Section 20: Statement of Rights Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act

As a participant in the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Local Union No. 73
Welfare Fund, you are entitled to certain rights and protections under the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). ERISA provides that all Plan participants are
entitled to the following rights.

Receive Information About Your Plan And Benefits

You have the right to:

• Examine, without charge, at the Fund Administrator’s office and at other specified locations,
  such as worksites and union halls, all documents governing the Plan. These include insurance
  contracts and collective bargaining agreements, and a copy of the latest annual report (Form
  5500 Series) filed by the Plan with the U.S. Department of Labor and available at the Public
  Disclosure Room of the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
  
  
• Obtain, upon written request to the Fund Administrator, copies of documents governing the
  operation of the Plan. These include insurance contracts and collective bargaining
  agreements, and copies of the latest annual report (Form 5500 Series) and updated summary
  plan description. The Fund Administrator may make a reasonable charge for the copies.
  
  
• Receive a summary of the Plan’s annual financial report. The Fund Administrator is required
  by law to furnish each participant with a copy of this summary annual report.
  

Continue Group Health Plan Coverage

You also have the right to:

• Continue health care coverage for yourself, spouse, or dependents if there is a loss of
  coverage under the Plan as a result of a qualifying event. You or your dependents may have
  to pay for such coverage. Review this summary plan description and the documents
  governing the Plan on the rules governing your COBRA continuation coverage rights.
  
• Reduce or eliminate exclusionary periods of coverage for preexisting conditions under your
  group health plan, if you have creditable coverage from another plan. You should be provided
  a certificate of creditable coverage, free of charge, from your group health plan or health
  insurance issuer when:
  
  
  • You lose coverage under the Plan,
    
    
  • You become entitled to elect COBRA continuation coverage, or
    
    
  • Your COBRA continuation coverage ceases.
    

    You must request the certificate of creditable coverage before losing coverage or within 24
    months after losing coverage. Without evidence of creditable coverage, you may be subject to
    a preexisting condition exclusion for 12 months (18 months for late enrollees) after your
    enrollment date in your coverage.
    
    

Prudent Actions By Plan Fiduciaries

In addition to creating rights for Plan participants, ERISA imposes duties upon the people who
are responsible for the operation of the employee benefit plan. The people who operate your Plan,
called “fiduciaries” of the Plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interest of you and other
Plan participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your employer, your union, or any other
person, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from
obtaining a welfare benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA.

Enforce Your Rights

If your claim for a welfare benefit is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you have a right to
know why this was done, to obtain copies of documents relating to the decision without charge,
and to appeal any denial, all within certain time schedules.

Under ERISA, there are steps you can take to enforce the above rights. For instance, if you
request a copy of the Plan documents or the latest annual report from the Plan and do not receive
them within 30 days, you may file suit in a federal court. In such a case, the court may require the
Fund Administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to $110 a day until you receive the
materials, unless the materials were not sent because of reasons beyond the control of the Fund
Administrator.

If you have a claim for benefits which is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you may file suit
in a state or federal court. In addition, if you disagree with the Plan’s decision or lack thereof
concerning the qualified status of a domestic relations order or a medical child support order, you
may file suit in federal court. If it should happen that Fund fiduciaries misuse the Plan’s money,
or if you are discriminated against for asserting your rights, you may seek assistance from the

U.S. Department of Labor, or you may file suit in a federal court. The court will decide who
should pay court costs and legal fees. If you are successful, the court may order the person you
have sued to pay these costs and fees. If you lose, the court may order you to pay these costs and
fees, for example, if it finds your claim is frivolous.

Assistance With Your Questions

If you have any questions about your Plan, you should contact the Plan Administrator. If you
have any questions about this statement or about your rights under ERISA, or if you need
assistance in obtaining documents from the Plan Administrator, you should contact the nearest
office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), U.S. Department of Labor,
listed in your telephone directory or:

The Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries
Employee Benefits Security Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

You may also obtain certain publications about your rights and responsibilities under ERISA by
calling the publications hotline of the Employee Benefits Security Administration. For single
copies of publications, contact the Employee Benefits Security Administration Brochure Request
Line at 800-998-7542 or contact the EBSA field office nearest you.

You may also find answers to your Plan questions at the website of the EBSA at
http://www.dol.gov/dol/ebsa/. A list of PWBA Field Offices is located at
http://www.dol.gov/dol/ebsa/aboutebsa.

Nothing in this statement is meant to interpret or extend or change in any way the provisions expressed in the Plan. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to amend, modify or discontinue all or part of this Plan whenever, in their judgment, conditions so warrant. In addition, the Board of Trustees reserves the right to initiate, increase and/or decrease self-contributions.