Pension Plan

The Pension Plan is a defined benefit plan designed to provide Retirement benefits to eligible participants. It is funded by a legal trust established for this purpose, known as the Pension Fund (the Fund). 

The Agreement and Declaration of Trust originally dated September 1, 1953, and since amended, established the Pension Fund. A Board of Trustees, which serves without any compensation, acts on your behalf to manage all aspects of the Pension Fund’s operations. This Board is made up of an equal number of Union and Employer representatives whose powers and duties are set forth in the Trust Agreement. 

Participating Employers, who contribute to the Pension Fund according to their collective bargaining agreements or other written agreements with Local Union No. 73, pay the entire cost of the Plan. Employees who perform work for these Participating Employers are covered by the Plan if contributions for their work are required to be paid to the Fund. 

The amount of the contribution is determined through collective bargaining agreements. No contributions are required from you and none are permitted. 

Generally, you become a participant on the first January 1 or July 1 after you complete 870 hours of work in Covered Employment in a consecutive 12-month period for an Employer under the Plan. 

Employees who perform work for Employers under collective bargaining agreements or other written agreements with the Union are covered by the Plan if contributions for their work are required to be paid to the Fund. 

• Pension Credits determine the amount of your benefit. 
• Currently, you earn 1/12 of a Pension Credit for every 100 hours of work in Covered Employment you complete in a Calendar Year, up to a maximum of one Pension Credit. Also, you may earn Special Service Credits. Different formulas and conditions apply for service before 1990. 

• You earn a right to a pension once you are vested in the Plan. Generally, you become vested when you have five years of Vesting Service. 
• You must complete 870 hours of work in Covered Employment in a Calendar Year to earn one year of Vesting Service. 
• Special rules apply if you were not a participant in the Plan on or after July 1, 1999. 

You may be eligible for a(n): 

• Regular Pension as early as age 62 if you have at least 10 
• Pension Credits, including at least four earned after January 1, 1950. 
• Early Retirement Pension as early as age 55 if you have at least 10 Pension Credits, including at least four earned after January 1, 1950. 
• Disability Pension if you meet the Plan’s definition of total and permanent disability and have at least 10 Pension Credits, including at least four earned after January 1, 1950 and ½ of a Pension Credit earned during the 12 months immediately before you became disabled. 
• Deferred Pension if you became a participant on or after July 1, 1999, have five years of Vesting Service and are no longer employed by any Employer participating in the Plan (if you became a participant before July 1, 1999, you must have ten years of Vesting Service to be eligible for a Deferred Pension). Payment of deferred vested benefits generally begins at your earliest eligible Normal Retirement Age. However, if you have at least 10 Pension Credits, including at least four earned after January 1, 1950, you may apply for a reduced Early Retirement Pension as early as age 55 or an unreduced Regular Pension as early as age 62. 
• Normal Retirement Age Pension, Rule of 95 Pension or Pro-Rata (Reciprocal) Pension under certain situations in lieu of one of the options listed above. 

• If you are married, the following forms of payment are available: 
  – 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option 
  – 75% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option 
  – 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option 
  – 60-Month Guarantee 
• If you are not married, you will generally receive your benefit as a 60-Month Guarantee. 
• The Plan also provides a Level Income (Social Security) Option and Partial Lump Sum Option in conjunction with the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option and the 60-Month Guarantee. Disability pensioners are not eligible for the Level Income or Partial Lump Sum Options. 
• If the total value of your benefit is $1,000 or less, you will receive it as a lump sum distribution. If the value is at least $1,000 but less than $5,000, the benefit will be paid in a lump sum following your consent to the distribution. 

If you are married and elect to receive your payment in a form other than the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, your spouse must consent in writing to your election, as witnessed by a notary public. 

If you are vested and die before you retire, your spouse or beneficiary may be eligible to elect one of the following forms of survivor benefits: 

• 75% Unreduced Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension 
• 50% Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension 
• Lump Sum Death Benefit 

The type of benefit your survivor receives depends on a number of factors (see page 40 for more details). Only one of these benefits will be payable. If the total value of your benefit is at least $1,000 but not more than $5,000, your spouse or beneficiary will automatically receive it as a lump sum distribution following consent to the distribution.

A “spouse” is any individual to whom you are lawfully married under any state or foreign law or the law of a jurisdiction. This includes individuals married to a person of the same sex who are legally married in a state or foreign jurisdiction that recognizes same sex marriages, even if they are domiciled in a state that does not recognize such marriage. 

If you die after benefits begin, whatever form of payment that was in effect at the time of your death will determine the benefit, if any, paid to your spouse or beneficiary. If you were receiving the: 

• 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, your surviving spouse will receive 50% of the amount you had been receiving for the balance of his or her lifetime. 
• 75% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, your surviving spouse will receive 75% of the amount you had been receiving for the balance of his or her lifetime. 
• 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, your surviving spouse will receive 100% of the amount you had been receiving for the balance of his or her lifetime. 
• 60-Month Guarantee, your surviving spouse or designated beneficiary will receive the remaining monthly payments, if less than 60 monthly payments have been made to you. 

If you die while performing qualified military service, your beneficiaries will be entitled to any additional benefits (other than benefit accruals relating to the period of qualified military service) provided under the plan. Benefits will be determined as if you had resumed employment and then terminated employment because of death, as provided by the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax of 2008. 

You become a Plan participant after completing the initial participation requirement. The required hours may include hours you work for a Contributing Employer in a job not covered by this Plan, if that non-covered employment is immediately before or after Covered Employment with the same Employer. 

The initial participation requirement is the first January 1 or July 1 after you’ve completed 870 hours of work in Covered Employment in a consecutive 12-month period for an Employer under the Plan. 

EXAMPLE: Joe started working in Covered Employment on February 1, 2020. By February 1, 2021, he had worked over 870 hours. Joe becomes a participant in the Plan on July 1, 2021. 

Once you are a Plan participant, your participation will end only if you are not eligible for an immediate or deferred pension (other than disability) and you do not: 

• Complete at least 435 hours of Work in Covered Employment; or 
• Earn at least 1/12 of a Pension Credit (1/4 of a Pension Credit before January 1, 1990) in a Calendar Year. 

 If your Plan participation ends, you will regain participation retroactive to the first day you return to Work after you once again meet the initial participation requirement. 

Your Pension Credits determine the amount of your pension benefit. Pension Credits are calculated in one of three ways, depending on when your work in Covered Employment was completed.

Please note: If you work one or more hours in the Sheet Metal Industry in Employment that is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Employer and the Union at any time after December 31, 1989, you will lose all Pension Credit for Employment received before the Contribution Period for the purpose of calculating your benefit amount. However, any loss of Pension Credit will not decrease your accrued normal retirement benefit to an amount less than your benefit as of December 31, 1989. 

Before January 1, 1950 

Special rules apply for Pension Credits earned for work before January 1, 1950. For more information, please contact the Fund Office. 

Between January 1, 1950 and January 1, 1990 

For service completed between January 1, 1950 and January 1, 1990, you will receive 1/4 of a Pension Credit for each calendar quarter in which you had at least 133 hours of work in Covered Employment for which Employer contributions were required to be paid to the Fund. You will receive a full Pension Credit if you worked at least 532 hours in a Calendar Year and contributions were required to be paid to the Fund for that work. 

January 1, 1990 or Later 

For work, beginning January 1, 1990 and after, you will receive 1/12 of a Pension Credit for each 100 hours of work in a Calendar Year in Covered Employment for which Employer contributions are required to be paid to the Fund, to a maximum of one Pension Credit. You cannot earn more than one Pension Credit in a Calendar Year. Hours over 1,200 cannot be carried over to future years. However, the Plan does provide Special Service Credits (see page 43 for more information). 

Special Circumstances 

You will continue to receive Pension Credit during periods in which contributions were not required to be paid to the Plan (except if you have already started receiving a pension from the Plan) if you are absent from Covered Employment due to: 

• Disability. If you have prior Pension Credit based on work during the Contribution Period and you become disabled, you will be granted non-work Pension Credit for the period of time you receive either Workers’ Compensation benefits (to a maximum of 2.00 Pension Credits for each such disability) or weekly accident and sickness benefits from the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local No. 73 Welfare Fund (to a maximum of 1¼ 
  
  Pension Credits for each such disability). One week of weekly accident and sickness benefits or Workers’ Compensation benefits equals 40 hours of work in Covered Employment. 
  
  You or your employer must provide acceptable documentation of Workers’ Compensation benefits to the Fund Office in a timely manner to receive this credit. Please contact the Fund Office for more information on acceptable forms of documentation. 
  
  If you receive any Pension Credit due to a Disability, and later return to work in Covered Employment, you will not receive any further non-work Pension Credit due to a previous disability or incident giving rise to a previous disability. 
  
  
• Military Service. You will be granted Pension Credit for certain periods of qualified military service in the Uniformed Services of the United States (up to the maximum permitted by federal law) if you: 
  – Worked and earned Pension Credit during the Contribution Period immediately prior to active duty in qualified military service, and 
  – Return to or seek work in Covered Employment within the time required by federal law. 

For more information on credit for military service, please contact the Fund Office.

The Contribution Period is the period during which an Employer is required, in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement or other written agreement, to make contributions to the Fund for work in Covered Employment. 

