Overview of Regulations Relating to
Vesting
Service
(For a more complete description, including
rules applicable to prior periods, consult your Summary Plan Description booklet)
Generally, you earn one year of Vesting Service for each calendar year
in which you complete 500 hours of work. As of June 1, 1976 you have a non-forfeitable
right to a pension if you have at least five years of Vesting Service.
If you are absent from Covered Employment for a long period of time, you
may incur a permanent break in service. If you have a permanent break in
service, you will lose all of your Pension Credits and years of Vesting Service earned
before the break. However, once you qualify for any type of pension, you cannot have a
permanent break in service.
A one-year break in service occurs if you do not complete at
least 435 hours of work in any calendar year. One-year breaks in service are temporary and
can be repaired if you earn a year of Vesting Service before incurring a permanent break
in service. One-year breaks in service will not accumulate unless they occur right after
each other (consecutively).
The rules covering breaks in service vary depending upon when the break
occurs. The current rule, in effect since January 1, 1986, specifies that you receive a
permanent break in service when you accumulate the greater of:
- Five one-year breaks in service, or
- One-year breaks in service equal to your years of Vesting Service
A grace period may be applicable for the purposes of determining breaks
in service. Grace periods are counted as exceptions if you do not earn 500 hours of
service in a plan year because of:
- Retirement under the Plan;
- Military service as required by applicable federal law;
- Your pregnancy;
- Birth of your child;
- Placement of a child in connection with your adoption of the child, or
- Caring for your child during the period immediately following the birth
or placement.
You must submit sufficient and timely information so the Trustees can
establish that your absence from work is due to one of the reasons listed above. Also, any
leave of absence granted by your employer, up to 12 weeks, that qualifies under the Family
Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will not count toward a break in service for purposes of
determining eligibility and vesting.
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