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Pension Fund Summary Plan Description (SPD) |
Definitions
The following definitions may be helpful in understanding the benefits which are provided, your rights under the Plan, and various related topics.
BREAK IN SERVICE
A one-year break in service occurs if you do not work the required minimum number of weeks in a Calendar Year. A permanent break in service may occur if you have five consecutive one-year breaks in service. This is explained in detail
on page 8. If you have a permanent break in service, you lose your status as a Participant under the Plan.
CALENDAR YEAR
Calendar year is the annual period between January 1 and December 31, and is used for computing a Year of Vesting Service and Pension Credit. It is also the fiscal year of the Plan for accounting and governmental reporting.
CONTRIBUTION PERIOD
Contribution period is the period during which an Employer is required, in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement, to make contributions to the Fund for work in Covered Employment. The Collective Bargaining Agreements of
Local No. 701 with contributing Employers specify the date on which pension contributions were first required.
COVERED EMPLOYMENT
If you work for an Employer who is required to contribute to the Pension Fund for the hours you work in a job covered by a written agreement, you are considered working in Covered Employment.
For periods of time prior to the date that contributions to the Pension Fund were first required, Covered Employment means employment with an Employer, which would now result in contributions being paid to the Fund.
EMPLOYEE
If you work for an Employer who is required to contribute to the Pension Fund for your work in accordance with a written agreement providing for such contributions, you are eligible to participate in the Plan.
EMPLOYER
If the Employer you work for is required to contribute to the Pension Fund in accordance with a written agreement providing for such contributions, he or she is an Employer under the Plan.
HOURS OF WORK
An hour of work is each hour for which you are paid or entitled to be paid by a contributing Employer for your performance of work duties, including back pay. In addition, if you work for a contributing Employer in a job not covered by
this Plan and that non-Covered Employment is continuous (immediately before or after) employment with that same Employer in Covered Employment, your hours of work in that non-covered job on or after January 1, 1976 will also be counted
as hours of work. Generally, an hour of work is used to determine participation in the Plan, breaks in service and vesting service. Hours of work are also counted for Pension Credits but only if such hours are for work in Covered
Employment for which contributions are required to be paid to the Fund.
PARTICIPANT
A Participant is an Employee covered by the Pension Plan. To become a Participant, you must work for an Employer who is required to make contributions to the Pension Plan on your behalf pursuant to the terms and conditions of a
collective bargaining agreement. Becoming a Participant does not necessarily mean that you will qualify for pension benefits. In order to qualify, you must earn a certain number of Pension Credits or years of vesting service.
PENSION CREDITS
Pension Credits are units used to measure your work in Covered Employment in order to qualify for pension benefits and to determine your benefit amount. Pension Credits before the contribution period, based on the number of weeks of
work in Covered Employment before the contribution period, are called past service. Pension Credits during the contribution period, earned by weeks of work for which contributions are required to be paid to the Pension Fund, are called
future service.
PERIOD OF ACCRUAL
A Period of Accrual begins when you first earn Pension Credit and ends at the start of any two consecutive Calendar Years in which you do not earn at least 1/4 Pension Credit. A new Period of Accrual begins when you again earn Pension
Credit.
All the Pension Credits earned during any one Period of Accrual will be given the same benefit value at retirement. This means that if you have more than one Period of Accrual, all your Pension Credits may not have the same benefit
value at retirement.
RETIREMENT
The period after you qualify and apply for a pension under the Plan and start to receive monthly pension payments is considered retirement. You must not work in certain types of employment which are prohibited.
NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE
Normal retirement age is the earlier of attainment of age 62 with 10 years of continuous participation, or attainment of age 65 with 5 years of continuous participation.
UNION
When reference is made to the Union, it means Automobile Mechanics’ Local No. 701, affiliated with the International Association of Machinists, AFL-CIO.
YEARS OF VESTING SERVICE
You earn a Year of Vesting Service by working in Covered Employment for 20 or more weeks in a Calendar Year. When you become “vested” (see page 8) you cannot lose your right to a pension in the future.
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