You may also receive Pension Credit for other service as follows: 

– While a full-time elected officer or elected Employee of the Union or the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association, provided contributions are made to the Pension Fund. 

– While a full-time Joint Apprenticeship Committee Coordinator (including full-time teachers), provided contributions are made to the Pension Fund. 

– While a full-time representative of the Energy Management Institute of Illinois. 

– Other work for which contributions are made on your behalf pursuant to a written participation agreement between an Employer and the Fund. 

At Retirement, your accumulated units of Pension Credit are added together. The resulting number of Pension Credits will be used to calculate your pension benefit. 

On or After April 1, 1996 

If you separate from Covered Employment and retire on or after April 1, 1996, there is no longer a limit on the number of Pension Credits that will count toward your pension benefit. 

July 1, 1976 to December 31, 1981
Maximum Pension Credits: 25

January 1, 1982 to March 31, 1987
Maximum Pension Credits: 30

April 1, 1987 to March 31, 1988
Maximum Pension Credits: 31

April 1, 1988 to March 31, 1990
Maximum Pension Credits: 33

April 1, 1990 to March 31, 1991
Maximum Pension Credits: 34

April 1, 1991 to March 31, 1992
Maximum Pension Credits: 36

April 1, 1992 to March 31, 1993
Maximum Pension Credits: 38

April 1, 1993 to March 31, 1996
Maximum Pension Credits: 40

Vesting Service is used for participation purposes and determines your right to a pension benefit. To be eligible to receive a pension benefit, you must be vested. 

Your hours of work in Covered Employment during the Contribution Period determine your Vesting Service. Hours of work for a Contributing Employer in continuous non-covered employment count toward up to one year of Vesting Service as well, if it immediately precedes or follows work in Covered Employment. 

You must complete 870 hours of work in a Calendar Year to earn a year of Vesting Service. You will not be credited with any years of Vesting Service before January 1, 1971 unless you earned at least three years of Vesting Service after December 31, 1970. Vesting Service can only be earned on or after January 1, 1950. 

You will have a non-forfeitable right to a pension (or be vested) after completing five years of Vesting Service, provided you are a Plan participant at any time on or after July 1, 1999. Otherwise, you need 10 years of Vesting Service to be vested in the Plan. 

There are a number of differences between Pension Credits and Vesting Service, as follows: 

Because the Plan is designed to provide benefits to Employees who have continuing employment in the jurisdiction of the Fund, provisions have been made for cancellation of Pension Credits and Vesting Service for Employees who leave without meeting the minimum work requirements under the Plan. See page 10 for more information about how these breaks in service impact Pension Credits and Vesting Service. 

Certain benefit options are only available to married participants. Before Retirement, a married participant can choose from a 50%, 75%, or 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Pension form of payment. Subject to spousal consent rules, other forms of payment may be available. If, before retiring, you die before beginning your pension benefit, your surviving spouse may be eligible to receive a survivor benefit (see page 38 for more details). 

After Retirement, your pension benefit is not affected if you marry after payments have begun. Once you start receiving pension benefits, you cannot change your form of payment. 

Getting married or divorced may affect how your benefit is paid, and your spouse may be entitled to a survivor benefit if you die before or after Retirement. 

If you divorce (whether before or after Retirement), you or your spouse’s attorney may file a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). A QDRO is a domestic relations order that has been determined to be “qualified” under the Plan’s QDRO procedures. A domestic relations order is a judgment, decree or order (including approval of a property settlement agreement) that relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent of a participant AND is made pursuant to a state domestic relations law. However, a divorce decree or a property settlement agreement is usually not sufficient to act as a QDRO. 

A domestic relations order is a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) if it creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee’s rights, or assigns to an alternate payee the right, to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable to a participant under a plan, specifies required information, and does not alter the amount or form of plan benefits. An alternate payee is a spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent of a participant who is recognized by a domestic relations order as having a right to receive all, or a portion of, the benefits under a plan with respect to the participant. 

Under the terms of a QDRO, certain payments could be required to be made from your benefits to pay alimony, child support, or marital property rights of your spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent. As a QDRO may affect the amount of benefits you will receive or are receiving from this and other plans, if a QDRO requires the distribution of all or part of your benefits under the Plan to an alternate payee, the Trustees are required to comply with the order. 

Please note: An order is not considered a QDRO unless you and the alternate payee receive notification from the Plan that the order satisfies QDRO requirements. If you receive a domestic relations order, you should immediately forward it to the Fund Office for review. The order is not effective until it is filed with and approved according to the Plan’s QDRO procedures. It is very important that you follow these procedures as they affect the amount of benefit you will receive from the Fund when you retire. In addition, if you divorce and do not provide a QDRO according to the QDRO procedures before you apply for pension benefits, you will experience delays in the start of your benefit payments. These delays can be 9 

avoided if a QDRO is obtained at the time of your divorce and submitted to the Fund Office for approval before the date on which you want to begin receiving your pension. Approval of a QDRO by the Fund Office may take several months, depending on the responsiveness of all parties involved (e.g., your attorney, your former’s spouse attorney, etc.). 

The Fund has created model QDRO orders that you and your attorney can use to draft a QDRO. You are not required to use the Fund’s model; however, use of the model will generally assist your attorney, reduce your cost and expedite the review process. If you have questions about QDROs or would like to receive a copy of the Plan’s model QDRO or QDRO procedures free of charge, please contact the Fund Office. 

The Fund Office, as a matter of policy, will ask for copies of all divorce decrees (including marital settlement agreements) from all prior marriages of pension applicants. Failure to provide this information may result in a delay in processing your pension application. 

Once you reach vested status, you cannot incur a permanent break in service. 

Before December 31, 1975 

Special rules apply for breaks in service before January 1, 1976. For more information, please contact the Fund Office. 

On or After January 1, 1976 

On January 1, 1976, the federal law known as ERISA introduced one-year breaks and permanent breaks. One-year breaks are considered temporary and can be repaired. 

One-Year Break in Service 

After 1975 and before 1990, a one-year break in service occurs in any Calendar Year in which you did not earn at least 1/4 of a Pension Credit or have at least 435 hours of work in Covered Employment or continuous non-covered employment. 

Beginning in 1990, a one-year break in service occurs in any Calendar Year in which you did not earn 1/12 of a Pension Credit or have at least 435 hours of work in Covered Employment. 

One-year breaks in service can be repaired if you return to work and earn at least one year of Vesting Service before having a permanent break. This means you must work at least 870 hours in Covered Employment and/or continuous non-covered employment. Once a one-year break in service is repaired, your participation in the Plan, Pension Credits and Vesting Service will be restored. When your service is restored, the one-year break is not counted toward a permanent break. 

Permanent Break in Service after 1975 

Please note: You cannot repair a permanent break in service if it occurs on or after January 1, 1976. 

Unless you have already met the requirements for a pension, if you have a one-year break in service and do not return to work, the number of your consecutive one-year breaks will be added together and may be considered a permanent break as follows: 11 

▪ After 1975 but before January 1, 1987, a permanent break occurs when the number of your consecutive one-year breaks equals or exceeds the number of your years of Vesting Service or full Pension Credits earned during the Contribution Period (whichever is greater). For example: 

This Employee had two years of Vesting Service, two Pension Credits, and two one-year breaks. Because his consecutive one-year breaks equaled his years of Vesting Service (or Pension Credits), a permanent break occurs, canceling all Pension Credit and Vesting Service previously earned. 

▪ After December 31, 1986, a permanent break in service occurs only after your consecutive one-year breaks equal or exceed the number of your Pension Credits, and your consecutive one-year breaks equal at least five. For example: 

This Employee has three years of Vesting Service, three Pension Credits, and five consecutive one-year breaks. A permanent break in service occurs at the end of Year 8 after five consecutive one-year breaks in service, canceling all of his Pension Credits and Vesting Service earned under the Plan. 

If this Employee had returned to employment in Year 8 and completed at least 870 hours of work, his work record would look like this: 

12 In this example, the Employee is reinstated in his participation, Pension Credits and Vesting Service by returning to employment and receiving credit for 870 hours in Year 8. Because the number of his consecutive one-year breaks was less than five, he was able to repair his one-year breaks and restore his Pension Credits and years of Vesting Service. 

IMPORTANT: One-year breaks will not be added together unless they occur consecutively without interruption by a Calendar Year in which you are credited with at least one minimum unit of Pension Credit (1/4 of a Pension Credit before January 1, 1990 and 1/12 of a Pension Credit on or after January 1, 1990) or 435 hours of work. 

