A disability pension is available to Members who are totally and permanently disabled, regardless of age, and who have at least 9.0 pension credits and 10 years of vesting service. You also must have earned at least one-tenth (.01) of a pension credit (two-tenths (.02) credits prior to October 1, 2001) for your work in covered employment in one of the two Plan Years immediately preceding the Plan Year in which you became disabled.

Solely for purposes of satisfying this requirement, hours worked in the jurisdiction of a related plan for an employer obligated to contribute to that plan will be counted.

If the Member is younger than the normal retirement age of 62 years when he takes his disability pension, his benefits are reduced. Because the Plan subsidizes the benefit, however, the reduction is not as significant as under an Early Pension.

Totally and permanently disabled means that, because of bodily injury or illness, you are wholly prevented from engaging in any further gainful employment in any occupation whatsoever (except employment found by the Board of Trustees for the purpose of rehabilitation), and that this disability is expected to be permanent and continuous for the rest of your life. Generally, a disability award from the Social Security Administration is sufficient evidence for purposes of qualifying for a Disability Pension.

A participant who is receiving an early retirement pension may be eligible to convert it to a disability pension in certain limited circumstances. Requirements include notifying the Trustees of your intention to convert the pension at the time you submit your application along with proof you have applied for benefits from the Social Security Administration.

You have 12 months after your effective date to receive an approval from the Social Security Administration, at which time the Fund Office will convert your Early Pension to a Disability Pension.

Other Benefits

Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Benefit: For your spouse to be eligible for this benefit, you must have been married for at least the 12 months immediately preceding the date of your death. If you are age 55 or older at the time of your death, the lifetime monthly benefit payable to your spouse will be equal to 50 percent of the monthly pension amount you would have received if you had retired on a husband-and-wife pension the day before you died, with an age-related adjustment if you had not yet reached normal retirement age. If you died before reaching age 55, the benefit will be computed as if you were age 55.

Pre-Retirement Death Benefit for Children: The death benefit for children is payable only if you are not married when you die and no Qualified Domestic Relations Order is in effect regarding your benefits under the Plan.

The pre-retirement death benefit for children will be a monthly benefit equal to one-half of the regular or early retirement pension you would have received if you had retired on the day before your death and selected the Five-Year Certain and Life Pension as your payment option (if you died before reaching age 55, the benefit will be computed as if you were age 55). That amount will be divided evenly among your eligible children at the time. These include unmarried natural or adopted children who have not reached age 18 as of the first of the month.

Payments will be made to the parent or legal guardian of the eligible child(ren) and will stop when a child reaches age 18 or marries, or dies, if sooner. Stopping of the benefit to one child will not cause the amount paid to any other child to increase.

Pro Rata Pension: If your employment has been with employers contributing to other pension plans, it can prevent you from accumulating the pension credits you need to be eligible for a Local 478 pension. It could also cause your pension benefit to be lower than it would be otherwise. In such instances you will be able to vest and eventually receive a pension benefit even if you do not meet this Plan's vesting standard, provided that when your work in Local 478's geographic jurisdiction is combined with the work you performed in other jurisdictions.

Minimum Required Distribution: You must start receiving your pension no later than April 1 of the year following the year you reach age 73. If you are still working, this does not mean you have to stop working.