The amount of the pension benefit you will receive at retirement will depend on several factors, including your age, the contributions remitted on your behalf, and Pension Credits you have earned throughout your Covered Employment.

Years of Service

You earn a Year of Service for each consecutive 12-month period in which you complete at least 870 Hours of Work in Covered Employment.

Pension Credits

There are two types of Pension Credit, depending on whether your work was before (Past Service Credit) or after (Future Service Credit) an Employer began contributing to the Fund on your behalf.

Past Service Credit

You may qualify for Past Service Credit if you were working in a job classification with an Employer that later became obligated to contribute to the Plan under a CBA. You must notify the Plan if you believe you are entitled to this type of credit.

Generally, if your Employer first became obligated to contribute to the Plan on or after January 1, 2000, you will qualify for one year of Past Service Credit for each year of Future Service Credit subsequently earned (up to a maximum of 10 years and excluding any periods during which you were absent due to sick leave, jury duty, parental leave, or similar circumstances) if:

• Your Employer’s initial Contribution Rate was at least $0.50 per hour; and
• You were employed by the Employer in Covered Employment on the Employer’s contribution date, or within the 24-month period before the Employer’s contribution date and you were working in Covered Employment on the Employer’s contribution date.

This means that, if you continue working in Covered Employment once your Employer becomes obligated to contribute to the Plan under a CBA, you will earn one year of Past Service Credit for a year of prior employment, for each year of Future Service Credit that you earn, for up to 10 years of Past Service Credit, if all other eligibility and hours requirements are met.

You will not receive Past Service Credit if you work in Non-Signatory Employment (see Non-Signatory Employment for more information). You also will not receive Past Service Credit for periods of work before a Break in Past Service. Generally, you have a Break in Past Service if you did not earn a year of Past Service Credit in three consecutive calendar years.

Future Service Credit

Construction Work. Construction Work is work performed as a building trades or industrial journeyman or apprentice. Work in any other job classification commonly understood to be construction work in the Sheet Metal Industry for purposes of collective bargaining also counts as Construction Work.

You will receive months of Future Service Credit when you perform Construction Work in Covered Employment after your contribution date according to the following schedule:

Non-Construction Work. You will receive months of Future Service Credit when you perform Non-Construction Work in Covered Employment after your contribution date according to the following schedule:

Salted Organizer or Youth-to-Youth Apprentice Work. If you are a member of a Local Union that is a Contributing Employer and you work as a bona fide Salted Organizer or a Youth-to-Youth Apprentice, you can earn up to 12 months of Future Service Credit for any single period of employment as a Salted Organizer or for all periods of employment as a Youth-to-Youth Apprentice. The following rules apply:

• You must be duly certified in writing by SMART and filed with the Fund Office within 12 months after the end of the salting period.
• Your position cannot be covered by a CBA or another agreement.
• Your Hours of Work as a Salted Organizer or a Youth-to-Youth Apprentice will be credited only if and when you have an Hour of Work in Covered Employment after the last day of the period you work as a Salted Organizer or a Youth-to-Youth Apprentice.

Becoming Vested

In general, you’re considered Vested when you have earned five Years of Service. If you are Vested in the Plan, it means you have a non-forfeitable right to a pension benefit, even if you leave work before you retire.

Credit for Qualified Military Service Under USERRA

In accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), the Plan will give you vesting credit and benefit accruals for periods of qualified military service if you:

• notify your Employer and the Fund Office in advance that you have been called to service, unless notice is provided by the military or otherwise is impossible or unreasonable to give under the circumstance, and
• return to Covered Employment within the time frames described below following your honorable discharge from active duty.

You must have been working in Covered Employment at the beginning of each military service period to get credit for it.

Generally, you must return to Covered Employment within the applicable time frames, receive an honorable discharge, and notify the Fund Office as outlined in the following table:

These time limits may be extended under the law in particular circumstances. If you qualify, upon your return to work in Covered Employment from military service, and comply with all notice and documentation requirements, you will generally receive vesting credit and benefit accruals (up to a maximum of five years), based on the average number of Hours of Work in Covered Employment worked in your Local Union during the time you served in the military.