Exceptions to Break in Service Rules 

Certain periods of time will not be counted when determining breaks in service. This time will be considered an exception if your failure to earn Vesting Service or Pension Credit was caused by the following: 

• A period of total Disability (as defined on page 13) up to a maximum of 12 consecutive calendar quarters. You must notify the Trustees in writing of your disability (for periods of time on and after January 1, 1954, the Trustees will not recognize a disability beyond nine months before notification, or 18 months if they find extenuating circumstances). The Trustees may require you to submit to an examination by a competent physician (or physicians) selected by the Trustees. In addition, you may be required to agree to being re-examined to assess your physical or mental condition, no more than semi-annually or as required by the Trustees. 
• Lack of sufficient work in Covered Employment if you have remained available for Covered Employment but none was available, for up to four consecutive calendar quarters. Continued membership in good standing with the Union will be used to prove the participant was available for work. (This grace period no longer applies on or after January 1, 1987). 
• Full-time employment as an elected officer or elected employee with the International Association or Union, or as Joint Apprenticeship Committee Coordinator for Apprentices (or as a full-time teacher) or as Representative of the Energy Management Institute of Illinois. 
• Employment as a Sheet Metal Worker for up to three years with any of the following: City of Chicago, County of Cook, County of Cook Forest Preserve, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Chicago Board of Education or Chicago Park District or a governmental agency within the jurisdiction of the Union that is not a Contributing Employer to the Pension Fund. 
• For purposes of preventing a one-year break in service, absence from work because of pregnancy, childbirth, adoption or infant care. Up to a maximum of 501 hours will be provided to you in the year the absence starts or, if not required in that year to prevent a one-year break, in the following year. 
• Absence from work, up to 12 weeks, that qualifies under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). 
• Absence from work, for up to 12 total calendar months, during which you remain covered as an active employee under the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local No. 73 Welfare Fund due to your accrued hours under its quarterly eligibility rules, excluding any time you are covered under the Welfare Fund due to COBRA coverage or as a retiree. 

If you become totally and permanently disabled, you may qualify for a Disability Pension if you have at least 10 Pension Credits, including four Pension Credits earned during the Contribution Period and ½ of a Pension Credit earned during the 12-month period immediately preceding the time you became totally and permanently disabled. It is important that you notify the Trustees as soon as your disability occurs so that you can establish compliance with these time limits. 

If you go to work in Covered Employment in the Sheet Metal Industry that is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Employer and the Union after December 31, 1989, you will not be able to receive a Disability Pension. You may, however, be entitled to a Regular, Early Retirement or Deferred Pension, if you meet the requirements for such a pension. See page 20 for more information. 

The amount of the Disability Pension is calculated in the same manner as Regular Pension benefits (see page 20) and depends on the total Pension Credits you earned. There is no reduction in benefit amount because you are younger than 62. 

You must file an application for a Disability Pension immediately upon medical confirmation of a total and permanent disability so you can begin receiving payments on a timely basis. 

If you go to work in Covered Employment in the Sheet Metal Industry that is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Employer and the Union after December 31, 1989, you will not be able to receive a Disability Pension. You may, however, be entitled to a Regular, Early Retirement or Deferred Pension, if you meet the requirements for such a pension. See page 20 for more information. 

Once you are approved for a Disability Pension, you may be required to verify periodically, in accordance with rules and procedures established by the Trustees, that you are not earning more than the annual earnings limit for Disability Pensioners. In addition, the Trustees may require you to provide proof of your continued entitlement to a Social Security disability benefit or medical evidence of your continued disability every five years and periodic compliance with the earnings limits. For more information, please contact the Fund Office. 

You must provide actual income by requesting income verification from the Social Security Administration, with the Fund paying the required fee. If you fail to respond to the Trustees’ request for disability information within 60 days of the first request, you may be disqualified for benefits until you 14 

provide disability verification. Any withheld pension payments will be paid in a lump sum without interest after you provide verification. 

Approval or denial of a claim for a Disability Pension will normally be made within 45 days after the complete claim has been received by the Plan. If additional time is required because of circumstances beyond the control of the Plan, the Plan can extend the 45-day time period by 30 days. If the 30-day extension is not sufficient, the Plan can apply a second 30-day extension. Before the end of the original 45-day period (or, for a second extension, before the end of the first 30-day extension), you will be notified in writing of the circumstances requiring an extension of time and of the date by which the Plan expects to make a final decision on the claim. If the Plan needs additional information or material to process your disability claim and if the Plan requests that material in writing, you will be given up to an additional 45 days from the date of the Plan’s request to obtain the information the Plan has asked you to provide and submit it to the Fund Office. The time for the Plan to decide your claim is extended by the time it takes you to provide the requested information. When you respond to the Plan’s request for additional information, the ordinary time limits (the 45-day period or the 30-day extension) will again start to run. If you do not respond to the Plan’s request within 45 days, the Plan will decide without that information, which may result in the denial of your claim. 

If your claim is denied, you have a right to appeal the decision. See page 18 for more details. 

If approved by the Trustees, your Disability Pension will start no earlier than the first day of the month following the month in which your total and permanent disability began or, if later, the first day of the month following the month in which the Disability Pension Application process is completed, including approval by the Pension Committee followed by completion of all required forms. For that reason, it is important to file you application on a timely basis so that you do not lose benefits. Disability Pension benefits are payable for life, assuming, of course, that you remain totally and permanently disabled and comply with the Continued Disability requirements as outlined above. 

You are not entitled to receive a pension benefit for any month in which you receive weekly accident and sickness benefits from the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local No. 73 Welfare Fund. 

Over the years, you have had deductions for Social Security benefits taken from your paychecks. These deductions have been taken out to fund current Social Security benefits. As discussed above, Social Security is one portion of your retirement income. 

The Social Security full retirement age is gradually increasing for people born after 1937. Full retirement age is the age at which you can collect full retirement benefits from Social Security without any reduction for early retirement (see table right). For example, if you were born in 1960 or later, full Social Security benefits will be payable to you at age 67—not age 65. 

Social Security replaces a higher percentage of income for retiring participants at lower pay levels. To reach 70% to 80% income replacement levels, a participant needs help from pension benefits and personal savings. 

Social Security full retirement age is the age at which you can collect full retirement benefits from Social Security without any reduction for early retirement. You will receive an estimate of your Social Security benefits periodically from the Social Security Administration at www.ssa.gov. 

SOCIAL SECURITY FULL RETIREMENT AGE (Year of birth)

1937 or earlier: 65

1938: 65 + 2 months

1939: 65 + 4 months

1940: 65 + 6 months

1941: 65 + 8 months

1942: 65 + 10 months

1943 - 1954: 66

1955: 66 + 2 months

1956: 66 + 4 months

1957: 66 + 6 months

1958: 66 + 8 months

1959: 66 + 10 months

1960 or later: 67

Your pension from this Plan is in addition to any benefits you or your spouse may receive from Social Security. 

Generally, you must apply for your pension benefits before you want your payments to begin. You can obtain a pension application by writing, calling or visiting the Fund Office. You can also get a copy of the pension application and instructions from the Local 73 Pension Fund’s website at www.sm73funds.org. 

Please note that to apply for a pension from the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund, you should call 1-800-231-4622 or obtain a copy of the pension application from the National Pension Fund’s website, which is www.smwnpf.org. 

Once you receive a pension application, you must complete and submit the application and supporting documents to the Fund Office before you want payments to begin. Your completed application must be received at least 30 days – but no more than 90 days – before your retirement date. Your spouse or other beneficiary must apply in the event of your death. You should file as soon as you decide on your intended Retirement date. Early filing will avoid delay in the processing of your application and payment of benefits. 

When applying for a pension, the Plan will use your Effective Date to calculate and pay benefits under the Plan. Your Effective Date is generally the first day of the month on or after the later of: 

• The first day of the month following your submission of a completed application for benefits; or 
• Thirty days after the Plan provides you with your available payment options. 

You may defer your benefit payments until your Required Beginning Date, which is the April 1st of the Calendar Year following the Calendar Year in which you reach age 72 (age 70 ½ if you reached age 70 ½ before January 1, 2020). 

Your Effective Date will never be later than the Required Beginning Date. 

Your application is not considered complete until all necessary supporting paperwork has been submitted to the Fund Office. All required information must be on file within 90 days from the time your pension application is first received, or your application will be closed and you must reapply for pension benefits. 

Your pension application and supporting documentation must be considered fully complete by the Fund Office before pension payments can begin. Benefits will not be paid for any period before the first day of the month following the month the Fund Office receives your completed application and supporting documentation. 

To receive benefits, you must file an application form with the Fund Office. If your application is denied, you may appeal the decision. 

Your application is subject to the approval by a Committee of the Trustees at the next monthly meeting following your completion of the application process. 

Instructions describing the types of acceptable proof of age will be given to you with your application. If you are married, you must provide proof of your spouse’s age and proof of your marriage when submitting your completed application to the Fund Office. 

If you are or have been divorced and your former spouse was assigned a portion or all of your benefits under the Plan, you may not be able to begin the distribution of your benefits until the Fund Office has received either an approved Qualified Domestic Relations Order (as described on page 8) or a waiver from your former spouse with respect to any interest in your benefits that has been assigned to her/him. 

If your claim is denied, in whole or in part, you will receive a written notice that will include: 

• The specific reason(s) for the denial. 
• Reference to specific Plan provisions on which the denial was based. 
• A description of additional information needed to reconsider your application and why the information is necessary. 
• A detailed explanation of the Plan’s appeal procedures, along with time limits for filing an appeal. 
• A statement that you have the right to bring a civil action under ERISA following an appeal. 
• For a denial of an application for benefits due to disability: 18 
  – An explanation of the scientific or clinical judgment that the Plan relied on for denying a claim that is based on a medical necessity or experimental treatment, applying the terms of the Plan to your medical circumstances (or a statement that you may request such an explanation, which will be provided free of charge). 
  – The specific internal rules, guidelines, standards or other criteria that the Plan relied on in denying your claim, or a statement that such rules, guidelines, standards or other criteria do not exist 
  – An explanation of the basis for disagreeing with or not following: 
  

o the views presented by you to the Plan of health care professionals who treated or evaluated you, or the views of medical experts whose advice was obtained by the Plan in connection with your claim. 

o A disability determination made by the Social Security Administration regarding your claim. 

