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Important
Basics About the Plan, page 1
Important
Basics About the Plan, page 2
SERVICE
CREDITS & VESTING CHART
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| SERVICE
CREDITS |
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The
terms "Pension Credit" and "Current Service Credit" are
interchangeable and mean the
same thing. For the purposes of
these pages, we have used the term "Current Service Credit" to
distinguish from "Prior Service Credit".
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Prior
Service:
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You
will earn one Prior Service Credit for each Plan Year
prior to June 1, 1960, during which you worked at least 1,200 hours in the kind
of job which was then included in the Collective Bargaining Agreements in the
area covered by the Plan. (Partial credit is granted on the basis of 1/1200
credit for each hour of work during these years.) There is a maximum of 20 Prior
Credits.
Since
it may be difficult for you to establish clear evidence of years of
service between May 1, 1939, and June 1, 1960, the Trustees may accept records
of Union membership as evidence of your employment.
Prior Service Credit is also granted for service in the Armed Forces of
the U.S. from 1940-1947, and 1950-1956, provided you were employed in
one of the classifications included in the Collective Bargaining Agreements in
the geographic area covered by the Plan immediately before induction and
within one year after a discharge which was other than dishonorable. |
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Current
Service:
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On
and after June 1, 1960, you earn a full Current Service
Credit for each 1,000 hours you work in Covered Employment for an Employer
contributing at the then-current master rate.
If you
work fewer than 1,000 hours, you receive partial Current Service
Credit on the basis of 1/1000 credit for each hour of such work.
If you work for an Employer contributing to the Plan at less than the
master rate, your Credit is prorated.
For a complete breakdown of the master rates since June 1, 1960, please
refer to Article II, Section 3 of the Rules and Regulations of the Plan.
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Credit
for Periods
of
Military Service: |
If
a participant re-enters covered employment in the Plan after December 13, 1994,
the Trustees will grant 30 hours or 3/100ths of a pension credit for each calendar
week the participant spent on active duty in the uniformed services during the
preceding absence from the Plan. The participant must meet the requirements established by the
Board of Trustees which are available from the Fund Office upon request. |
| Vesting: |
You
will be considered vested and will be eligible for a pension when you reach retirement age even if
you leave Covered Employment if, before any permanent break
in employment occurs, you meet one of the following requirements: |
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1.
You
have at least three (3) Pension Credits or have worked at
least 3,000 hours for
which contributions have been made to this
Plan on or before June 30, 1978, or |
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2.
You
have at least six (6) Pension Credits or have worked at
least 6,000 hours for
which contributions have been made to this
Plan on or before June 30, 1980, or |
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3.
You
have at least ten (10) Pension Credits or have worked
10,000 hours for which
contributions have been made to this Plan,
or |
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4.
You
have at least five (5) "Years of Service" (1,000+ hours
reported per
Plan Year) with at least one (1) hour reported after
June 30, 1999. |
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VESTING
CHART
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Time Period Reported
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Number
of Consecutive
Hours
of Current Service Required |
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Prior
to 6/30/78 |
3,000 |
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Prior
to 6/30/80 |
6,000 |
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Current
Rule |
10,000
hours or 5
"Years of Service" with one hour reported after June 30, 1999. |
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| NOTE: |
It is possible to be eligible for a
pension and not be vested. If you are not vested, a permanent break
in employment
can result in forfeiture.
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PAYMENT
RATES FOR SERVICE CREDITS
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The
rates for the various Plan Years from the beginning of the Plan to the present time are as follows: |
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Effective Date
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Prior
Service Credit |
Current
Service |
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June, 1960 |
$2.00 |
$ 1.50 |
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May, 1964 |
$3.00 |
$ 2.40 |
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July, 1966 |
$4.50 |
$ 3.65 |
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July, 1967 |
$7.20 |
$ 5.65 |
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July, 1968 |
$7.20 |
$ 7.95 |
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July, 1970 |
$7.20 |
$ 9.00 |
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July, 1971 |
$7.20 |
$11.00 |
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September, 1972 |
$8.00 |
$12.00 |
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July, 1973 |
$8.00 |
$15.50 |
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July, 1975 |
$8.00 |
$20.00 |
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December, 1978 |
$8.00 |
$22.00 |
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July, 1979 |
$8.00 |
$23.00 |
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January, 1981 |
$8.00 |
$24.00 |
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February, 1982 |
$8.00 |
$25.00 |
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July,
1982 |
$8.00 |
$26.00 |
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January, 1984 |
$8.00 |
$27.00 |
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August, 1985 |
$8.00 |
$29.00 |
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August,
1986 |
$8.00 |
$30.00 |
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August, 1987 |
$8.00 |
$31.00 |
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August,
1988 |
$8.00 |
$33.00 |
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August, 1989 |
$8.00 |
$34.00 |
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August, 1990 |
$8.00 |
$35.00 |
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August, 1991 |
$8.00 |
$36.00 |
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August, 1994 |
$8.00 |
$37.00 |
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February, 1997 |
$8.00 |
$39.00 |
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October, 1997 |
$8.00 |
$40.00 |
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August, 1998 |
$8.00 |
$45.00 |
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August, 1999 |
$8.00 |
$46.00 |
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February, 2000 |
$8.00 |
$47.00 |
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September,
2000 |
$8.00 |
$50.00 |
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November,
2001 |
$8.00 |
$54.00 |
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The following
examples may be helpful: |
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Example
1:
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You
have 12,000 hours of Current Service (or 12 Current Service Credits), but
incurred a break in
employment as of May 31, 1968. The
payment rate for Prior Credits on that date was $7.20. For Current Service
Credits, the payment rate was $5.65. However, you are not a Reciprocal
Pensioner, so the minimum payment rate is $8.00 for Prior Credits and
$12.00 for Current Service Credits. Assuming
you selected a Regular pension, you would receive $144.00 a month.
