Summary Plan Description Table of Contents
Benefit Distributions
What are the benefits under the Vacation Fund?
Your benefit is the amount of Employer Contributions that are made on your behalf and received by the Fund.
When are benefits paid?
Your benefit will be paid on a monthly basis at the end of the month which is two full calendar months after the month during which the Employer Contribution made on your behalf was received by the Fund. For example, if the Fund receives contributions from you Employer on your behalf in February (ordinarily for work you performed in January), you will receive your benefit at the end of April.
How are benefits paid?
Benefits are paid exclusively by direct deposit in an account which you open in a bank designated by the Trustees for deposit of benefits. Currently, the designated banking institution is Amalgamated Bank of Chicago. You must open an account in the designated bank in order for your benefits to be paid.
What happens if a Participant does not open an account at the designated bank?
If a Participant fails to open an account at the designated bank, no benefit will be paid. The Participant will be sent a notice from the Trustees on the date when the Participant would otherwise be paid his initial monthly benefit informing him that he needs to open an account at the designated bank to receive his benefit and that if he fails to open an account within the six month period after the notice is sent, his benefit and all future benefits will be forfeited. If the Participant opens an account at the designated bank within the six month period after the notice is sent, benefits payable as of that date will be deposited in the account. If the Participant does not open an account within the six month period after the notice is sent, all benefits that were due to him in the past or that will later be payable to you are forfeited. These forfeited benefits are used for payment of administrative expenses of the Vacation Fund.
Will the Vacation Fund attempt to locate a missing Participant who fails to open an account at the designated bank?
Yes. The Trustees will take reasonable steps to locate a missing Participant if he fails to open an account at the designated bank and the Vacation Fund has an incorrect address or no address for him. These steps may include inquiry directed to the Participant’s home local, review of ERTS records and use of computerized search methods designed to locate missing Participants.
If my benefits are forfeited, can the Participant recover them in the future?
In most cases yes. If the Participant opens an account at the designated bank and applies to the Fund Office to receive his forfeited benefits, the Fund will provide him with the forfeited benefits if there are sufficient assets in the Fund’s Administrative Expenses Account to restore your forfeited benefits. In no case will benefits to other participants be reduced to restore forfeited benefits.
How are undistributed benefits paid to a Beneficiary in the case of the death of a Participant?
Upon the Fund’s receipt of proof of a Participant’s death, the full amount of the undistributed benefits for the Participant will be paid to the Participant’s Beneficiary. The Beneficiary is the person who would be entitled to receive a benefit in the event of the
Participant’s death under the I.B.E.W. Local No. 701 Vacation Fund. If no beneficiary is designated, the benefit will be paid to the Participant’s estate if a claim is made by the executor or administrator of your estate within two years of the Participant’s death. If there is no designated beneficiary and no claim is made by the Participant’s estate, the amount of the undistributed benefit will be forfeited. Benefits previously distributed to a Participant’s account at the designated bank are no longer plan assets and are distributed in accordance with the Participant’s will or applicable intestate succession laws.