–a statement that: 

o You have the right to request a copy, free of charge, of any internal rule, guideline, protocol, or similar criteria upon which the denial was based. 

o You have the right to request a copy, free of charge, of any medical judgment, including an explanation regarding the scientific or clinical judgment, upon which the denial 

If your application for benefits is denied in whole or in part, or your pension payments are suspended or stopped for any reason, you may request a full and fair review by filing a written notice of appeal with the Fund Office. The Fund Office must receive a notice of appeal no later than 60 days (180 days for a disability claim) after you receive written notification of your denied claim or, if applicable, suspension of your pension. Your appeal is considered to have been filed on the date the written notice of appeal is received by the Fund Office. 

If you like, another person may represent you in connection with an appeal. If you use an authorized representative to represent you in your appeal, the Trustees have the right to require that you give the Plan a signed statement, advising the Trustees that you have authorized that person to act on your behalf regarding your appeal. Any representation by another person will be at your own expense. In connection with your appeal, you or your authorized representative may review pertinent documents and may submit issues and comments in writing. 

If you appeal your application or benefit amount, the Board of Trustees will complete a new full and fair review of your application based on all the information available. The members of the Appeals Committee who initially denied your claim for benefits will not vote again when the full Board considers your appeal. Other than in the case of a disability claim on appeal, the Trustees generally will make a determination at the next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees. If additional time is required in special cases, you will be notified in writing of the special circumstances requiring an extension and a determination will be made no later than 120 days after receipt of your appeal. 

The Trustees will make a determination in the case of a disability claim on appeal generally at the next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees hold regular meetings at least four times per year. If you file your appeal: 19 

• More than 30 days before a regular Board of Trustees meeting, the Trustees will make a decision at that meeting unless special circumstances require an extension of time for processing. In that case, the Trustees will make a decision on your appeal at the following meeting. 
• Within the 30-day period immediately preceding a regular Board of Trustees meeting, the Trustees will make a decision at the following meeting, unless special circumstances require an extension of time for processing your appeal. In that case, the Trustees will make a decision on your appeal at the third regular meeting following the date your appeal was filed. 

Whenever there are special circumstances requiring that the decision be delayed until the next regular meeting, you will be advised in writing of why the extension of time was needed and when the appeal will be decided. 

Once the Board of Trustees has decided your appeal, you will receive a written notice of the decision. The notice will be mailed within five days of the Trustees’ decision. If the Trustees uphold the denial of your claim, you will then have the right to file suit under the authority of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended. Also, if your appeal is denied, you are entitled to receive, upon request at no cost, copies of documents and information that the Plan relied on in denying your claim. See page 17 for more information. 

If the decision on a claim or appeal is not provided within the time limits outlined in this section, the claim or appeal is considered to have been denied. No claim will be considered to have been denied until you have exhausted all of the procedures described in this section. 

The final decision of the Board of Trustees on an appeal is final and binding. The Trustees’ decision will be given judicial deference in any later court action or administrative proceeding to the extent that it does not constitute an abuse of discretion and is not arbitrary or capricious. You must exhaust the Plan’s appeal procedures before bringing any court action or administrative proceeding. 

In addition to the claims and appeals procedures discussed above, the following special claims and appeals procedures involving Disability Pension claims will apply for claims filed on and after April 18, 2018. 

If you file a claim for Disability Pension benefits that is denied, any notice of the denial of your claim will be written in a manner calculated to be understood by you and will set forth: 

• A discussion of the decision, including an explanation of the basis for disagreeing with or not following: 
  o The views presented by you of health care professionals treating you and vocational professionals who evaluated you; 
  o The views of medical or vocational experts whose advice was obtained on behalf of the Plan in connection with your adverse determination, without regard to whether the advice was relied upon in making the benefit determination; and 
  o A disability determination made by the Social Security Administration, if that determination was presented by you to the Plan.  
• If the adverse determination is based on a medical necessity or experimental treatment or similar exclusion or limit, either an explanation of the scientific or clinical judgment for the determination, applying the terms of the Plan to your medical circumstances, or a statement that such explanation will be provided free of charge upon request; and 
• A statement that you are entitled to receive, upon request, and free of charge, reasonable access to, and copies of, all documents, records, and other information relevant to your claim for benefits. 

In connection with a request for review by the Board of Trustees of your denied claim, the review will not defer to the initial claim determination and will consider all comments, documents, records, and other information submitted by you, without regard to whether such information was submitted or considered in the initial claim determination. You may submit written comments, documents, records and other information relating to the claim, and shall, upon reasonable request and without charge, have access to and copies of all documents, records, or other information relevant to the claim. 

Prior to issuing a denial of an appeal of a claim for Disability Pension benefits, you will be provided, free of charge, with any new or additional evidence considered, relied upon, or generated by the Plan in connection with the claim, and/or with any new or additional rationale for denying the claim, as soon as possible and sufficiently in advance of the date the appeal is to be considered to give you a reasonable opportunity to respond prior to the date the appeal will be considered. 

The Trustees will consider the evidence presented and will listen to arguments for a reasonable period of time on behalf of the appeal. The decision of the Trustees on an appeal shall be final and binding on all parties. The decision shall be written in a manner to be understood by you and shall include: 

• The specific reasons for the adverse determination; 
• Reference to the specific provisions of the Plan on which the determination is based; 
• A statement of your right to bring an action under Section 502(a) of ERISA following the appeal, including a description of the contractual limitations period that applies to your right to bring an action (no action may be brought in court that relates to a denial of a benefit appeal unless such action is commenced within two years after the denial of such appeal was made, as further discussed below); 
• A discussion of the decision, including an explanation of the basis for disagreeing with or not following: 
  o The views presented by you to the Plan of health care professionals treating you and vocational professionals who evaluated you; 
  o The views of medical or vocational experts whose advice was obtained on behalf of the Plan in connection with your adverse determination, without regard to whether the advice was relied upon in making the benefit determination; and 
  o A disability determination made by the Social Security Administration, if that determination was presented by you to the Plan; 

• If the adverse determination is based on a medical necessity or experimental treatment or similar exclusion or limit, either an explanation of the scientific or clinical judgment for the determination, applying the terms of the Plan to your medical circumstances, or a statement that such explanation will be provided free of charge upon request; 
• A copy of the specific internal rules, guidelines, protocols, standards, or other similar criteria of the Plan relied upon in making the adverse benefit determination or, alternatively, a statement that such rules, guidelines, protocols, standards, or other similar criteria of the Plan do not exist; and 
• A statement that you are entitled to receive, upon request, and free of charge, reasonable access to, and copies of, all documents, records, and other information relevant to your claim for benefits. 

Any of the above-referenced notices provided to you will be provided in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner with a statement prominently displayed in any applicable non-English language, as defined in guidance published by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 2560.503-1(o), clearly indicating how to access the language services provided by the Plan. 

The Plan contains a two-year statute of limitations. Notwithstanding any other state or federal law, any and all legal actions relating to the Plan must be filed within two years of the action or inaction on which the complaint is based. This includes, but is not limited to actions to recover benefits that must be filed within two years of the final decision on a claim. As the situs of the Plan is in Cook County, Illinois, legal actions must be brought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 

If benefit Plan payments are due to an incompetent or physically or mentally incapacitated person, the Trustees may make payments directly to any legal representative appointed for that individual. If the Trustees are not aware of any legal representative, the Trustees may make payment to the institution responsible for that individual or to the spouse, child(ren), or any other person whom the Trustees reasonably determine is caring for or otherwise providing support and maintenance for the individual. If you have been appointed financial power of attorney for one of the Plan participants, please provide a copy of the power of attorney to the Fund Office. 

If you receive a lump sum payment from the Plan (including a Partial Lump Sum), you may roll over all or part of it to a traditional or Roth individual retirement account (IRA), or another eligible plan that accepts these contributions. A spouse who received a lump sum payment may be eligible to roll over part or all of the payment. In addition, a non-spousal Beneficiary may elect a direct rollover into an inherited IRA. 

If you do not choose to roll over this lump sum payment, federal law requires the Fund to withhold 20% of the total amount for federal tax purposes. There may be an additional 10% penalty if you are under age 59½ at the time of your lump sum distribution. 

Federal law requires the Fund Office to provide you with a timely Special Tax Notice Regarding Plan Payments describing your rights and obligations regarding rollovers and withholding requirements. For more information, or a copy of this notice, please contact the Fund Office. 

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

For work in Covered Employment performed on or before December 31, 2019, 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: 

Pension Credits earned for work in Covered Employment performed from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 will be multiplied by an accrual rate of $58.50. 

Pension Credits earned for work in Covered Employment performed from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 will be multiplied by an accrual rate of $71.50. 

