Eligibility, Credits, and Vesting
Individuals working for employers that are signatory to a Collective Bargaining Agreement with Local 478 are eligible to receive contributions to the Pension Fund; individuals who are performing work described in the Collective Bargaining Agreement are eligible to have such contributions paid on their behalf.
Prior to the Plan Year that began on October 1, 2001, Members earned Pension Credits in two-tenth increments, up to a maximum of one credit per Plan Year for 1,400 or more hours of work. After October 1, 2001, Members began earning Pension Credits in one-tenth increments of 140 hours each, up to a maximum of 1.2 credits for 1,680 hours.
Vesting
The Plan's vesting rules have changed over time, and whether you have achieved vested status depends upon whether you met the rule in effect when you were a participant under the Plan. Currently, Members become vested upon earning five years of vesting service (840 or more hours in a Plan Year).
Once you have become vested, benefits you have earned and continue to earn cannot be lost via a break-in-service. This Plan employs two distinct types or breaks-in-service: Vesting Breaks and Pension Rate Breaks. Vesting Breaks are the more serious and involve two types: Temporary and Permanent.
Temporary Break
If you have not yet become vested in your benefit and you complete less than 140 hours of service in a Plan Year (300 hours for periods prior to October 1, 2001), you will be deemed to have incurred a temporary break-in-service as of the last day of that Plan Year. At that point, you will cease to be a Plan Participant.This occurs when the number of Plan Years in which you complete less than 140 hours of service (300 hours for periods prior to October 1, 2001) equals or exceeds the greater of six, or the number of years of vesting service you earned prior to your temporary break. At that point, you will be deemed to have incurred a permanent break-in-service, and you will permanently lose any pension credits or years of vesting service you accumulated before the break-in-service.
Permanent Break
This occurs when the number of Plan Years in which you complete less than 140 hours of service (300 hours for periods prior to October 1, 2001) equals or exceeds the greater of six, or the number of years of vesting service you earned prior to your temporary break. At that point, you will be deemed to have incurred a permanent break-in-service, and you will permanently lose any pension credits or years of vesting service you accumulated before the break-in-service.
Pension rate breaks
If you stop working in Covered Employment and later return to Covered Employment, you may have what is called a pension rate break, meaning that the benefit rate applied to pension credits earned in your earlier employment will be different from the benefit rate applied to credits earned during your later employment (see page 22 of your Pension SPD for more information as to how a pension rate break may impact the calculation of your pension benefit).
- You will not be considered to have a pension rate break if the following conditions are met:
- You can demonstrate that you were actively seeking work in Covered Employment (including registering for work with the Union Referral Office)
- You worked at least one day (8 hours) in Covered Employment in at least half of the Benefit Years in which you failed to earn less than the required portion of a pension credit
- You earn an additional five (5) pension credits after your return to Covered Employment.
Remember that it is possible to have multiple pension rate breaks, meaning that different benefit rates may apply to the pension credits you have earned over your working career.