12
Current Service Credits x $12.00 = $144.00 |
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Example
2:
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You
have 8,000 hours of Current Service (or 8 Current Service Credits) reported between
July 1, 1972, and
June 30, 1979, but incurred a break in employment as of June 30, 1982.
The last hours reported were for June, 1979.
Three years with less than 500 hours reported would occur on June 30,
1982. The rate for Current
Service Credits on June 30, 1982, was $25.00. You would receive $200.00 a month.
8
Current Service Credits x $25.00 = $200.00
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Example
3:
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You
are vested but incurred a break in employment as of
June 30, 1976, with
5 Prior Credits and 10 Current Service Credits. Beginning in 1980 you are reported to the Plan again and
retire in March, 2000, with an additional 10 Current Service Credits.
During the period of the break, you were employed in another trade, so
there is no basis for a waiver of your break in employment. Your Prior Credits are payable at $8.00. The 10 Current
Service Credits reported between June, 1960 and the time the break
occurred are paid at $20.00 a credit which was the rate in effect on June
30,1976. The credits earned between
1980 and 2000 are not affected by the separation.
They are paid at the current rate of $47.00 a credit.
5
Current Service Credits x $ 8.00 =$ 40.00
10
Current Service Credits x $20.00 = 200.00
10
Current Service Credits x $47.00 = 470.00
Total
Regular Pension = 640.00 |
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PERMANENT BREAK
IN EMPLOYMENT AND
FORFEITURE OF SERVICE
CREDITS
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IMPORTANT:
If your Service Credits are NOT
VESTED and you incur a permanent break in employment as described below,
you will forfeit all Service Credits earned on or before the date of the
break. Your
eligibility
thereafter for benefits would be the same as if you were a new
Participant who had never previously participated in the Plan.
Vested
Participants should refer to the section on
Break in Employment.
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| A.
PRIOR TO JULY 1, 1976. |
General
Rule:
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A
permanent break in employment occurred if you did not receive
credit for at least 500
hours in three (3) consecutive Plan Years between June 1, 1960
and July 1, 1976. The
permanent break occurred on the last day of the third consecutive
Plan Year. Service
Credits accumulated prior to the break would be forfeited.
The first Plan Year in which a person is reported does
not count as a break year. |
Grace Periods:
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There
are certain periods which do not count as a permanent break in
employment.
Before July 1,1976, a participant could obtain a "grace-period" for the following
reasons. However, items 3 through 7 below were available
only during certain limited periods before 1976. Check
with the Fund Office because not all items were applicable to
all periods. |
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1. |
Temporary or Total Disability.
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2. |
Service in the Armed Forces of the United
States.
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3. |
Employment
as a superintendent. The
Trustees define a superintendent as a permanent employee of a signatory employer,
with no financial interest or stock ownership in the company,
who supervises building tradesmen (including Operating
Engineers) at the job site in the geographic area of the
Plan.* |
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4. |
Employment
as an Operating Engineer overseas for a contractor with a
pension agreement with this Trust.* |
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5. |
Employment
by an affiliated labor organization.
This applies to individuals who worked on the staff of
the Building Trades Department, the staff at the International
Union, etc. It
does NOT mean employment in another trade or craft. * |
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6. |
Employment
by a governmental or public agency in Southern California or
Southern Nevada as an Operating Engineer.* |
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7. |
Employment
outside the geographic area covered by the Plan.* |
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| *IMPORTANT;
#3, #4, #5, #6 and #7 do not apply for permanent breaks in employment which
occurred on or after July 1, 1976. |
| B. AFTER
JULY 1, 1976. |
General
Rule:
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A
"one-year-break-in-employment" is any Plan Year in which
you fail to work at least 500 hours under the
Plan.
Under the "one-for-one" rule, a participant with
one full Year of Service (or 1,000-hour year) will
have a break-in-employment on the last day of the first Plan Year
in which less than 500 hours are worked.
Likewise, a participant with two full (less than three)
Years of Service (or between 2,000 and 3,000 hours under the
Plan) will have a break-in-employment on the last day of the
second consecutive Plan Year in which less than 500 hours are
worked each year. The
same "one-for-one" limit on the number of
consecutive years the participant may work less than 500 hours
per year applies until such time as the Participant becomes
vested in accordance with Article II, Section 5 of the Plan.
As
of July 1, 1985, you must have at least 5 one-year
breaks before forfeiture can occur.
The
"one-for-one" rule may sometimes cause a
break-in-employment when the old rule in effect before July 1,
1976, would not cause a break.
Therefore, the Plan has provided a period of three
years between July 1, 1976, and June 30, 1979, in which you
are given the benefit of whichever of the two rules
will allow avoiding a break.
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Grace Periods:
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After
July 1, 1976, you may obtain a "grace
period" for periods of disability or military service.
After July 1, 1985, you may also obtain a
"grace period" for periods of maternity or paternity
leave. You should
contact the Fund Office if you think you qualify for a grace
period. |
Note:
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Payment
of Union dues does not have any effect on the break-in-
employment rules. Current Service Credits are not dependent
upon Union membership.
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