Pension Credits earned for work in Covered Employment performed on and after January 1, 2022 will be multiplied by an accrual rate of $84.50. 

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. 25 

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. 

If you have a separation from Covered Employment and subsequently return to Covered Employment, the accrual rate for your Pension Credits earned for Covered Employment before January 1, 1990 will be the rate in effect upon your return, provided you earn at least one Pension Credit during your return. If you have a separation from Covered Employment and subsequently return to Covered Employment, the accrual rate for your Pension Credits earned for Covered Employment on or after January 1, 1990 will be the rate in effect upon your return, provided you earn at least three Pension Credits during your return. 

If you earn less than the required number of Pension Credits during your return, 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. Please note that the application of this rule may result in the accrual rate for some or all Pension Credits earned before January 1, 1990 being greater than the accrual rate for some or all Pension Credits earned after December 31, 1989. 

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 earned for work on or before December 31, 2019, 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 on January 1, 1990; before January 1, 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 earned for work on or before December 31, 2019. 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; however, beginning January 1, 2011 hours of work during which you are receiving Weekly Accident and Sickness or Workers’ Compensation benefits will not count toward Special Service Credits. Special Service Credits are earned for Calendar Years beginning on or after January 1, 2000, as follows: 

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: 

Proration of Accrual Rates for Certain Participants 

This section affects only those participants who are working under collective bargaining agreements with pension contribution rates below the full journeyman contribution rates. Participants whose contractor is paying the full journeyman contribution rate to the pension plan are not affected. 

For participants working under a collective bargaining agreement entered into on or after July 1, 2013 under which the pension contribution rate is below the then-current full journeyman contribution rate, beginning as of January 1 of the calendar year after the agreement goes into effect, the Accrual Rate for any Pension Credit you earn after that January 1 will be determined using the following formula* (rounded to the next higher multiple of $0.50 if the product is not an even multiple of $0.50): 

The full Accrual Rate for Regular Pension Credit and Special Service Credit shown in the tables on page 21 based on the date the credit was earned, multiplied by the following fraction, rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of a percent: 

The amount of contributions the Employer was obligated to contribute during the calendar year 

OVER 

The amount of contributions the Employer would have been required to pay during the same calendar year at the hourly rate for a journeyman under the Collective Bargaining Agreement between SMACNA Chicago and the Union 

*For Pension Credits earned before the January 1 immediately following the effective date of the first Collective Bargaining Agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2013, you will receive the full Accrual Rates shown in the tables on page 21, based on the date when the Regular Pension Credit or Special Service Credit was earned. 

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 Joint and Survivor Spousal form would be somewhat lower than the amounts shown in the examples. For more information about forms of payment, see page 30. 

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:

EXAMPLE 2: You retire on July 1, 2015 at age 62. You last earned Pension Credit in the year ending December 31, 1995 at which time you had earned 20 Pension Credits and subsequently returned to work in 2013 and earned two Pension Credits. Because your 20 Pension Credits were earned for years 1976 through 1995, we must separate the pre-1990 service from the post-1989 service, since the rule for bringing Pension Credits up to the current accrual rate is different for service prior to 1990 than it is for service after 1989. For the years 1976 through 1989, you earned 14 Pension Credits prior to 1990 and for the years 1990 through 1995, you earned 6 Pension Credits. Your accrual rate for your pre-1990 service is brought up to $43.50 because you earned at least one Pension Credit after your return. However, because you did not earn at least three Pension Credits on your return, the Pension Credits in 1990-1995 will earn $35.00 (the rate in effect 12/31/1997, when you left covered employment – i.e. at the end of the period after you left and failed to earn a Pension Credit for two years – 1/1/1996 -12/31/1997). The Pension Credits you earned upon your return will earn $43.50 per credit. 

Pre-1990 Pension Credits: $43.50 X 14 Pension Credits = $609.00 

1990-1995 Pension Credits: $35.00 X 6 Pension Credits = $ 210.00 

2013-2015 Pension Credits: $43.50 X 2 Pension Credits = $ 87.00 

Total $906.00 

If you would have earned three Pension Credits on your return, that would have increased your rate for 1990-1995 to $43.50 per Pension Credit for the six Pension Credits, adding $51 to your total monthly Regular Pension. 

If you earn six Special Service Credits (three in 2013 and 2014), your Regular Pension would receive an additional $33.00, which would increase your pension to $939.00. 

If the resulting amount of pension is not an exact multiple of $.50, it is rounded to the next higher $.50 multiple. 

You are eligible for a Normal Retirement Pension if you are a Plan participant on or after you attain your Normal Retirement Age. That is, you have reached age 65 or completed five years of Plan participation, whichever is later. Participation before a permanent break in service is not recognized when determining whether you qualify for this benefit. If you do not meet the requirements for one of the previously described pensions and you are a participant in the Plan at or after your Normal Retirement Age, you are eligible for a Normal Retirement Age Pension. 

Amount 

The amount of the Normal Retirement Age Pension is calculated in the same way as the Regular Pension. 

You are eligible for an Early Retirement Pension if you are age 55 but not yet age 62 and have at least 10 Pension Credits, including at least four Pension Credits earned after January 1, 1950 during the Contribution Period. 

Amount 

The monthly amount of the Early Retirement Pension is determined using the following steps: 

Step 1: Calculate the amount of the Regular Pension to which you would be entitled if you were age 62, based on your Pension Credits at the time of early Retirement. 

Step 2: Reduce this by ½ of 1% for each full month you are younger than age 62 on the date your pension payments will begin. 

Step 3: The result is the amount of the Early Retirement Pension. Benefits will be paid based on the payment option you elected. 

You are eligible for a Deferred Pension if you have five or more years of Vesting Service. If you were not a participant in the Plan as of July 1, 1999 and had a break in service, you must return to (or begin) work in Covered Employment and re-establish the participation requirements on page 1 in order to qualify for a Deferred Pension with five years of Vesting Service. If you do not meet this requirement, you must have 10 years of Vesting Service without a break in service to be entitled to a Deferred Pension. The Deferred Pension typically is payable at Normal Retirement Age (generally age 65). However, you can choose to begin your Deferred Pension as early as age 55 if you have 10 Pension Credits, of which at least four were earned during the contribution period. 

If you completed 10 Pension Credits as shown above before your separation date, you can retire on a Deferred Pension at age 62 without any reduction to your monthly benefit because the benefit begins before age 65 or you can retire on a Deferred Pension as early as age 55 and your pension would be reduced using the same factors as for an Early Retirement Pension. If you have less than 10 Pension Credits, you cannot begin your pension until age 65. 30 

Amount 

The amount of the Deferred Pension is the same as the Regular Pension amount. 

The amount of the Rule of 95 Pension is calculated similar to the Regular Pension. There is no reduction in your monthly benefit amount because the benefit begins earlier than age 62. 

You are eligible for a Pro-Rata (Reciprocal) Pension if you: 

• Would be eligible for a pension if your total combined Pension Credit (Pension Credits under this Plan and other related Sheet Metal Worker Plans) is treated as Pension Credit under the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local No. 73 Pension Plan, 
• Earned at least one Pension Credit under this Pension Plan, and 
• Are eligible for a Pro-Rata Pension under this Plan and at least one other Sheet Metal Worker Plan. 

Amount 

The amount of the Pro-Rata (Reciprocal) Pension payable under this Plan is determined by multiplying the accrual rate in effect when you separated from Covered Employment under this Plan by the Pension Credits earned under this Plan. The Pro-Rata (Reciprocal) Pension amount payable under a Related Plan will be based on the accrual rates and number of Pension Credits earned under the Related Plan. 

If you have worked, or plan to work, under another Sheet Metal Worker Pension Plan, call or write the Fund Office for information. 

Work for Certain Governmental Entities 

If you leave Covered Employment to work for one of the following governmental entities (under collective bargaining agreements with the Union), you may be eligible to have your pension calculated using the accrual rate in effect at the time you retire from such entity, and not at the time you separate from Covered Employment. Prior to April 1, 1998, the accrual rate used to calculate your pension was the rate in effect at the time you separated from Covered Employment under the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 73 Pension Fund. 

In order to qualify for this provision, you must: 

• Have earned at least 20 Pension Credits under the Local 73 Plan prior to being employed by the governmental entity; 
• Have a minimum of one year of Employment with one of the following governmental entities, under a bargaining agreement with the Union: 

– City of Chicago 

– County of Cook 

– County of Cook Forest Preserve 

– Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago 

– Chicago Board of Education School Board 

– Chicago Park District, or 

– a governmental agency within the jurisdiction of Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 73 that is not a Contributing Employer to the Pension Plan; 

• Work under a bargaining agreement between the Union and one of the above entities after December 31, 1996, and 
• First retire under the Plan after December 31, 1996. 

 Please note that you cannot earn Pension Credit or Vesting Service under the Local 73 Pension Fund for employment with these governmental entities, as these employers do not contribute to the Local 73 Pension Fund on your behalf. In addition, if you are not vested with the Local 73 Pension Fund when you go to work with one of these governmental entities, you must return to work for an Employer that contributes to Local 73 before you have a permanent break in service in order to keep the Pension Credits you earned prior to working for one of these entities. 

