An Employee's monthly Calculated Benefit as that term is used in this Pension Plan shall be the sum of his Past Service Benefits and his Future Service Benefits
determined in the following manner:
(a) Past Service Benefits. For each year of Credited Past Service, not in excess of ten years, the benefit will be $5.00 per month. Past service
shall be determined in accordance with paragraph 6.02.
(b) Future Service Benefits. The monthly Future Service Benefit for all Service rendered on or after January 1, 1970 shall be 2.0% of all
contributions made or required to be made for that period.
(c) Maximum Annual Benefit. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the Monthly Calculated Benefit payable to a Participant
under this plan in a calendar year shall equal the lesser of ninety thousand dollars divided by twelve ($90,000 ¸ 12) or one hundred percent (100%) of the Participant's average monthly compensation over the three
consecutive calendar years during which the Employee had the greatest aggregate compensation from all Employers. The Maximum Annual Benefit under this Plan shall also be reduced to the extent such monthly benefit
may violate any other provisions of Section 415 of the Code or for any regulations issued thereunder and the ninety thousand dollar ($90,000) limitation shall be increased as provided in the Internal Revenue Code.
V.2 Normal Retirement Benefit
Upon Normal Retirement, an Employee "who is married," will be entitled to a Normal Retirement Benefit which will be a monthly annuity equal to the actuarial
equivalent of his Monthly Calculated Benefit and payable in the form of a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity. If he or she is not married at his date of retirement, or he has elected not to take a 50% Joint and
Survivor Annuity, then an Employee will be entitled to a monthly annuity which will be the actuarial equivalent of his Monthly Calculated Benefit.
V.3 Early Retirement Benefit
Upon early
retirement, an employee's monthly annuity and, if applicable, his qualified spouse's annuity after his death, shall be equal to the Normal Retirement Benefit earned to the date of Early Retirement, reduced by ½ of 1%
for each month that such date of Early Retirement precedes his 65th birthday.
V.4 Late Retirement Benefit
Upon Late Retirement an Employee's monthly benefit, and if applicable, his qualified
spouse's monthly benefit, shall be calculated in the same manner as are Normal Retirement Benefits taking into consideration Future Service Benefits, if any, earned after becoming eligible for Normal Retirement Benefits.
V.5 Disability Retirement Benefit
(1) The benefit payable for Disability Retirement shall be equal to such disabled Employee's Normal Retirement Benefit earned to the date of his
Disability Retirement.
(2) The Disability Retirement Benefit is payable in addition to workman's compensation, Social Security, or any other benefits to which the Employee may be entitled.
V.6 Application for Retirement
Retirement benefit payments under this Plan will become payable to, or on behalf of vested Employees or former Employees as of the first of the month immediately following receipt of
the Employee's written application requesting the commencement of such retirement benefit payments or as soon thereafter as such recipient is otherwise eligible to receive the particular Normal, Early, Late or
Disability Retirement Benefit.
A Participant who has a vested benefit under the Plan and who has become a 5% or more owner who has elected to defer retirement benefits beyond Normal Retirement, shall nonetheless be
required to commence receiving Late Retirement Benefits not later than the April 1st following the calendar year in which such Participant obtains age 70½. No other Participant shall be required to begin receiving
benefits on that date.
V.7 Normal Form of Retirement Benefit Payments
The normal form of retirement benefits payable under this Plan is a monthly annuity commencing on the date of the Employee's
Normal, Early, Late or Disability Retirement and continuing at ½ of that amount to his Qualified Spouse upon his death. The last monthly payment shall be for the month in which the Employee's death occurs, or if he is
survived by a Qualified Spouse, for the month in which her death occurs. However, if the total amount paid on behalf of an Employee is less than 60 times the monthly life annuity he was receiving upon
retirement, then the difference shall be paid in accordance with Paragraph 5.13.
V.8 Optional Forms of Retirement Benefit
In lieu of the normal form of Retirement Benefit provided in Paragraphs
5.02 and 5.08, a retiring Employee may elect any of the following options on an actuarially equivalent basis:
(1) Modified Joint and Survivor Annuity with Qualified Spouse
In lieu of the Joint and
Survivor Annuity provided in Paragraphs 5.02 and 5.08, an Employee may elect a monthly annuity which will be continued to be paid after his death in the same amount each month, or at 3/4 of that amount, to his qualified
spouse. If his qualified spouse dies before the Employee retires, the Normal Retirement Benefit as set forth in Paragraphs 5.02 and 5.08 will become payable to the Employee, but the Employee shall be free to again
elect another optional benefit as provided hereunder.
(2) Joint and Survivor Annuity with Other than Qualified Spouse
An Employee may elect a monthly annuity commencing on his retirement date and continuing
after his death in the same amount, 3/4 thereof, or ½ thereof, as the Employee may elect, to the joint annuitant designated by the Employee, provided the joint annuitant survives the Employee. If the joint
annuitant dies before the Employee retires, the Normal Retirement Benefits as set forth in Paragraphs 5.02 and 5.08 will become payable as if this Joint and Survivor Annuity had not been elected, but the Employee shall
be free to again elect another optional retirement benefit as provided hereunder. This option may only be elected with the consent of the Employee's spouse if he is married at the time of such election. If
he later marries, any such election made prior to his marriage shall be deemed revoked.
