You are eligible for a Regular Pension if you are age 62 and have at least 10 Pension Credits, including at least four Pension Credits during the Contribution Period.
Pension Credits
The monthly amount of the Regular Pension is determined by multiplying your total Pension Credits by the benefit accrual rate in effect on the date you separated from Covered Employment as shown in the following table:
Date of Seperation from
Covered Employment |
Accrual Rate per Pension Credit |
Maximum Pension Credit |
| July 1, 1976 to August 31, 1978 |
$12.00 |
25 |
| September 1, 1978 to August 31, 1980 |
$13.00 |
25 |
| September 1, 1980 to January 31, 1981 |
$14.50 |
25 |
| February 1, 1981 to December 31, 1981 |
$15.00 |
25 |
| January 1, 1982 to June 30, 1983 |
$15.00 |
30 |
| July 1, 1983 to June 30, 1984 |
$16.00 |
30 |
| July 1, 1984 to March 31, 1985 |
$17.00 |
30 |
| April 1, 1985 to March 31, 1986 |
$18.00 |
30 |
| April 1, 1986 to March 31, 1987 |
$19.00 |
30 |
| April 1, 1987 to March 31, 1988 |
$20.00 |
31 |
| April 1, 1988 to December 31, 1988 |
$21.00 |
33 |
| January 1, 1989 to March 31, 1989 |
$22.00 |
33 |
| April 1, 1989 to March 31, 1990 |
$23.00 |
33 |
| April 1, 1990 to March 31, 1991 |
$24.00 |
34 |
| April 1, 1991 to March 31, 1992 |
$25.00 |
36 |
| April 1, 1992 to march 31, 1993 |
$26.00 |
38 |
| April 1, 1993 to June 30, 1993 |
$27.00 |
40 |
| July 1, 1993 to March 31, 1996 |
$29.00 |
40 |
| April 1, 1996 to March 31, 1997 |
$31.00 |
Unlimited |
| April 1, 1997 to March 31, 1998 |
$35.00 |
Unlimited |
| April 1, 1998 to March 31, 1999 |
$37.00 |
Unlimited |
| April 1, 1999 to March 31, 2000 |
$39.50 |
Unlimited |
| April 1, 2000 to March 31, 2001 |
$42.50 |
Unlimited |
| April 1, 2001 and after |
$43.50 |
Unlimited |
If you retired before March 1, 2005, only full pension credits were used to calculate the amount of your pension. For retirements on or after March 1, 2005, full and fractional pension credits are used to calculate the amount of your pension.
If you left Covered Employment before July 1, 1976, your benefit amount will be determined based on the provisions of the Plan Document in effect at that time. For more information, contact the Fund Office.
However, if you have a separation from Covered Employment and subsequently return to Covered Employment, the accrual rate for your Pension Credits will be the rate in effect upon your return, provided you earn at least three Pension Credits during your return (one Pension Credit before 1990). If you earn less than the required number of Pension Credits during your return (three beginning in 1990; one before 1990), the accrual rate for Pension Credits earned before the separation will be the rate in effect when you separated and the accrual rate for Pension Credits earned during your return will be the current rate in effect for these credits.
Determining Your Separation Date
Your pension is determined under the terms of the Plan in effect at the time you separate from Covered Employment. To determine the accrual rate per Pension Credit that applies to you, you must determine when you separated from Covered Employment.
You separate from Covered Employment as of the end of a two consecutive Calendar Year period during which you do not earn at least one minimum unit of Pension Credit (1/12 of a Pension Credit beginning in 1990; before 1990, 1/4 of a Pension Credit).
If you have not previously separated from Covered Employment when you retire, the date of your Retirement will be used for purposes of determining your accrual rate per Pension Credit. In the case of
separation from Covered Employment before July 1, 1976, the accrual rate can be obtained from the Fund Office.
Special Service Credits
For Calendar Years 2000 and after, you will also receive Special Service Credits to be included when determining the amount of your pension. Before January 1, 2011, you earned Special Service Credits for every 300 hours of work in Covered Employment beyond 1,200 hours in a Calendar Year. Beginning January 1, 2011, you earn Special Service Credits for every 300 hours of work in Covered Employment for which contributions are actually made beyond 1,200 hours in a Calendar Year. Special Service Credits are earned for Calendar Years beginning on or after January 1, 2000, as follows:
| Hours of Work in Covered Employment During Calendar Year |
Special Service Credit |
| Up to 1,500 |
0 |
| 1,500 - 1,799 |
1 |
| 1,800 - 2,099 |
2 |
| 2,100 or more |
3 |
You can earn a maximum of three Special Service Credits in a Calendar Year. Special Service Credits are used to determine the amount of your pension from the Plan, but don’t count toward eligibility for any type of pension from the Plan.
The value of the Special Service Credits is determined by multiplying the number of Special Service Credits earned in a Calendar Year on or after January 1, 2000 by the Accrual Rate for Special Service Credit for that year as follows:
Examples of Calculating Regular Pension Amounts The following examples assume the Employee elects a 60-Month Guarantee without any other optional form of payment under the Plan. The amount of a pension paid in a Husband-and-Wife form would be somewhat lower than the amounts shown in the examples. For more information about forms of payment, see Choosing a Payment Option.
EXAMPLE 1: You retire on January 1, 2011 at age 62 with a total of 41 Pension Credits. Your accrual rate per Pension Credit is $43.50 because you had no previous separation from Covered Employment. You also earned 30 Special Service Credits (three Service Credits in each year from 2000 through 2010). Therefore, your monthly Regular Pension is determined as follows:
| $43.50 |
X |
41 Pension Credits |
= |
$1,783.50 |
| $3.00 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2000) |
= |
9.00 |
| $3.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2001) |
= |
10.50 |
| $3.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2002) |
= |
10.50 |
| $5.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2003) |
= |
16.50 |
| $5.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2004) |
= |
16.50 |
| $5.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2005) |
= |
16.50 |
| $5.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2006) |
= |
16.50 |
| $5.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2007) |
= |
16.50 |
| $5.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2008) |
= |
16.50 |
| $5.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2009) |
= |
16.50 |
| $5.50 |
X |
3 Special Service Credits (2010) |
= |
16.50 |
| |
|
|
|
$1,945.50 |
EXAMPLE 2: You retire on July 1, 2011 at age 62. You separated from Covered Employment as of January 1, 1991 at which time you had earned 20 Pension Credits and subsequently returned to work in 2009 and earned two Pension Credits. Your pension amount is $567.00, the sum of $480.00 (20 Pension Credits x $24.00, the rate in effect January 1, 1991) and $87.00 (2 Pension Credits x $43.50, the rate in effect when you retire in 2010.) If you earn six Special Service Credits (three in 2009 and 2010), your Regular Pension would receive an additional $33.00, which would increase your pension to $600.00.
If the resulting amount of pension is not an exact multiple of $.50, it is rounded to the next higher $.50 multiple.