If you perform work in the Sheet Metal Industry and such employment is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Union and the Employer, on or after January 1, 1990: You will lose all past service credit for the purpose of calculating your benefit; provided, however, that this loss will not decrease the pension benefit you had accrued as of December 31, 1989. 

• You will lose all past service credit for the purpose of calculating your benefit; provided, however, that this loss will not decrease the pension benefit you had accrued as of December 31, 1989. 

• The Effective Date of an Early Retirement or Deferred Pension, or resumption of payments in the event that you had been on pension and then returned to employment, will be delayed 6 months for any calendar quarter in which you performed one hour or more of such employment. An Effective Date of pension cannot be delayed under this provision beyond age 65. 
• You cannot retire under a Disability Pension. 
• In the event of your death before Retirement, no Preretirement Lump Sum Death Benefit will be payable to your beneficiaries. 

If you performed work in the Sheet Metal Industry not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Union on or after January 1, 1990, you can regain your previous status. To do so, you must return to Covered Employment with the Plan, and earn months of Pension Credit under the Plan that equal the number of calendar months in which you worked at least one hour in employment in the Industry that was not covered by a Sheet Metal Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

This opportunity to restore previous status is available only once. 

If, for any reason, your benefits are suspended, you are entitled to a review of any determination suspending your benefits. You may file a written request for review with the Board of Trustees. 

The Plan’s rules regarding suspension of benefits can be found beginning in Section 6.8 of the actual Plan Document. The Plan’s rules are according to Department of Labor regulations concerning suspension of benefits. Those regulations can be found in Section 2530.203-3 of Volume 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

No pension benefits will be payable for any month you are receiving weekly accident and sickness benefits from the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 73 Welfare Fund or temporary disability benefits from a governmental entity that employs members of Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 73. 

If you make a willfully false statement on or related to your application or furnish fraudulent information or proof material to your claim, benefits not vested under this Plan may be denied, suspended, or discontinued. The Trustees have the right to recover any benefit payments made in reliance on any willfully false or fraudulent statement, information, or proof submitted by you (including withholding of material fact) plus interest and costs, without limitation by recovery through offset or benefit payments as permitted by this Plan. 

If the Trustees determine that you (or your beneficiary) have received amounts from the Plan in error, the Trustees may offset such amounts against any lump sum payments due and/or reduce any pension payments due by up to 25% of the corrected monthly pension amount until the entire amount of any overpayment is recovered by the Plan in addition to or in lieu of pursuing collection though other means. 

Benefit payments in the form of a check will expire after 90 days of the date the check was issued. You are encouraged to claim your benefit payment as soon as possible once you receive it. 

If you are unmarried when you retire, your benefit will be paid as a 60-Month Guarantee. If you are married when you retire, you may elect to receive your benefit as a 60-Month Guarantee with your spouse’s written, notarized consent. 

The 60-Month Guarantee provides you with monthly pension payments for your lifetime. If you die before receiving 60 payments, your spouse or designated beneficiary (if you are unmarried) will receive your monthly benefit until 60 payments, including the payments to you, have been made. 

If your spouse or designated beneficiary also dies before a total of $1,500 in monthly pension payments has been paid to him or her, the difference between the amount of payments actually made and $1,500 will be paid as a lump sum to the beneficiary designated by your designated beneficiary. 

You can choose from the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, 75% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, or 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. The Joint and Survivor Spousal Options provide a reduced monthly benefit for you so that, upon your death, your spouse will receive a percentage of the benefit you were receiving. As long as you and your spouse are legally married on the starting date of your pension and for at least one year before your death, these elections entitle your spouse to receive a reduced monthly benefit for life. 

After payments have begun, if you elect a Joint and Survivor Spousal Option and your spouse dies before you or you get a divorce, the amount of your monthly benefit is not increased. No other spouse may become eligible for the Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. Likewise, if you get a divorce after your pension benefits begin, the amount of your monthly benefit is not increased, and your ex-spouse will receive the elected survivor pension upon your death. Further, the Plan, in accordance with the law, must recognize a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. For more information regarding these orders, see page 8. 

If you are married when you retire, your pension benefit is automatically payable in the form of a 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option unless you reject this form of payment, your spouse consents to the rejection, and the rejection (with spousal consent) is witnessed by a notary public and filed with the pension application at the Fund Office. 

This benefit provides a reduced monthly benefit for you so that, upon your death, your spouse will receive 50% of the benefit you were receiving. 

Your monthly pension benefit will be actuarially reduced taking into consideration the difference between your age and your spouse’s age. The factor applied is calculated by starting with 90% (82% for a Disability Pension), and either adding 0.4% for each full year that your spouse is older than you or subtracting .4% for each full year that your spouse is younger than you on the starting date of the pension. 

For example, you retire at age 62, are eligible for a Regular Pension of $1,500.00 per month and your spouse is age 60. The factor would be 89.2% (90% - .8%) based on a spouse who is two years younger. Therefore, the payment under the monthly 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option would be $1,338.00 ($1,500.00 x 89.2% = $1,338.00). This amount is payable to you for your lifetime. If your spouse is living at the time of your death, he or she will receive a monthly benefit of half this amount, or $669.00, for the remainder of his or her lifetime. 35 

The actuarial factors are shown on the following table for participants with a spouse from one to 10 years younger or older. 

If you retire on or after April 1, 1996 and are married, you can elect a 75% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. This form provides a reduced monthly benefit for you so that, upon your death, your spouse will receive 75% of the benefit that you were receiving for the rest of his or her life. 

Your monthly benefit will be actuarially reduced taking into consideration the difference in your age and your spouse’s age. For most retiring participants, the reduction factor is calculated by starting with 85.5% and adding 0.6% for each year that your spouse is older than you or subtracting 0.6% for each year that your spouse is younger than you. (For participants retiring on a Disability Pension, the reduction factor is calculated by starting with 74.5% and adding 0.5% for each year that your spouse is older than you or subtracting 0.5% for each year that your spouse is younger than you.) 

For example, you retire at age 62, are eligible for a Regular Pension of $1,500.00, and you and your spouse elect the 75% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. Your spouse’s age is 59. The reduction factor would be 83.7% based on a spouse who is three years younger. Therefore the payment under the 75% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option would be $1,255.50 ($1,500.00 x 0.837 = $1,255.50). This amount is payable to you for your lifetime. If your spouse is living at the time of your death, he or she will receive a monthly benefit of $942.00 ($1,255.50 x 0.75 = $941.63, rounded to $942.00) for the remainder of his or her lifetime. 

The actuarial factors are shown on the following table for participants with a spouse from one to 10 years younger or older. 

Payment of the 75% Joint and Survivor Spousal and 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Options are subject to the following conditions: 

• You can only elect these options before the Trustees approve your pension application; 
• Your election cannot be revoked once it is approved by the Board of Trustees and payments begin; and 
• You may not elect these Options in conjunction with the 60-Month Guarantee (page 30) or any other optional form of payment 

If you retire on or after April 1, 1996 and are married, you can elect a 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. This form provides a reduced monthly benefit for you so that, upon your death, your spouse will receive 100% of the benefit that you were receiving for the rest of his or her life. Your monthly benefit will be actuarially reduced taking into consideration the difference in your age and your spouse’s age. For most retiring participants, the reduction factor is calculated by starting with 81% and adding 0.7% for each year that your spouse is older than you or subtracting 0.7% for each year that your spouse is younger than you. (For participants retiring on a Disability Pension, the reduction factor is calculated by starting with 67.0% and adding 0.5% for each year that your spouse is older than you or subtracting 0.5% for each year that your spouse is younger than you.) 

For example, you retire at age 62, are eligible for a Regular Pension of $1,500.00, and you and your spouse elect the 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. Your spouse’s age is 57. The reduction factor would be 77.5% based on a spouse who is five years younger. Therefore the 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option would be $1,162.50 ($1,500.00 x 0.775 = $1,162.50). This amount is payable to you for 37 

your lifetime. If your spouse is living at the time of your death, he or she will receive a monthly benefit of $1,162.50 for the remainder of her lifetime. 

The actuarial reduction factors are shown on the following table for participants with a spouse from one to 10 years younger or older. 

If you retire on or after April 1, 1996, you may elect to have the amount of your monthly benefit reduced by not more than 10% in return for a lump sum payment at the time your monthly pension is first payable. 

Payment of the Partial Lump Sum Payment Option is subject to the following conditions: 

• You must elect to have your monthly benefit reduced by an even dollar amount not to exceed 10% of the monthly benefit. The minimum lump sum payable is $500. The maximum lump sum payable is $20,000. 
• You can only elect the Partial Lump Sum Payment Option before the Trustees approve your pension application. Thereafter, you may not elect a Partial Lump Sum Payment, even following subsequent reemployment. Once the Board of Trustees approves the Partial Lump Sum Payment Option, it cannot be revoked. 
• You cannot elect the Partial Lump Sum Payment Option in connection with the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option unless both you and your spouse provide written consent. If you elect the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, the amount will be computed after adjustment for the Partial Lump Sum Payment. 
• You may not elect the Partial Lump Sum Payment Option in connection with the Level Income Option or the 75% or 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Options. 
• The Partial Lump Sum Option is not available if you are receiving a Disability Pension 
• Only one Partial Lump Sum Payment will be awarded during your lifetime. 