(3) Benefit Equal to Monthly Calculated Benefit
In lieu of the Joint and Survivor Annuity provided in
Paragraph 5.02 and 5.08, an Employee may elect a monthly annuity payable at retirement, which will be equal to his Monthly Calculated Benefit.
(4) Level Income Option
An Employee who retires prior
to age 62 may elect to receive his benefits in the form of an adjusted annuity payable in a greater amount during the period before becoming eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62 and a correspondingly reduced
amount, actuarially determined, after becoming eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62, such that the total income, including both the adjusted benefit payable under this Plan and the Social Security benefit to
which such person shall be entitled, shall be as nearly uniform as possible both before and after becoming eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62.
(5) Pop-Up Option
An Employee may elect a
monthly annuity commencing on his retirement date and continuing after his death in the same amount, 3/4 thereof, or ½ thereof, as the Employee may elect, to the joint annuitant designated by the Employee, provided that
the joint annuitant survives the Employee. If the joint annuitant dies before the Employee but after the Employee retires, the amount of the monthly annuity shall increase to the amount payable as a single life
benefit at the time of retirement to reflect the death of the joint annuitant. The amount of the monthly annuity under this form of benefit shall be less than that provided under other joint and survivor annuity
options to reflect the actuarial cost of this benefit.
Notwithstanding the preceding, if the total number of payments made under this option to both the employee and his designated beneficiary is less than 60, the
payments being made as of the date of death of the survivor of the Employee or the Employee's beneficiary, shall be continued at the rate in effect as of the date of the death of the survivor until 60 monthly payments
have been made in the aggregate under this benefit option. The Trustees may, in their discretion, either continue to make the remaining payments for the remainder of the 60 months, or pay such amount out in
accordance with the provisions of paragraph 5.13.
(6) Roll-Over Distributions
Notwithstanding any provision of this Plan to the contrary, a distributee may elect at the time and in the manner
prescribed by the Trustees, to have any portion of an eligible roll-over distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan specified by the distributee in a direct roll-over.
For this purpose, the following definitions shall apply:
1) Eligible Roll-Over Distribution. An eligible roll-over distribution is any distribution of all or a portion of the
balance to the credit of the distributee that has not previously been distributed from the Trust.
2) Eligible Retirement Plan. An eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement account,
an individual retirement annuity, an annuity plan or a qualified trust that accepts the distributee's eligible roll-over distribution. However, in the case of an eligible roll-over distribution to a surviving
spouse, an eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement account or an individual retirement annuity.
3) Distributee. A distributee includes a Participant or former Participant.
In addition, the Participant or former Participant's surviving spouse and the Participant or former Participant's spouse or former spouse who is an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order shall be
treated as distributees with regard to the interest of the spouse or former spouse.
4) Direct Roll-Over. A direct roll-over is a payment by the Plan to the eligible retirement plan specified by
the distributee.
V.9 Provisions Pertaining to all Joint and Survivor Annuity Payments and Other Options
The following provisions shall apply to all Joint and Survivor Annuity payments or
other options:
(1) Monthly payments terminate with the last payment due as of the month of the death of the Employee or joint annuitant, whichever occurs last.
(2) If a joint annuitant
predeceases the Employee after he retires, and if no further payments are to be made under Paragraph 5.08, then the joint and survivor payments shall cease upon the Employee's death.
(3) Determination of
the amount of benefit payments to be made under any of the options contained in this Plan shall be made by the Trustees on the basis of the advice of an enrolled actuary, taking into account all pertinent factors such
as age and sex of the Employee and if applicable) his contingent annuitant and using generally accepted mortality tables and actuarial assumptions.
The current actuarial assumptions are based upon the 1983 Group
Annuity Mortality Table for all Participants and all spouses of Participants, regardless of sex. Disability benefits are based on the 1944 Disabled Railway Employees Ultimate Mortality Table for
Participants. The interest assumption is six and three-quarters percent (6.75%) per annum computed annually.
(4) Any Joint and Survivor Annuity payable under this Plan except the one provided in
Paragraph 5.11 below, may be reduced by an amount which takes into account in any equitable manner (as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate) any increased costs resulting from providing Joint and
Survivor Annuity Benefits.
(5) At least thirty (30) days and no more than ninety (90) days before the Annuity Starting Date, the Trustees shall provide to the Participant a written explanation of: (i)
the terms and conditions of the Joint and Survivor Annuity, (ii) the Participant's right to make, and the effect of, an election to waive the Joint and Survivor Annuity, (iii) the right of the Participant's Spouse to
consent to any election to waive the Joint and Survivor Annuity, and (iv) the right of the Participant to revoke such election and the effect of such revocation. The Plan may provide the foregoing information by a
method other than mail delivery such as permanent posting at local Union Offices or publication in Union Newspapers, provided that such method is reasonably calculated to reach the attention of the Participant on or
about the dates prescribed in this Section 5.10(e).
