| Q. |
| A. | An employee of a Contributing Employer will become a Participant when he begins employment under the collective bargaining agreement between the Construction Unit of the Union and the Association, or under any other agreement that requires his Employer to make contributions for his benefit under the Plan. |
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| Q. |
| A. | The Annuity Plan year runs from April 1 of any year to March 31 of the following year. Please be aware that the last Sunday of the month ends that month, for example, March 30, 2014 is the last Sunday for March and therefore ends the month. March 31, 2014 is considered as April 2014 hours. |
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| Q. |
| A. | Once your first month's contributions are received, the Annuity Plan will send your contributions to Empower, the Plan's service provider. You can access your account at empowermyretirement.com or by calling 833-569-2433. You will automatically be enrolled in the Age-Based Fund based on your estimated retirement date. |
| Q. |
| A. | There are no vesting requirements for the Annuity Plan. Once your contributions come in they are credited to your account although access is limited to the options discussed below. |
| Q. |
| A. | Each member has their own account in which they can invest in any way they choose based on the Funds available in the Plan. When you are first enrolled your contributions are placed in the Age-Based Fund based on your estimated retirement date. In order to change this, you can log onto the Empower website at empowermyretirement.com or call Empower at 833-569-2433. Please contact Empower for a list of available investments as well. |
| Q. |
| A. | Please contact Empower at 833-569-2433. |
| Q. |
| A. | There are several circumstances where you may be eligible to withdraw money from your account:
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upon retirement,
- if you are unemployed,
- if you are disabled,
- or if you leave the local.
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| Q. |
| A. | If you are laid off and expect to be out for a while, you can take an unemployment draw on your account. The withdrawal can be in the increments of $300, $600, $900, or $1200. The Federal government automatically withholds 20% for federal taxes. If you are under the age of 59 ½ you may also have a 10% penalty added to your taxes when you file. If it is your first month taking a draw, you must have spousal consent and her signature notarized in order to take the unemployment draw. If you are single, your signature must be notarized also. If you take a draw in consecutive months, spousal consent and notarized signatures are not necessary. Once you have not taken a draw for a month, you must start the application process over, with spousal consent and notarized signatures. You must also be a member in good standing meaning, you are signing the out of work books and your dues are paid. Otherwise, your withdrawal request may be denied. Your requests are due by the 20th of the month and you can expect to receive your payment the first week of the following month. If the 20th is on the weekend, the forms are due the Friday before. |
| Q. |
| A. | Please follow the same process as above, if you only plan on returning to work once you recover from your disability or injury. |
| Q. |
| A. | If you have received a Social Security Award you may be eligible to retire from the annuity and would then follow the guidelines of the retirees. |
| Q. |
| A. | You can take a complete closeout of your Annuity if you are leaving the Union. You must have not worked for 365 Days, must not be signing the out of work book, and cannot have taken any withdrawals for your account for 365 days. Please call the Fund Office or see the paperwork on the forms page of this website. |
| Q. |
| A. | You are considered a Retiree from the Annuity Plan when you become retired from the Pension Plan. If you are permanently disabled and have received a Social Security Income award, you are considered retired the day your SSI award becomes effective. |
| Q. |
| A. | As a retiree, you have a few options on withdrawals. You can choose to close out your entire account with a cash payout (subject to tax), a rollover, or a combination there of. You can also choose to take a monthly withdrawal on your account that you will receive on the first day of each month. You can also, take up to 4 ‘extra’ withdrawals a year. The requests for these withdrawals must be made by the 15th of the month, and you can expect to receive the payout the first week of the following month. If the 15th falls on the weekend, the requests are due the Friday before. Notarized spousal consent is required in order to take any of these draws if you are married. |
| Q. |
| A. | If you have not received your withdrawal after the first full week of the month, please call the Fund Office. If there is a question about whether you qualified for the draw you may call sooner. All withdrawals are made out in check form and are mailed from Empower. Arrival should take place, no later than the first full week of the month. |
| Q. |
| A. | Yes, if you have a balance in the Plan you may be eligible to take a loan on your account. You can take 50% of your account up to $50,000. The smallest loan amount is $1,000. The interest rate on the loan will be the prime rate determined on the first day of the month you take the loan plus 1%. Please contact Empower at 833-569-2433 in order to begin the loan process. If you are married, you must have spousal consent in order to take the loan. You can also start this process via the website at empowermyretirement.com . |
| Q. |
| A. | Your balance may be left to the beneficiaries you designate. Please fill out an Annuity Beneficiary form and have it on filed at the Fund Office. Note; if you filled out your Beneficiary form prior to you turning age 35 it should be redone once you reached 35. |
| Q. |
| A. | By filling out the appropriate beneficiary form. |
| Q. |
| A. | If you and your spouse agree that he/she is entitled to a portion of your Annuity due to a divorce, you should contact the Fund Office for the Qualified Domestic Relation Order (QDRO) paperwork. It is your responsibility to make sure the paperwork follows the divorce decree exactly. Once the paperwork is received and approved by the Trustees, the monies will be paid out in a timely fashion. |
| Q. |
| A. | Depends upon the benefit, please see the Forms section for Annuity. You can also contact the Fund Office with any questions. |