Overview of Regulations
Relating to
Survivor Benefits
(For a more complete description, including
rules applicable to prior periods, consult your Summary Plan Description booklet)
If you die before or after retiring under the Plan, your surviving
spouse is entitled to a Surviving Spouse Pension. Refer to your Summary Plan Booklet
(pages 20-25) for a complete description of Survivor Benefits.
Post-Retirement Surviving Spouse 50% Husband-and-Wife
Benefit
This benefit provides that, upon your death, half of your monthly
benefit will be paid to your surviving spouse for life. To qualify for the 50%
Husband-and-Wife Pension, you must be married to your spouse at retirement and for at
least one year preceding the date of your death. Your benefits (with the exception
of Disability) are automatically payable in the form of 50% Husband-and-Wife unless you
and your spouse reject this form of payment in writing before your pension begins.
Post-Retirement Lump-Sum Death Benefit
If you retire on a pension based on at least ten Pension Credits and
you die, your designated beneficiary will receive a lump-sum death benefit. The
amount of the death benefit is equal to $1,000 per Pension Credit, subject to a maximum of
$20,000. This benefit is reduced by any pension payments received prior to your death, to
a minimum of $2,000.
Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Pension
If you die before your retire under the Plan, your spouse will
receive a Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Pension if all of the following conditions are
met:
- You earned at least five year of Vesting Service or ten Pension
Credits
- You have at least on Hour of Work after December 31, 1975; and
- You were married to your spouse during the one-year period
immediately before your death.
The benefit is determined based on the your age and the number of
Pension Credits at the time of your death. Refer to the Summary Plan Booklet for more
information.
Pre-Retirement Death Benefit
If you die before you retire under the Plan and the Pre-Retirement
Surviving Spouse Pension is not payable, your designated beneficiary is eligible for the
Pre-Retirement Death Benefit if at the time of your death you:
- Had at least five Pension Credits; and
- Worked in Covered Employment for at least 500 hours during the
calendar year in which you died or during the immediately preceding calendar year.
The amount of the death benefit will be determined based upon the
number of Pension Credits you have at the time of your death. The minimum benefit is $750
with a maximum benefit of $20,000. Refer to you Summary Plan Booklet for more
information.
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