Pension Plan Improvements Effective January 1, 2005

Effective January 1, 2005, the automatic form of pension payment for married participants, the 50% joint and survivor benefit, will be available to everyone, married or not. That means that all members who apply for a pension to start on, or after January 1, 2005, will have the following choices to elect for their pension payments:

• 50% Joint and Survivor Benefit. As a member eligible for a pension, you will receive a monthly annuity for life, which half of the amount will continue to be distributed to your beneficiary after you become deceased. If you elect this option, please be aware that you should know that the benefit is reduced to account for the fact that it could be paid over two lifetimes. The reduction is based on the amount of years that you and the person receiving the survivor benefit is when your payment begins.
Single Life Annuity with a 60-Month Guarantee. This option guarantees that 60 benefit payments (five years' worth) will be made. You will receive payments in equal monthly installments that begin when you elect to receive your pension, and continue for lifetime. If you become deceased before collecting 60 monthly payments, the rest is paid to your beneficiary, who has the option of taking the balance in one lump sum. For example, if you are receiving $500.00 a month, and have only received 30 payments of this amount, then your primary beneficiary can receive $15,000.00, which is $500.00 at 30 of the remaining payments, or receive 30 payments of $500.00 each month until the total of 60 has been met.

Under either of these payment options, your pension beneficiary can be anyone you choose: your opposite sex spouse, same-sex spouse, domestic partner, sibling, best friend, etc.. Please keep in mind that if you are not married, you will not receive the 50% joint and survivor benefit automatically; you will have to request this when you apply for a pension. Likewise for a married member who wants the single life annuity, with 60-month guarantee: if you would like this option, then you have to elect it, and your spouse must provide written, notarized consent of your alternate payment form and your beneficiary.

The Trustees are also making a preretirement survivor spouse pension available to a same sex spouse or domestic partner the same way it is payable now to an opposite-sex spouse. As a reminder, a preretirement surviving spouse pension pays benefits if you become deceased after you have earned a vested right to a pension but before your benefit begins. Under this special form of payment, your spouse, same or opposite sex, or domestic partner will receive 50% of the pension you would had received if you had eventually elected to receive your pension with a 50% joint and survivor benefit. The benefit amount is based upon the benefits you had earned prior to your death. In order to qualify, you, and your spouse/domestic partner must have been married/partners for at least one year on the day you became deceased. Also, instead of having to wait until the earliest date you would have been eligible to receive a pension benefit, your surviving spouse/domestic partner can elect to have this benefit start on the first of the month after you become deceased.

If you have any questions, please contact the Fund Office for additional information.