Benefit Summaries
These summaries are concise versions of the highlights of major plan features and rules. They are meant for easy reference, particularly on a mobile device, and are not intended to be authoritative.
The Summary Plan Description (SPD) contains the full description of the Plan rules and benefits. When in doubt, consult the SPD.
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Plan Overview
Pension Plan Overview
What this Plan is
The IBEW Local 701 Pension Plan is a defined benefit pension plan, designed to provide a lifetime monthly benefit at retirement.
Unlike an individual account plan, your pension benefit is determined by:
- employer Contributions made on your behalf, and
- the Plan’s benefit formula and actuarial rules.
How the Plan is funded
The Plan is funded entirely by employer Contributions required under collective bargaining agreements.
Participants do not make employee contributions to this Plan.All Contributions are held in trust and invested under the direction of the Plan’s Trustees.
How benefits are earned
You earn benefits by working in Covered Employment for which employer Contributions are required.
Two related but distinct concepts apply:
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Vesting Service and Pension Credits
These determine eligibility for benefits and certain Plan rules. -
Accrued Benefit
This determines the amount of your pension and is calculated using a contribution-based formula that applies percentage multipliers to Contributions made on your behalf.
When benefits are payable
Under the Plan, the “Regular Pension” is payable at age 62, provided you meet the Plan’s eligibility requirements.
The Regular Pension payable at age 62 represents 100% of your accrued benefit.You may also begin benefits:
- before age 62 (Early Retirement), with reductions applied, or
- after age 65, with actuarial adjustments based on the later start date.
The age at which you begin benefits affects the amount of your monthly pension.
How benefits are adjusted for age
If you begin your pension before age 62, your benefit is reduced based on official early-retirement reduction schedules in the Plan.
If you begin your pension after age 65, your benefit is actuarially adjusted to reflect the later commencement date.
Adjustment factors depend on:
- your age when benefits begin, and
- the period in which your benefit was earned.
How benefits are paid
When you retire, your pension is paid in one of several forms of payment, such as:
- a Single Life Annuity, or
- a Joint and Survivor Annuity that continues benefits to a spouse.
If you are married, the Plan generally requires a survivor form unless properly waived.
Protection for survivors
The Plan includes death benefits for eligible beneficiaries if you die:
- before retirement, or
- after retirement, depending on the form of payment you elected.
Plan administration
The Pension Plan is administered by a Board of Trustees made up of union and employer representatives. The Trustees are responsible for managing Plan assets and administering benefits in accordance with the Plan.
Day-to-day administration is handled by the Fund Office.
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Vesting
Vesting
What vesting means
Vesting is your non-forfeitable right to a pension benefit under the IBEW Local 701 Pension Plan. Once you are vested, your right to the pension benefit you have earned cannot be lost, even if you stop working in covered employment before retirement.
See SPD – Earning Vesting Service
When you become vested
You become 100% vested after completing five (5) years of Vesting Service under the Plan.
See SPD – Earning Vesting Service
Vesting Service
• Vesting Service is earned for each Plan Year in which you work at least 500 hours in Covered Employment for which employer contributions are required.
• Partial years do not count toward vesting unless the Plan’s hourly threshold is met.See SPD – Earning Vesting Service
Effect of leaving covered employment before incurring a permanent break in service
• If you leave covered employment after you are vested, you retain the right to a deferred pension benefit payable when you meet the Plan’s retirement eligibility requirements.
• If you leave covered employment before you are vested, you generally forfeit your pension benefit unless you later return to covered employment and earn sufficient Vesting Service before incurring a permanent break in service.See SPD – Leaving Covered Employment
Breaks in Service
• The Plan includes rules governing breaks in service, which may affect how Vesting Service is counted if you leave covered employment for an extended period.
• Once you are vested, a break in service does not cause you to lose your vested pension benefit.
Vesting vs. Retirement Eligibility
• Vesting establishes your right to a pension benefit.