The amount of the Partial Lump Sum Payment is based on factors determined by the Fund’s actuary. These factors change each year on July 1 based on interest rates and a mortality table defined by federal law to calculate lump sum payments. 

The lump sum payments shown above are determined on a before-tax basis. The rules regarding taxation of a lump sum distribution are very complex. You may wish to consult a tax advisor prior to electing this option. 

If the total lump sum value of your benefit is $1,000 or less, you will receive it as a lump sum distribution. If the value is at least $1,000 but less than $5,000, the entire benefit will be paid in a lump sum following your consent to the distribution. 

If the total lump sum value of your benefit is $1,000 or less, you will receive it as a lump sum distribution. If the value is at least $1,000 but less than $5,000, the entire benefit will be paid in a lump sum following your consent to the distribution. 

If you retire on or after April 1, 1996 and have not yet reached age 65, you may elect the Level Income Option in conjunction with the 60-Month Guarantee or 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. 

The Level Income Option provides nearly equal monthly retirement payments to you before and after you become eligible for Social Security benefits. Under this option, the Plan pays a higher benefit before your Social Security Retirement benefits begin to account for Social Security benefits you have not yet begun to receive. After you start receiving your Social Security Retirement benefits, pension payments from the Plan will be lower to account for Social Security benefits you are receiving. 

Once payment under the Level Income Option is approved by the Trustees, there will be no changes in the amount of the monthly benefits paid by the Plan, regardless of the amount actually paid by Social Security. 

If you retire under the Level Income Option, you must request an estimate of your reduced Social Security benefit payable at age 62 or age 65 from the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration will need to know your Social Security number and your current earnings. You must file a copy of this report with the Fund Office. The Plan will use the information to determine the amount of your monthly pension benefit. 

Payment of the Level Income Option is subject to the following conditions: 

• The Level Income Option can be elected only prior to the approval of your pension application by the Trustees. Thereafter, you may not elect a Level Income Option, even following subsequent reemployment. Once the Level Income Option is approved by the Board of Trustees, it cannot be revoked. 
• If the benefit adjustment would reduce the monthly amount payable after age 62 or age 65 to less than $25 a month, you cannot elect this option. 
• The Level Income Option may not be elected in connection with the Partial Lump Sum Option or the 75% or 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Options. 
• The Level Income Option may not be elected or received in connection with a Disability Pension under this Plan. 

Pensions payable in the Level Income Option form will be adjusted based on factors determined by the Fund’s actuary. These factors change each year on July 1 based on interest rates and mortality table defined by federal law. 

Your estimated Social Security benefit will be multiplied by an actuarial factor corresponding to your age on the date pension benefits begin. The resulting amount will be added to the monthly pension amount you would otherwise receive from the Plan. If you had not reached age 62 or age 65 by November 1, 2007, payment of this higher monthly amount will be made until the first of the month following the month in which you reach age 62 or age 65. At that time, the monthly amount you are receiving from this Plan will be reduced by the estimated Social Security benefit used in the original pension calculation. 

If you elect a 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option with the Level Income Option, benefits are determined as follows: 

Step 1: Determine the monthly amount of the pension without adjustment for the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option or the Level Income Option form of payment. 

Step 2: Adjust the amount for the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option as described on pages 30-31 of this booklet. 

Step 3: Adjust the amount for the Level Income Option amounts to be paid according to this section. 

If you die before your spouse, he or she will receive 50% of the amount payable prior to adjustment for the Level Income Option. 

EXAMPLE: Jim, an unmarried participant, is retiring at age 60 as of October 1, 2020 and is entitled to a pension of $1,500.00 a month for life from the Fund. At age 62, Jim will be entitled to a Social Security benefit of $1,100.00 per month. 

Under the Level Income Option, Jim will be paid a benefit of $2,442.81, rounded to $2,443.00 per month from the Fund until the first of the month following the month in which he reaches age 62, and then a benefit of $1,343.00 per month for life after age 62 (instead of the $1,500 per month that he would have received as a single life benefit beginning at age 60 and payable for life). When the lower pension amount becomes payable at age 62, Jim will continue to receive $2,443.00 per month ($1,343.00 from the Fund and $1,100.00 from Social Security). 

Please note that, if you are married, you can elect this option in conjunction with the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. In the prior example, if Jim were married, had chosen the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, and he and his spouse were both age 60, his monthly benefit before age 62 would be $2,292.81, rounded to $2,293.00 and his monthly benefit beginning at age 62 would be $1,193.00. Upon his death, his spouse will receive one-half of the $1,350 (90% reduction for the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option x $1,500 = $1,350) Jim would have received as a regular 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option, or $675.00, for the remainder of the spouse’s lifetime. 

Exactly what kind of work is disqualifying (that is, will cause a suspension of pension benefits) depends on your age. Also, if you are receiving a Disability Pension, employment will be limited. 

• Before age 62. In any month that you work in disqualifying employment, you will lose your pension for that month. Disqualifying employment includes: 

- Employment or self-employment in work regularly performed by Sheet Metal Workers or in any other building trades craft 

- Employment with any Contributing Employer 

- Employment with any employer in the same or related business as any Contributing Employer, or self-employment in the same or related business as any Contributing Employer 

- Employment or self-employment in any business under the jurisdiction of the Union 

In addition, if you are under 62 and you work in the Sheet Metal Industry in employment that is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the employer and Union, your pension will be suspended for six consecutive months for every calendar quarter in which you worked one hour or more in that type of employment in addition to the other suspensions described in this section. 

• After Age 62. You will lose your pension for any month in which you are employed or self-employed for more than 40 hours as a Sheet Metal Worker in the State of Illinois labor market area. 
• After Age 72. As of April 1 of the Calendar Year following the year in which you reach 72 (age 70 ½ if you reached age 70 ½ before January 1, 2020), you will be considered retired, whether or not you are employed. This means that disqualifying employment is not applicable to you after April 1 of the Calendar Year following the year in which you reach age 72. 
• After Disability Retirement. Before age 62, benefits will be suspended for each year in which you earn $40,000.00 or more from any employment or gainful pursuit. At or after age 62, benefits will be suspended as described in the After Age 62 bullet above. You are required to report any disqualifying work to the Fund Office within 15 days of starting the work. If you do not notify the Fund Office within 15 days, your pension benefits will be suspended for an additional twelve months. If you are not sure whether or not a job you are considering is disqualifying employment, check with the Fund Office. 
• You are required to report any disqualifying work to the Fund Office within 15 days of starting the work. If you do not notify the Fund Office within 15 days, your pension benefits will be suspended for an additional twelve months. If you are not sure whether or not a job you are considering is disqualifying employment, check with the Fund Office. 

If you return to work in disqualifying employment after retiring, your Retirement will be withdrawn and pension benefits will stop. When you retire again, pension benefits will be recalculated. 

If you initially retired at or after Normal Retirement Age, or if you earn a year of Vesting Service after you return to work, your pension benefit will be recalculated when you resume Retirement and will include additional Pension Credits earned. If you initially retired before Normal Retirement Age and return to work for at least three months but do not earn one year of Vesting Service during your return, your pension will be adjusted for your age only. 

In addition, if you originally retired with an Early Retirement Pension, or any benefit payments were made after your return to Covered Employment on or after January 1, 2007 or later, your recalculated pension will be actuarially adjusted based on the special actuarial factors. For more information, please contact the Fund Office. 

In the event of your spouse’s death, your benefit will not increase or “pop-up” if you have already started receiving your pension benefit in the form of a 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal, 75% Joint and Survivor Spousal, or 100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option. You cannot elect another beneficiary or future spouse for the Joint and Survivor Spousal Options if your spouse dies before you. 

As soon as possible after your death, your spouse or beneficiary should contact the Fund Office to request instructions about filing an application to determine what benefits are available. In order to apply for a survivor benefit, the Fund Office will ask for a number of items such as a copy of your death certificate (a certified copy, if possible), proof of your birth and, if the benefit is payable to a surviving spouse, proof of marital status and your spouse’s age (unless these items are already on file with the Fund Office). 

If you do not designate a Beneficiary or your Beneficiary dies before you, pension benefits will be paid to your: 

• Surviving spouse; or if none, 
• Surviving children in equal shares; or if none, 
• Father; or if none, 
• Mother; or if none, 
• Brothers and sisters in equal shares; or if none, 
• Estate. If you are married and select a Beneficiary other than your spouse, your spouse must agree to the election in writing by submitting a form furnished by the Fund Office. Your spouse must sign the form in the presence of a notary public. 

Before Your Pension Begins 

There are three types of benefits payable before Retirement: 

• 75% Unreduced Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension 
• 50% Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension 
• Lump Sum Death Benefit 

Only one of these benefits will be payable. 

Your spouse may delay the start of a Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension until a date no later than the first of the month following the date you would have reached Normal Retirement Age. Your spouse must make the request to the Trustees in writing. The benefit will be determined as if you had survived to the age as of the date your surviving spouse elected to begin receiving benefits, retired at that age with an immediate Joint and Survivor Spousal Pension and died the next day. 

Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pensions will be paid on a monthly basis for the remainder of your eligible surviving spouse’s lifetime. However, if the total lump sum value of the applicable Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension is at least $1,000 but less than $5,000, the Board of Trustees will make one lump sum payment to your surviving spouse instead of monthly payments following consent to the distribution. 

