return the overpayment. The Board of Trustees has the right to recover any benefit payments that were based on false or fraudulent statements, information or proof submitted, as well as any benefit payments made in error. Amounts recovered may include interest and costs.
If you are overpaid, the Plan may offset future payments
to you, your Spouse, and/or your Beneficiary to recover any overpayment, or use
other legal means as deemed necessary, regardless of whether the overpayment
was caused by mistake of the Plan, by you, or for any other reason.
This page includes only highlights of the Plan’s rules about how benefits are paid. See the Details Tab for more information.
This section describes optional forms of payment available under the Plan.
If You Are Single
Lifetime Pension
If you are not married on your Effective Date, the standard form of payment is the Lifetime Pension (a single life annuity). The Lifetime Pension pays you monthly pension payments for your lifetime and stops when you die.
60-Month Certain Payments Feature
If you are covered under the First Alternative or the Second Alternative, and have earned a minimum of 15 years of Pension Credit, payments may continue to a Beneficiary after your death under the 60-Month Certain Payments feature. If you die before you have received 60 monthly pension payments, payments continue to your Beneficiary until a total of 60 monthly payments have been made.
Normal Retirement and Early Retirement Pension benefits earned through December 31, 2013. The 60-Month Certain Payment feature applies only to certain Normal Retirement and Early Retirement Pensions earned before 2014 and paid in the form of a Lifetime Pension or a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity. It does not apply to Disability Benefits, and it does not apply to pensions paid in the form of a 75% or 100% Joint and Survivor Annuity.
The following conditions must be satisfied to be eligible for the 60-Month Certain Payments feature:
- Your Home Local Schedule was, as of December 31, 2013, under the First Alternative or the Second Alternative;
- You did not have 3,500 or more Hours of Work in Covered Employment under the Rehabilitation Plan’s Default Schedule during a period of five consecutive calendar years preceding January 1, 2014; and
- You had not become a Person for Whom under the Rehabilitation Plan when the Plan was in Critical Status.
Normal Retirement and Early Retirement Pension benefits earned on or after January 2014. If any of your post-2013 Contribution Hours are worked under either the First Alternative or the Second Alternative, the 60-Month Certain Payment feature is available to the Normal or Early Retirement Pension benefits attributable to those Contribution Hours.
You will be asked to designate your Beneficiary for purposes of the 60-Month Certain Payments feature when you retire.
If You Are Married
If you are married on your Effective Date, the standard form of payment is a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity, unless your spouse waives this form of payment in a duly notarized document. The Plan relies on guidance provided by the IRS and/or Department of Labor as to whether a Participant is deemed to be “married.”
A Joint and Survivor Annuity provides you with monthly pension payments for life and, after you die, for the life of your spouse. The Plan has three Joint and Survivor options:
- 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity
- 75% Joint and Survivor Annuity
- 100% Joint and Survivor Annuity
Your benefit will automatically be paid as a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity if you are married on your Effective Date, unless you elect the 75% or 100% Joint and Survivor Annuity or your spouse completes a notarized Joint and Survivor Annuity Rejection Form.
If you get married after your Effective Date, your form of benefit payment will not be changed to a Joint and Survivor Annuity. Similarly, if you elect a Joint and Survivor Annuity and are later divorced or remarried, you cannot change your form of payment.
This chart shows some of the differences between the payment options.
Type of Payment |
Who’s Eligible? |
What Is It? |
Lifetime Pension (Single Life Annuity) |
This is the default form of payment for unmarried Participants. However, it is an option if you are married and your spouse provides a duly notarized consent. |
Provides a lifetime monthly income for you. All payments cease upon your death, unless you are eligible for the 60-Month Certain Payment feature and die within 60 months of your Effective Date. There is no reduction to your monthly benefit for this type of payment. |
50% Joint and Survivor Annuity |
This is the default form of payment for married Participants. |
Provides a lifetime monthly income for you. If your spouse survives you, he or she receives 50% of the monthly benefit that you were receiving for his or her lifetime. This option reduces your monthly amount to cover your spouse’s expected life span. |
75% Joint and Survivor |
This is an optional form for any married Participant. |
Like the 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity, with one difference: if your spouse survives you, he or she then receives 75% of the monthly benefit that you were receiving. This option reduces your monthly amount more than the 50% option because it covers your spouse’s expected life span at a higher payment level. |
100% Joint and Survivor |
This is an optional form for any married Participant. |
Like the 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity, with one difference: if your spouse survives you, he or she then receives a monthly benefit equal to the monthly benefit that you were receiving. This reduces your monthly amount more than the 75% option because it covers your spouse’s expected life span at a higher payment level. This option is not available with the Full Disability Benefit. |
Benefit Adjustments
Adjustment Factors for Joint and Survivor Annuity (Non-Disability)
The following chart shows the adjustment factors used in calculating the reduction based on the type of payment option you choose and your spouse’s age at your retirement.
Type of Payment Option |
Basic Adjustment |
Adjustment for Age Difference |
50% Joint and Survivor Annuity |
Multiply by 90% |
Plus 0.4% for each full year your spouse is older than you, or minus 0.4% for each full year that your spouse is younger than you |
75% Joint and Survivor Annuity |
Multiply by 85.5% |
Plus 0.6% for each full year that your spouse is older than you, or minus 0.6% for each full year your spouse is younger than you; if your spouse is 16 or more years older than you, this optional form is further increased by 0.7% for every year of difference greater than 15 |
100% Joint and Survivor Annuity |
Multiply by 84% |
Plus 0.7% for each full year that your spouse is older than you, or minus 0.7% for each full year your spouse is younger than you |
In all these options, the resulting percentage may not be greater than 99%. |
Adjustment Factors for Joint and Survivor Annuity (Disability)
The following chart shows the adjustment factors used in calculating the reduction based on the type of payment option you choose and your spouse’s age at your retirement for a Full Disability Benefit.