• Retirement eligibility (such as Normal or Early Retirement) determines when and how that vested benefit may be paid. -
Accruing Benefits
Accruing Benefits
The basic idea
Your pension benefit is based on a percentage of employer Contributions made on your behalf, using multipliers that vary by time period. Pension Credits and Vesting Service are used for eligibility and related Plan rules, but the amount of your pension benefit is determined by a contribution-based formula.
Contribution-based benefit formula (structure)
The Pension Plan calculates your accrued benefit by applying a multiplier to Contributions that are subject to the multiplier. Contributions are grouped by the period in which they were made, and the results are added together.
The structure of the formula is described in the SPD; the actual multiplier rates are established and updated through Summaries of Material Modifications (SMMs).
Current contribution multipliers (per SMM)
The following multipliers are in effect based on the most recent SMM issued by the Trustees:
- Contributions made before June 1, 2005: 4.5%
- June 1, 2005 through May 31, 2010: 3.5%
- June 1, 2010 through May 31, 2016: 3.0%
- June 1, 2016 through May 31, 2025: 0.5% of all Contributions
(for Participants other than Fund Office and Union Office employees) - On and after June 1, 2025: 0.75% of all Contributions
(for Participants other than Fund Office and Union Office employees)
These multipliers are applied only to Contributions that are subject to the multiplier, as defined in the Plan.
See SMM – Increase in Multiplier
What Contributions count
Only Contributions that are subject to the multiplier are included in the benefit calculation. The SPD defines which Contributions are included and any exclusions.
See SPD – Contributions Subject to the Multiplier
Pension Credits are not a dollar benefit
Pension Credits are used for eligibility and Plan rules, but the retirement pension under this Plan is not calculated as a fixed dollar amount per credit. Your benefit is based on Contributions and the applicable multipliers.
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Types of Retirement Pensions
Types of Retirement
The “Regular” Pension (age 62)
Under the IBEW Local 701 Pension Plan, the Regular Pension is payable at age 62, provided you meet the Plan’s eligibility requirements.
The Regular Pension payable at age 62 is treated as 100% of your accrued benefit for purposes of early-retirement reductions.
This age-62 benefit serves as the baseline against which early-retirement reductions are measured.
Early Retirement (before age 62)
You may retire before age 62 if you meet the Plan’s early-retirement eligibility rules.
If you retire early, your pension is reduced to reflect the longer expected payment period.
The reduction depends on your age when benefits begin.
Early-retirement reductions for benefits accrued
For benefits accrued:
- No early-retirement reduction applies if benefits begin after age 60 and before age 62.
- If benefits begin before age 60, the reduction is:
- 4% per full year under age 60, or
- ¹⁄₃ of 1% per month under age 60.
- The maximum reduction under this schedule is 20% at age 55.
See SPD – Table 1: Early Retirement Pension Reduction Factors
(for benefits accrued)
Late commencement (after age 65)
If you begin receiving your Regular Pension after age 65, your benefit is generally actuarially adjusted to reflect the later start date.
The amount of any increase depends on:
- your age when benefits begin, and
- the form of payment you elect.
Disability Retirement
The Plan provides a Disability Pension if you become totally and permanently disabled and meet the Plan’s eligibility requirements.
Disability retirement is subject to:
- specific definitions of disability,
- medical certification, and
- approval under Plan procedures.
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Forms of Benefits
Forms of Pension Payment
Choosing how your pension is paid
When you retire, you must choose how your pension benefit will be paid. The form of payment affects:
- the amount of your monthly benefit, and
- whether benefits continue to a survivor after your death.
Some forms are automatic unless properly waived.
Single Life Annuity (maximum benefit)
The Single Life Annuity pays the highest monthly benefit available under the Plan.
- Payments are made for your lifetime only.
- Payments stop at your death.
- No survivor benefit is paid.
This is the baseline (100%) benefit against which other payment forms are compared.
This is the default form if you are not married when your pension begins.
Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity (50% survivor)
If you are married when your pension begins, the default form of payment is the
Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity (QJSA), which provides a 50% survivor benefit.Under this form:
- you receive a reduced monthly benefit for life, and
- after your death, 50% of that benefit continues to your surviving spouse for life.