V.10 Joint and Survivor Annuity Before Retirement
If a Participant was eligible for normal Retirement Benefits at the date of his death and dies
after reaching age sixty-five (65) and before retirement, or if an Employee was eligible for Early Retirement Benefits at his death, and dies after reaching the age of fifty-five (55) and before retirement, his
Qualified Spouse shall receive the 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity as provided in paragraphs 5.02 and 5.08. The benefit payable to his Qualified Spouse shall be the amount to which the spouse would be entitled if
the Employee had taken Normal Retirement or Early Retirement on the date before his death.
If an Employee would be eligible for Normal Retirement Benefits but has not reached age 55 prior to the date of his death, his
Qualified Spouse shall receive a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity as provided in Paragraph 5.09 (a) commencing in the month following the month in which such Participant would have reached age 55. The amount of such
annuity payment shall equal the benefits which such Employee's surviving spouse would have received if such Employee had separated from service on the date of death, survived until age 55, retired and elected a 50%
Joint and Survivor Annuity at age 55, and died on the next day.
The Trustees shall provide a written explanation of the Pre-Retirement Survivor Annuity to each Participant during whichever of the following periods
ends last:
(1) The period beginning with the first day of the Plan Year in which the Participant attains age 32 and ending with the close of the Plan Year preceding the Plan Year in which the Participant
attains age 35 or
(2) a reasonable period after the individual becomes a Participant.
V.11 Time of Election
Any election of the form of Retirement Benefit may be made, or if previously made,
changed, prior to an Employee's date of retirement. After that it may not be changed.
Failure by the Participant (or the Qualified Spouse in the event of death or if the form of distribution is other than a joint and
survivor annuity) to consent to an immediate distribution of any part of accrued benefit is an election to defer the required form of benefits to Normal Retirement Age. The consent of any nonspouse beneficiary
need not be obtained to revoke or change any options previously elected.
V.12 Payment of Guaranteed Benefits After Death
If the total amount paid on behalf of an Employee is
less than sixty times the monthly life annuity he was receiving upon retirement, then the difference shall be paid to his designated beneficiary, or if the designated beneficiary is then deceased, to the estate of the
designated beneficiary, or if the designated beneficiary predeceased the Employee, or the Employee failed to name a designated beneficiary, then to the Employee's estate. That difference shall be paid in monthly
payments over a period not in excess of 36 months, or the Trustees may, in their discretion, make a lump sum payment equal to the total balance due discounted to its present value on the date of payment.
V.13 Suspension of Payments During Reemployment
If an Employee commences Early, Normal or Late Retirement, but later returns to work for an Employer, or otherwise begins working in the Construction Industry, his
Retirement Benefit Payments will be forfeited as hereafter set forth until he later retires (as provided in Paragraph 8.04). Following his return to work he will earn no additional Retirement Benefits during any
Plan Year in which he fails to complete at least 500 Covered Hours of Employment. The foregoing sentence does not apply if retirement was for disability, and the Employee, immediately prior to return to work, was
receiving a Disability Retirement Benefit. A Pensioner shall be considered to have returned to work for an Employer during any month in which he earns over 40 Covered Hours of Employment. For purposes of
paragraphs 5.15 and 8.04 "Covered Hours of Employment" will include any hours that constitute "Working in the Construction Industry" within the jurisdiction of this Plan.
V.14 Small Payments
The Trustees shall have the right to pay to a retiring or terminating Participant or to any other beneficiary, in cash, in a single sum, the actuarial equivalent at time of termination of the
retirement income to which he or she is entitled hereunder in the event that the said retirement income is actuarially equivalent to less than the sum of $5,000.
For purposes of determining the present value of a lump
sum distribution, the interest rate assumptions used by the actuary shall not be greater than the rate used by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for valuing lump sum distributions upon man terminations. The
interest rate applicable to distributions to be made in any Plan Year shall be the rate in effect at the beginning of that Plan Year.
V.15 Spousal Consent
No employee may designate any beneficiary
other than his spouse as his primary beneficiary or elect not to receive payment in the normal form of a 50% qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity or a 50% qualified pre-retirement survivor annuity as provided for in
Sections 5.08 and 5.11 without the consent of his spouse unless:
(a) The Employee is not married; (b) the Employee's spouse cannot be located; or (c) other circumstances exist under which no spousal consent
is required in accordance with applicable IRS regulations.
Such spousal consent must specify the beneficiary and/or form of benefits elected, must be in writing, must acknowledge the effect of such election and must
be witnessed by a Plan Representative or a notary public. Spousal consent must be obtained within 90 days prior to the commencement of the payment of any benefits requiring spousal consent.
