Pension

Summary Plan Description Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Funding Improvement Plan
  3. Pension Plan Highlights
  4. Beginning Work
  5. Leaving Work
  6. Getting Married or Divorced
  7. Preparing for Retirement
  8. Receiving a Pension
  9. Choosing a Payment Option
  10. Returning to Work
  11. In the Event of Death
  12. Administrative Information
  13. Definitions
  14. Table 1: Early Retirement Pension Reduction Factors for Benefits Accrued on or Before May 31, 2018
  15. Table 1A: Early Retirement Pension Reduction Factors for Benefits Accrued on or After June 1, 2018
  16. Table 2: Deferred Pension Early Retirement Reduction Factors
  17. Table 3: Actuarial Equivalent Reduction Factors for Pension Before Suspension of Benefits

Definitions

Collective Bargaining Agreement or Agreement means any written agreement that specifies the detailed basis on which contributions are made to the Fund together with any modification, amendment, or renewal, including but not limited to:

  • Collective bargaining agreements;

  • Memoranda of understanding that incorporate by reference collective bargaining agreements or the Trust Agreement;

  • Report forms in accordance with which contributions are made and that obligate the Employer to the provisions of the Trust Agreement; or

  • Any other agreement obligating the Employer signatory thereto to participate in or be bound by the Trust Agreement and/or the Plan.

Continuous Employment means any periods of work not separated by quit, discharge, or other termination of employment between the periods.

Contributing Employer or Employer means any Employer who:

  • Is a party to a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Union, requiring periodic contributions to the Pension Fund created by the Trust Agreement or who in the past has been a party to the Collective Bargaining Agreement;

  • Is a party of any Agreement or other similar instrument with the Union, which by its terms incorporates by reference a Collective Bargaining Agreement requiring the parties to make contributions to the Pension Fund;

  • Is a party to any written instrument, with an Agreement to be bound by the terms and provisions of the Trust Agreement, including but not limited to, contribution report forms listing the Employees on whose behalf contributions are remitted, and encompassing provisions;

  • In writing adopts and agrees to be bound by the terms and provisions of the Trust Agreement as the same may be amended or modified from time to time;

  • By any course of conduct, including, but not limited to, oral representations to Employees, representatives of the Union, Trustees, attorneys, or other persons, ratifies or accepts the provisions of any Collective Bargaining Agreement that requires contributions to the Fund, or of any other written instrument that binds the Employer to make contributions to the Fund;

  • Is a member of any of the Employer Associations, or becomes a member of any Associations, or who was a member at any time when representatives of the Associations began negotiations of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement on behalf of its members, whether or not membership is held current at all times; or

  • Is a member of any other multi‑employer bargaining unit, or becomes a member of any of multi‑employer units that has a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Union, whether formalized or existing solely as a matter of custom and practice.

Employer also means:

  • The Union, for the purpose of providing benefits for the eligible Employees of the Union for whom the Union is obligated to contribute to the Pension Fund; and

  • The Board of Trustees, for the purpose of providing benefits for the eligible Employees of the Trust for whom the Trust will contribute to the Pension Fund, in accordance with the Plan.

An Employer is not considered a Contributing Employer simply because it is part of a controlled group of corporations or of a trade or business under common control, some other part of which is a Contributing Employer.

Contribution Period means with respect to a unit or classification of employment, the period during which the Employer is a Contributing Employer with respect to the unit or classification of employment.

Covered Employment means employment including employment before the Contribution Period that, if performed during the Contribution Period, would result in required contributions being paid to the Fund, provided that:

  • Only contributions made for hours contributed will be credited before
    June 1, 1976;

  • For the period after June 1, 1976, hours of employment and required contributions will be credited only to the extent required by applicable federal law;

  • In determining hours and contributions, the Trustees may rely upon:

    • Information supplied by the Employer or an authorized officer or agent of the Employer;

    • An audit of the Employer’s records conducted pursuant to the terms of the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement;

    • Information supplied by you (subject, however, to verification by the Employer or an authorized officer or agent of the Employer or by an audit of the Employer’s records); or

    • A determination made by a court of competent jurisdiction.

