Retiree Pension Fund

When must my benefit payments from the Fund begin?

Regardless of whether you apply for benefits, the Fund will begin making benefit payments to you by the April 1st immediately following the calendar year in which you reach age 70-1/2. Internal Revenue Service regulations call this your "Required Beginning Date" to receive benefit payments from the Fund. If you fail to file a completed Application for Benefits on a timely basis, the Fund will establish your Required Beginning Date as the date your payments are to begin and start making the payments.

If you are an employee of a Local Union, distributions must commence no later than the April 1st following the later of:

  • the calendar year in which you reach age 70-1/2, or
  • the earlier of: (a) the calendar year in which you stop working for the Local Union for at least 32 hours of work per week on a consistent basis or (b) you retire.

What benefits are payable if I die after retirement?

Post-retirement death benefits depend on the form of retirement pension you were receiving before your death.

  • If you were receiving 50% Joint and Survivor Payments, your surviving Spouse will receive one-half of the monthly amount you were receiving for his or her life.
  • If you retired and chose, with the consent of your Spouse, 67% Joint and Survivor Payments, your surviving Spouse will receive 67% of the amount you were receiving for his or her lifetime.
  • If you and your Spouse elected either 75% or 100% Joint and Survivor Payments and you die, your surviving Spouse will receive 75% or 100% (as applicable) of the amount you were receiving for the rest of his or her life.
  • If you retired on Ten Years Certain and Life Payments, and had not received 120 monthly payments, your beneficiary will receive the balance of the 120 monthly payments. If you had received 120 or more monthly payments, no further benefits would be payable.

What does it mean to be retired?

To be deemed retired you must not continue to work or return to work in in the Iron Working Trade or Craft for 40 hours or more in any calendar month. However, such work after you attain your Required Beginning Date will not impact your "retired" status.

What rules apply if I return to work after retiring?

As a general rule, if you do return to the Iron Working Trade or Craft, your pension benefits will be suspended for any month in which you engage in such employment for 40 or more hours. Your benefits will resume after you stop such work on a date that is not later than the first day of the third month after the month in which you stopped such work provided you have complied with the Plan's notice requirements.

Should I notify the Fund Office if I return to work?

Yes. You must notify the Trustees in writing within three days of re-employment. You will need to complete and submit a Benefit Suspension Notice to the Fund Office. If you do not, your benefits may be suspended on the assumption that you are in violation of the “return to work” rules. The Trustees are also authorized to adjust future pension payments to recover benefits paid to you that should have been suspended. The Trustees may require pensioners periodically to certify their employment status.

If my pension is suspended, how do I get it restarted?

When you stop working, you must notify the Trustees in writing. You will need to complete and submit a Benefit Resumption Notice to the Fund Office. You may then apply to have your pension payments resume. Unless the Trustees determine that you are not entitled to a resumption because of continued work or failure to give proper notice of a return to work, your benefits will resume at the same rate and under the same form of payment as was in effect for you before the suspension.

Will I earn extra Pension Credits if I return to work?

Only if you return to work in Covered Employment in Connecticut and earn at least one Future Service Pension Credit. Your pension benefits will be adjusted to reflect any additional Future Service Pension Credits you may have earned through a return to Covered Employment. They will be payable under the same option and for the same period as your initial benefits, or you may be allowed to select a different option for those additional benefits, depending on your age when you first retired. Remember that once you begin receiving benefits, your returning to work cannot serve to increase the Benefit Rate(s) applicable to Credits earned before your retirement. If the applicable Benefit Rates have increased since your initial retirement, only the additional Pension Credits, if any, earned by your returning to work will be eligible for the increased Rate(s), depending on the terms and conditions that applied to the increase. Pension Credits in force at the time of your initial retirement will be paid at the Benefit Rate(s) in effect at the time of that retirement.

Should I contact the Fund Office if I am planning to return to work?

Yes. You should ask if the specific work will cause a suspension of your benefits and, if so, for how long.