• SPD 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

In the Event of Death

If Your Spouse or Beneficiary Dies

If your spouse or beneficiary dies before or after your pension begins, you should contact the Fund Office to update your records and beneficiary designation.

If you are receiving a 50% or 75% Participant and Spouse Pension and your spouse dies before you, your monthly benefit will increase to your benefit amount before the adjustment was made for the 50% or 75% Participant and Spouse Pension and you will receive that higher amount for the rest of your lifetime. (This is effective for retirements on or after June 1, 1994.) Your pension will not increase until you notify the Fund Office.

If you are receiving a Single Life Pension and your spouse or beneficiary dies, the amount of your monthly benefit will not change.

If You Die

Before Your Pension Begins

Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Pension

If you die before you Retire (including if you die prior to age 55 while receiving a Disability Pension), your surviving spouse will receive a Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Pension if:

• You have at least 5 Years of Vesting Service or 10 Pension Credits;

• You have at least one Hour of Work after December 31, 1975; and

• You and your spouse were married to each other during the one-year period immediately before your death or, if divorced, after being married for one year and your former spouse is required to be treated as a spouse or surviving spouse under a Qualified Domestic Relations Order.

If you have:

• At least 10 Pension Credits and you die at age 55 or older, your spouse will receive the survivor portion of the 50% Participant and Spouse Pension you would have received had you Retired on the day before you died;

• At least 10 Pension Credits and you die before age 55, your spouse will receive the survivor portion of the 50% Participant and Spouse Pension you would have received had you lived to age 55 and then Retired on an Early Retirement Pension; or

• Less than 10 Pension Credits, your spouse will receive the survivor portion of the 50% Participant and Spouse Pension you would have been eligible for at age 65 reduced for early retirement (using 55 as the minimum age).

The amount will be determined under the terms of the Plan in effect when you last worked in Covered Employment, unless specified otherwise.

Dependent Child Pension

In the event of your death, if you are a widowed, active Participant with at least 10 Pension Credits, a benefit equal to the Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Pension will be paid to your dependent children.

If you are a widowed Participant:

• Younger than age 55, you are considered active if you worked at least 435 hours in Covered Employment in the year you died or in the immediately preceding year; or

• Age 55 or older, you are considered active if you worked 435 hours in the year you reached age 55 or, if not, 500 hours in a subsequent year.

The benefit will be divided equally among any eligible dependent children. When a child reaches age 21, he or she will no longer be eligible and the benefit amount will be divided equally among the remaining eligible children. A physically or mentally handicapped child will be eligible to receive the benefit until the later of 120 monthly payments or age 21.

When Payments Begin to Surviving Spouse or Dependent Child

Payments to your surviving spouse or dependent children (if a widowed active Participant) begin the month after your death, provided application is made for benefits. However, your surviving spouse may elect to defer payment of the survivor benefit until the date you would have reached Normal Retirement Age (age 65). If the actuarial lump sum value of the Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Pension is $5,000 or less, the benefit may be paid as a Lump Sum Payment. If your surviving spouse dies before payments begin, no further payments will be made to a beneficiary. However, if you are a widowed active Participant, benefits may be paid to your dependent children as described above.

Pre-Retirement Death Benefit

If you die before you retire under the Plan, your beneficiary is eligible for the Pre-Retirement Death Benefit if, at the time of your death, you:

• Had at least 5 Pension Credits; and

• Worked in Covered Employment for at least 500 hours during the calendar year in which you died or in the calendar year immediately before your death.

The Pre-Retirement Death Benefit is separate from either the Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Pension or Dependent Child Pension and will be paid, if available, even if one of those benefits is also being paid.

If you had at least 10 Pension Credits before your death, the death benefit is $1,000 per year of service, up to a maximum of $20,000 after 20 years. If you had at least five, but less than 10 Pension Credits, the death benefit is:

After Your Pension Begins

If you die after your pension begins, your spouse may receive a benefit, depending on the form of payment you were receiving.

If your pension is paid as a:

• Single Life Pension, Single Life Pension and Level Income Option, or Single Life Pension and Lump Sum Readjustment Allowance, no further benefits are paid.

• 50% or 75% Participant and Spouse Pension, your surviving spouse receives 50% or 75%, as applicable, of your monthly pension for the rest of his or her life.

• 50% or 75% Participant and Spouse Pension and Lump Sum Readjustment Allowance, your surviving spouse receives 50% or 75%, as applicable, of your monthly pension for the rest of his or her life.

• 50% or 75% Participant and Spouse Pension and Level Income Option, your spouse will receive 50% or 75%, as applicable, of your original (before the adjustment for the Level Income Option) monthly pension for the rest of his or her life.

• Lump Sum Payment, no further benefits are paid.

Post-Retirement Death Benefit

If you retire with at least 10 Pension Credits and you die, your designated beneficiary will receive a lump sum death benefit. This benefit is in addition to any form of death benefit you might have elected at the time you commenced your pension. If you are married, your designated beneficiary for the lump sum death benefit may be someone other than your spouse, only if your spouse consents in writing to the beneficiary.

The amount of the lump sum death benefit is equal to $1,000 per Pension Credit, up to a maximum benefit of $20,000. This benefit is reduced by any pension payments received before your death, to a minimum benefit of $2,000. If you elected the Lump Sum Readjustment Allowance, the amount will be subtracted from the lump sum death benefit but not below the $2,000 minimum benefit amount.

Designating Your Beneficiary

You may designate a beneficiary to receive any pension benefits in the event of your death. In general, if you are married, your spouse is your beneficiary. If you are married and name someone other than your spouse as your beneficiary, your spouse must consent in writing to this designation.

If you do not have a designated beneficiary, the death payments may be paid to your:

• Surviving spouse, or if none;

• Dependent children in equal shares, or if none;

• Non-dependent children in equal shares, or if none;

• Parents, or if none;

• Executor or personal representative in accordance with your will or state law applicable to the distribution of intestate estates.

Please note that surviving spouses and alternate payees cannot name beneficiaries.

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