Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Frequently Asked Pension Questions


Q. Who is eligible to participate in this Plan?
A. Any individual covered by the Union's Collective bargaining Agreement who is employed by a contributing employer
Q. What is a Plan Year?
A. (June 1 through May 31)
Q. When do I become vested?
A. When you acquire 500 or more  Hours of Service in any 3 consecutive Plan Years.
Q. What is a Year of Service?
A. A Plan Year (June 1 through May 31) in which you are credited with at least 100 Hours of Service.  An hour of Service is each hour for which you are entitled to compensation from your employer.
Q. When do I become eligible for benefits?
A. Upon reaching normal retirement age (62); Early Retirement (55) with five Years of Service or 5000 hours of service; Permanent Disability; Separation -  No hours of service within the industry during an 18 month period; or Participant's death.
Q. May I borrow against my Annuity Plan?
A. No
Q. How is my account invested?
A. The Trustees are responsible for selecting the appropriate investments(such as stocks, bonds, real estate, etc), but the Participant then have the option of choosing the investment vehicles in which their account balances will be invested.  If the Participant do not self-direct their investments, it will be placed in one or more investment vehicle selected by the Trustees. 
Q. How is my account valued?
A. Account balances are valued daily.  A quarterly statement is mailed to you reflecting any additions and/or subtractions from your account and the fair-market value of your account as of the last day of the quarter.
Q. What happens to my account when I die?
A. Your Surviving Spouse if you are married,  or if you are single, your designated beneficiary.
Q. How do I designate a Beneficiary for my Individual Account?
A. If you are married at the time of your death, your spouse will automatically be the beneficiary of all benefits due you, unless you elect otherwise.  If you are not married, an election form will have to be executed, designating a beneficiary to receive any death benefits.  If no beneficiary is designated, the following order of succesive individuals will be followed; spouse (if any), children, parents, brothers and/or sisters or the estate.
Q. What if I get divorced?
A. In case of any "qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), which requires the Plan to segregate and pay over certain benefits to an alternate payee, the Trustees may make an immediate payment of the QDRO benefit to the alternate payee, notwithstanding the fact that you are not yet eligible for benefits under the Plan.
Q. How do I apply for a benefit?
A. Benefits will be paid to Participants and their beneficiaries upon the completion of the appropriate forms.  All such forms can be requested from the Fund Office.