Type of Payment Option |
Basic Adjustment |
Adjustment for Age Difference |
50% Joint and Survivor Annuity |
Multiply by 82% |
Plus 0.4% for each full year your spouse is older than you, or minus 0.4% for each full year that your spouse is younger than you |
75% Joint and Survivor Annuity |
Multiply by 74.5% |
Plus 0.5% for each full year that your spouse is older than you, or minus 0.5% for each full year your spouse is younger than you |
In all these options, the resulting percentage may not be greater than 99%. |
Example #1: Mark retires at age 55 under an Early Retirement Pension. If he were unmarried, Mark’s pension would be paid as a Lifetime Pension option in the amount of $972 per month. However, Mark is married on his Effective Date, and he and his wife Sue decide they want to receive his pension as a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity. Sue is three years younger than Mark. Mark’s 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity is calculated as follows (benefit amounts are rounded up to the next highest dollar):
Non-Disability Example |
Monthly Lifetime Pension |
$972 |
TIMES reduction for 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity:
3 years younger x 0.4% per year = 1.2%
90% – 1.2% = 88.8% |
x 88.8% |
EQUALS
Monthly Retirement Pension for Mark
Monthly Retirement Pension for Sue following Mark’s death: 50% of Mark’s amount |
$864
$432 |
Example #2: Mark retires at age 50 on a disability benefit. If he were unmarried, Mark’s pension would be paid as a Lifetime Pension option in the amount of $972 per month. However, Mark is married on his Effective Date, and he and his wife Sue decide they want to receive his pension as a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity. Sue is three years younger than Mark. Mark’s 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity is calculated as follows (benefit amounts are rounded up to the next highest dollar):
Disability Example |
Monthly Lifetime Pension |
$972 |
TIMES reduction for 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity:
3 years younger x 0.4% per year = 1.2%
82% – 1.2% = 80.8% |
x 80.8% |
EQUALS
Monthly Retirement Pension for Mark
Monthly Retirement Pension for Sue following Mark’s death: 50% of Mark’s amount |
$786
$393 |
If Your Spouse Dies Before You
If you retire with a Joint and Survivor Annuity and your spouse dies before you, you may be entitled to an increase. Under the Plan, some Participants may be eligible for the “Pop-Up feature,” which results in an increase in all or a portion of monthly pension payments.
The Pop-Up feature applies only to certain Normal Retirement and Early Retirement Pensions paid in the form of a Joint and Survivor Annuity. It does not apply to Full Disability Benefits.
For work performed prior to 2014, the following conditions must be satisfied to be eligible for the Pop-Up feature:
- Your Home Local Schedule was, as of December 31, 2013, either the First Alternative or the Second Alternative;
- You did not have 3,500 or more Hours of Work in Covered Employment under the Default Schedule during a period of five consecutive calendar years preceding January 1, 2014; and
- You had not become a Person for Whom under the Rehabilitation Plan when the Plan was in Critical
For work performed after 2013, the Pop-Up feature is applicable only for benefits earned under the First or Second Alternative.
Lump Sum Payment
If the lump sum value of your benefit is less than $1,000, it will be paid automatically in one lump sum. If the lump sum value of your benefit is greater than $1,000 but less than $5,000, you may elect to have it paid in a single lump sum. This payment will be in place of any monthly benefit payments to you, your spouse, or any other person.
Deferring Your Pension
You may choose to defer your pension start date so that you begin receiving payments after your Normal Retirement Age. The monthly benefit amount for a deferred pension is the greater of the benefit payable on the Effective Date or the accrued benefit at Normal Retirement Age, actuarially increased for each calendar month between Normal Retirement Age and the Effective Date for which benefits were not suspended. Generally, the actuarial increase is 1% per month beginning the 60th day after the calendar year in which you attain age 65 until age 70. Then, it is 1.5% per month for each month thereafter.
If you do not submit a pension application to the Fund Office when you attain Normal Retirement Age, you will be deemed to have elected to postpone receipt of your Normal Retirement Pension.
Although you are not required to start receiving your pension benefit when you reach your Normal Retirement Age, you must begin receiving benefits under the Plan no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which you attain age 70½, which is referred to as your Required Beginning Date.
If you do not complete the required application and/or provide required information, the Plan will begin payments to you in the form of a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity with a spouse three years younger, regardless of your marital status and age. If, after benefits begin, you submit an application and provide all required information, your pension will be adjusted the following month to reflect the information you have provided.
Overpayment of Benefits
If the Plan overpays you or your beneficiary for any reason, you must return the overpayment. The Board of Trustees will have the right to recover any benefit payments made that were based on false or fraudulent statements, information, or proof submitted, as well as any benefit payments made in error. Amounts recovered may include interest and costs.
In the event you are overpaid, the Plan may offset future payments to you, your Spouse, and/or your Beneficiary to recover any overpayment, or use other legal means as deemed necessary, regardless of whether the overpayment was caused by mistake of the Plan, by you, or for any other reason.