For a spouse the same age as you, the monthly benefit is typically about
90% of the Single Life Annuity amount.See SPD – Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity
Optional Joint and Survivor forms
The Plan may also offer additional Joint and Survivor options, such as:
- 75% Joint and Survivor
• survivor receives 75% of your benefit after your death
• for a same-aged spouse, the monthly benefit is typically about 85% of the Single Life amount
These options provide greater protection for a surviving spouse but result in a larger reduction to the monthly benefit you receive during your lifetime.
See SPD – Optional Forms of Payment
How age differences affect the benefit
The percentages above assume you and your spouse are the same age when payments begin.
In practice:
- if your spouse is younger than you, your monthly benefit will generally be reduced more, and
- if your spouse is older than you, your monthly benefit will generally be reduced less.
The Plan applies actuarial factors so that all payment forms have approximately equal value over time.
See SPD – Actuarial Adjustments
Waiving the default form
If you are married and wish to elect a form other than the 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity:
- your spouse must provide written, notarized consent, and
- the waiver must meet the Plan’s timing and form requirements.
Irrevocability of election
Once your pension payments begin, your choice of payment form is generally irrevocable.
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Return to Work
Return to Work After Retirement
General rule
If you retire and begin receiving pension benefits, returning to work in Covered Employment may affect your benefits. The Plan includes rules that may require benefits to be suspended while you are working.
See SPD – Return to Work After Retirement
Working in Covered Employment
If you return to Covered Employment after retirement:
- your pension benefits may be suspended for the period you are working, and
- benefit payments may resume after you stop working, subject to Plan rules.
Covered Employment generally includes work covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement for an employer required to make contributions to the Plan.
Working in non-covered employment
If you return to work in non-covered employment, different rules may apply. Some types of work may:
- not affect your pension benefits, or
- still result in suspension if they fall within restricted categories defined by the Plan.
Participants should review the Plan’s definitions carefully before accepting post-retirement work.
See SPD – Non-Covered Employment
Suspension of benefits
If your benefits are suspended due to post-retirement work:
- payments stop for the period required under the Plan, and
- you will receive written notice explaining the suspension and your rights.
Benefit suspension rules are applied in accordance with ERISA and Plan provisions.
See SPD – Suspension of Benefits
Resumption of benefits
When you stop working in employment that causes a suspension:
- your pension payments may resume, and
- the amount payable will be determined under the Plan’s rules.
In some cases, additional service or contributions earned after retirement may affect your benefit.
See SPD – Resumption of Benefits
Notice requirements
You are required to notify the Fund Office if you return to work after retirement. Failure to provide required notice may result in overpayments that must be repaid.
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Death Benefit
Death Benefits
If you die before retirement
If you die before starting your pension, the Plan may pay a death benefit to your designated beneficiary, depending on your marital status and your service under the Plan.
See SPD – Death Before Retirement
Death benefit for married participants
If you are married and vested at the time of your death, the Plan generally provides a pre-retirement survivor benefit to your surviving spouse. This benefit is intended to provide ongoing income and is payable according to the form required by the Plan unless properly waived.
See SPD – Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Benefit
Death benefit for unmarried participants
If you are not married at the time of your death, the Plan may pay a lump-sum death benefit to your designated beneficiary, provided you have earned the required number of Pension Credits.
See SPD – Death Benefit for Unmarried Participants
Amount of the lump-sum death benefit
The amount of the lump-sum death benefit depends on the number of Pension Credits you have earned under the Plan and may be subject to minimums or maximums.
The SPD describes how the benefit is determined and any applicable limits.
See SPD – Amount of Death Benefit
Additional death benefits
The Plan may provide an additional lump-sum death benefit for Participants who have earned a higher number of Pension Credits, including benefits payable after retirement in certain circumstances.
See SPD – Additional Death Benefit
Designating a beneficiary
To receive any death benefit payable under the Plan, you must have a valid beneficiary designation on file. Special rules apply if you are married.