HEART Act

The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act (the HEART Act) of 2008 provides for additional Plan benefits and protection for individuals who, after leaving Covered Employment to serve in the military, either die or become disabled while in qualified military service. Accordingly, if a Participant dies while performing qualified military service, the Participant’s period of time in qualified military service will be counted for vesting purposes. Contact the Fund Office for more information regarding benefits provided under the HEART Act.

Breaks in Service

Leaving Covered Employment or not working enough hours in a Plan Year can result in a Break in Service. If you are not Vested in the Plan, a Break in Service may cause you to lose the Years of Service, Pension Credit, and Contribution Hours you have accumulated, along with your status as a Participant. There are two types of Breaks in Service: a One-Year Break in Service and a Permanent Break in Service.

One-Year Break in Service

Generally, if you are not Vested or otherwise qualified for a Plan benefit and you work less than 435 Hours of Work in Covered Employment during a calendar year, you may incur a One-Year Break in Service. When you have incurred a One-Year Break in Service, you stop being a Participant and your Years of Service, Pension Credit, and Contribution Hours prior to the One-Year Break in Service are disregarded. However, if you again complete a Year of Service after your One-Year Break in Service, your previously accrued Years of Service, Pension Credit, and Contribution Hours will be restored.

Permanent Break in Service

You may incur a Permanent Break in Service if you are not Vested or otherwise qualified for a Plan benefit and you have consecutive One-Year Breaks in Service that exceed the greater of (i) five or (ii) your total number of Years of Service earned before the One-Year Breaks in Service. When you have a Permanent Break in Service, you stop being a Participant and you lose your Years of Service, Pension Credits, and Contribution Hours.

Once you incur a Permanent Break in Service, you may become a Participant again by returning to Covered Employment with a Contributing Employer. However, your Years of Service, Pension Credits, and Contribution Hours earned before the Permanent Break in Service will not be restored.

Absences Not Considered a Break in Service

Certain types of absences from Covered Employment will not result in a Break in Service, including:

• Parental Leave. You will not incur a Break in Service if you are absent from work due to pregnancy, the birth of your child, placement of a child with you in connection with adoption, or to care for a child immediately following birth or placement. Under this rule, you will be credited with up to 435 Hours of Work in that Plan Year or in the next Plan Year, if necessary, to prevent a One-Year Break in Service. You will be credited with the number of Hours of Work you would normally have been credited with or, if this cannot be determined, eight Hours of Work per day of absence, up to 435 Hours of Work. These hours do not count for vesting or benefit accrual purposes.
• Family and Medical Leave. You will not incur a Break in Service if you are absent from work for an authorized leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). During an FMLA leave, your absence will not count toward a One-Year Break in Service as long as your Employer granted you leave under FMLA and you return to work in Covered Employment on or before the expiration date of the FMLA leave of absence. However, your unpaid FMLA leave will not count for vesting or benefit accrual purposes.
• Military Leave. If the requirements under USERRA are satisfied, military service will not cause a Break in Service. See Credit for Qualified Military Service Under USERRA for more information.
• Work in Continuous Non-Covered Employment. You will earn a Year of Service and not incur a One-Year Break in Service if you perform work in Non-Covered Employment (which is work for a Contributing Employer in a classification that does not require contributions to be made to the Plan) and that work is continuous, without termination or discharge, with your Work in Covered Employment for the same Contributing Employer. This is called “Continuous Non-Covered Employment.” It will be treated as work in Covered Employment for both eligibility purposes and determining whether you have a Break in Service. Continuous Non-Covered Employment counts toward Years of Service.

Other Exceptions to the Break in Service Rules. In addition to the exceptions provided above, you will not incur a Permanent Break in Service if the Break in Service results from any of the following:

• Service as a full-time elected or appointed officer or employee of the Union.
• For Years of Service (for vesting purposes) and Pension Credit earned prior to January 1, 2000 only: for proven disability, where you were unable to work in Covered Employment and did not work in any employment whatsoever for a period not exceeding five years.
• For Years of Service (for vesting purposes) before January 1, 2000, where you were a small business owner (limited to 10 years) and you employed no more than four people, including yourself, who were covered by a CBA. You must have worked “inside” as a sheet metal worker (no outside erecting) and subsequently returned to Covered Employment.
• Involuntary unemployment during 1973, 1974, or 1975. Not more than one of these calendar years may be used in determining whether a Break in Service has occurred.