  • If Employer contributions are made or benefit accrual credit is given for the hours (or with respect to the time period encompassing the hours) under any other pension, profit sharing, or other retirement plan to which the Employer contributes or is required to contribute, the hours will not be credited as Hours of Work under the Plan.

If you believe that your Employer is or may be delinquent in making the required reports and contributions to the Fund, you must promptly disclose the information to the Trustees and cooperate fully with the Trustees in the determination of your hours and in the collection of the Employer Contributions.


Employee means:

  • Any person employed by an Employer who performs electrical work within the jurisdiction of the Union, as listed in any applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement or by any custom or practice in the geographic area within which the Employer operates and his or her Employees perform work;

  • Any person covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement between an Employer and the Union or by a memorandum of understanding, signed by an Employer that incorporates by reference the provisions of any applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement or the provisions of the Trust Agreement, where the Employer is required to make contributions to the Pension Fund on the Employee’s behalf;

  • Any person on whose behalf an Employer has made contributions to the Pension Fund and has reported that on a standard report form that contains a provision binding the Employer to the provisions of the Trust Agreement; or

  • Any person in a certified or recognized collective bargaining unit represented by the Union.

Employee also means:

  • All eligible persons employed by the Union, on whose behalf the Union will make payments to the Trust at the times and at the rate of payment equal to that made by any other Employer who is a party to the Trust; and

  • A leased employee of an Employer, within the meaning of Section 414(n) of the Internal Revenue Code, who otherwise meets the conditions for participation, vesting, and/or benefit accrual under the Fund.

Hour of Work or Hour of Service means:

  • Each hour you are directly paid or entitled to payment by your Employer for the performance of duties. These hours will be credited for the computation period or periods in which the duties are performed; and

  • Each hour for which back pay, irrespective of mitigation of damage, has been either awarded or agreed to by the Employer. These hours will be credited for the computation period or periods to which the award or agreement pertains rather than the computation period in which the award, agreement, or payment was made.

Non‑Bargained Employee means a Participant whose participation is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Normal Retirement Age means age 65 or, if later, your age on the fifth anniversary of your participation. In calculating the fifth anniversary of participation, participation before a permanent break in service is not counted.

Participant means a Pensioner or an Employee who meets the requirements for participation in the Plan or a former Employee who has acquired a right to a pension under the Plan.

Pension Credits means the period of Covered Employment for which credit is granted under the Plan for purposes of determining the amount of your pension or eligibility for certain types of pension.


Pension Fund or Trust Fund means the Electrical Workers General Pension Fund established under the Trust Agreement.

Pension Plan or Plan means the Plan Document as adopted by the Trustees and as amended by the Trustees.

Pensioner means a person to whom a pension under the Plan is being paid or to whom a pension would be paid but for time for administrative processing.

Period of Accrual means any calendar year or number of consecutive calendar years during which you earn Pension Credit based on your work in Covered Employment.

Retired or Retirement means leaving Covered Employment for a reason other than death after a Participant has fulfilled all requirements for a Regular, Early Retirement, or Disability Pension.

Spouse means the individual to whom the Participant is lawfully married under any state law or the laws of a foreign jurisdiction. Effective June 26, 2013, this includes the marriage of individuals of the same gender who are legally married in any state or foreign jurisdiction that recognizes same gender marriages, even if the individuals are domiciled in a state that does not recognize the validity of same gender marriages. A former Spouse will be treated as the Spouse to the extent provided under the terms of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 4l4(p). A domestic partner or individuals in civil unions will not be considered a Spouse.

Trust Agreement means the Agreement and Declaration of Trust establishing the I.B.E.W. Local 701 Electrical Workers General Pension Fund dated effective as of June 1, 1971, and as amended.

Trustees means the Board of Trustees established and constituted from time to time in accordance with the Trust Agreement.

Union means Local 701 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Year of Vesting Service means of period of Covered Employment and Continuous Employment considered for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under the Plan.