75% Unreduced Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension 

If you are married and die before retiring on a pension (and are an active participant at the time of death), your spouse may be eligible for a 75% Unreduced Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension. Five important requirements must be met for the 75% Unreduced Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension to be payable: 

• You must have earned at least 10 Pension Credits. 
• You and your spouse must have been married to each other for the one-year period ending on the date of your death. 
• You must have earned an hour of work after December 31, 1975. 
• You must be an active participant at the time of your death. To be considered active, you must not have separated from Covered Employment at the time of your death. You separate from Covered Employment as of the end of a two consecutive Calendar Year period during which you do not earn at least 1/12 of a Pension Credit. 
• Your death occurs on or after April 1, 1999. 

The amount of the 75% Unreduced Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension is equal to 75% of the unreduced 60-Month Guarantee amount that could have been payable had you retired on the day before you died. The benefit is not reduced for payment as a Joint and Survivor Spousal Option or for your age at death. The pension will be paid on a monthly basis for the remainder of your eligible surviving spouse’s lifetime beginning with the month following the month of your death. 

50% Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension 

After August 22, 1984, if you are married, die before retiring on a pension, and do not meet the requirements for the 75% Unreduced Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension, your spouse may be eligible for a 50% Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension. Three important requirements must be met for the 50% Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension: 

• You must have earned the Pension Credit and Vesting Service required for a pension. 
• You and your spouse must have been married to each other for the one-year period ending on the date of your death. 
• You must have earned an hour of work after December 31, 1975. 

 If you die after you reach age 55, the amount of the 50% Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension is equal to 50% of the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option amount which would have been payable had you retired on the day before you died, calculated as if you had retired on the day before you died. 

If you die before age 55, your eligible surviving spouse will receive 50% of the 50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Option amount you would have received at age 55. The pension will be paid on a monthly basis for the remainder of your eligible surviving spouse’s lifetime. The pension cannot begin until the month in which you could have started your pension if you had survived. For example, if you died at age 50 with at least 10 Pension Credits, your spouse’s pension could not begin until you would have been age 55. If you died at age 50 with at least five (but less than 10) pension credits, your spouse’s pension could not begin until you would have been age 65. 

Notwithstanding any other provisions for a Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension, if you are married and die before retiring on a pension, your spouse may be eligible for a 50% Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension, if certain requirements are met. These are aside from the specific requirements for each 44 

type of benefit payable before retirement and are as follows: 

• You must have earned at least seven Pension Credits. 
• You must have earned at least 1/12 Pension Credit or were credited with at least 435 hours of work in Covered Employment during the Calendar Year immediately preceding the Calendar Year in which your death occurs. 
• Your death must have been due to an injury sustained while working in Covered Employment. 

Preretirement Lump Sum Death Benefit 

A lump sum payment of $1,500 will be paid to your beneficiary if you: 

• Die before receiving any pension benefits, and 
• Have at least 10 Pension Credits, including at least 4 Pension Credits earned during the Contribution Period, and 
• Do not meet the eligibility requirements for a 75% Unreduced Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension or the 50% Preretirement Surviving Spouse Pension. 

 Caution: If you work at least one hour of Employment in the Sheet Metal Industry that is not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Employer and the Union after December 31, 1989, this death benefit is not payable. 

After Your Benefits Begin 

If you die after you begin receiving pension benefits from the Plan, your eligible spouse or beneficiary may receive a monthly pension, depending on the form of payment you elected. The different forms of payment are described beginning on page 29. There are four types of survivor benefits payable after Retirement. 

50% Joint and Survivor Spousal Survivor Benefits 

If this option was in effect after your Retirement, your spouse will receive 50% of the pension amount you had been receiving before your death. If your benefit had been reduced for any reason, your spouse will receive 50% of that reduced amount. 

75% Joint and Survivor Spousal Survivor Benefits 

If this option was in effect after your Retirement, your spouse will receive 75% of the pension amount you had been receiving before your death. If your benefit had been reduced for any reason, your spouse will receive 75% of that reduced amount. 

100% Joint and Survivor Spousal Survivor Benefits 

If this option was in effect after your Retirement, your spouse will receive 100% of the pension amount you had been receiving before your death. If your benefit had been reduced for any reason, your spouse will receive 100% of that reduced amount. 

60-Month Guarantee 

If this option was in effect after your Retirement and you die before receiving 60 monthly payments, your spouse or beneficiary will receive 60 monthly payments minus the number of payments you already received. If your benefit had been reduced for any reason (such as Early Retirement, Level Income Option or Partial Lump Sum Option), your spouse will receive the remaining payments of that reduced amount. If you die after receiving 60 monthly payments, pension payments will end the month of your death since the guarantee period has ended. 

The Calendar Year, January 1 through December 31, serves as the basis for computing a year of Vesting Service and Pension Credit. It differs from the Pension Fund’s fiscal year, which is the 12-month period of July 1 through June 30. 

The Contribution Period is the period during which an Employer is required, according to Collective Bargaining Agreements or other written participation agreements, to make contributions to the Fund for work in Covered Employment. 

Covered Employment means employment of an Employee by an Employer for which contributions are required to be paid to the Fund, and may include such employment prior to the Contribution Period which, if performed during the Contribution Period would have resulted in contributions being paid to the Fund. There may be some periods of Covered Employment for which contributions are not required to be paid, such as apprentice time. For more information, contact the Fund Office. 

The date used to calculate and pay your benefits under the Plan, generally, the first day of the first month after or coincident with the later of: 

• The first day of the month following your submission of a completed application for benefits; or 
• 30 days after the Plan advises you of your available payment options. 

The Effective Date may occur and benefits may begin before the end of the 30-day period, provided: 

• You (and your spouse, if applicable) consent in writing to beginning payments before the end of the 30-day period, but no earlier than seven days before your Effective Date; 
• Your benefit was previously being paid because of an election after Normal Retirement Age; or 
• Your benefit is being paid automatically as a Lump-Sum Payment under the provisions of the Plan. 

The Effective Date for a beneficiary or alternate payee under a Qualified Domestic Relations Order will be determined as stated above, except that references to spousal consent do not apply. 

The Effective Date will not be later than the Required Beginning Date. 

f you work for an Employer who contributes to the Pension Fund for your work as required by a Collective Bargaining Agreement or other written agreement, you are an Employee under the Plan and are covered by the Pension Plan. 

If the Employer you work for contributes to the Pension Fund according to a Collective Bargaining Agreement or other written participation agreement providing for such contributions, it is considered an Employer under the Plan. An Employer may also be referred to as a Contributing Employer. 

ERISA means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. 

Initial Participation Requirement is the first January 1 or July 1 after you’ve completed 870 hours of work in Covered Employment in a consecutive 12-month period for an Employer under the Plan. 

Normal Retirement Age is generally the later of age 65 or the fifth anniversary of your participation in the Plan. 

Pension Credits are the 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 are the number of years and quarters of years of work in Covered Employment before Employers were first required to pay contributions to the Fund. 

Pension Credits during the Contribution Period are earned by your hours of work in Covered Employment for which Employers are required to pay contributions to the Pension Fund. 

This date is April 1 of the Calendar Year following the Calendar Year in which you reach age 72 if you reach age 70 ½ on or after January 1, 2020. From April 1, 1988 to December 31, 2019, this date was the April 1 of the Calendar Year following the Calendar Year in which you reached age 70½, if you reached age 70 ½ before January 1, 2020. However, if you reached age 70½ before 1988, your Required Beginning Date is April 1 of the Calendar Year in which you stopped work in Covered Employment, if that is later. 

For Calendar Years on or after January 1, 2000, you can earn Special Service Credits for hours of work in Covered Employment in a Calendar Year, according to the following schedule: 

Any individual to whom a Participant is lawfully married under any state or foreign law or the law of a jurisdiction, including individuals married to a person of the same sex who are legally married in a state or foreign jurisdiction that recognizes same sex marriages, even if they are domiciled in a state that does not recognize such marriage. The term “Spouse” shall not include domestic partners or individuals in civil unions. 

When reference is made to the Union, it means the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association, Local Union No. 73 of Chicago, Cook and Lake County, Illinois, AFL-CIO. 

Vesting Service is counted in years and is earned through hours of work in Covered Employment and/or continuous non-covered employment during the Contribution Period, and determines your right to a Deferred Pension (see page 25). 

Examine, without charge, at the Plan Administrator’s office and at other specified locations, such as worksites and Union halls, all documents governing the Plan. These include insurance contracts, 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 (EBSA). 

• Obtain, upon written request to the Plan Administrator, copies of documents governing the operation of the Plan. These including insurance contracts, Collective Bargaining Agreements, and copies of the latest annual report (Form 5500 Series) and updated Summary Plan Description. The Administrator may make a reasonable charge for the copies. 
• Receive notice annually on the Plan’s funding status. The Plan Administrator is required by law to furnish each participant with a copy of this Annual Funding Notice. 
• Obtain a statement telling you whether you have a right to receive a pension at Normal Retirement Age and if so, what your benefits would be at Normal Retirement Age if you stop working under the Plan now. If you do not have a right to a pension, the statement will tell you how many more years you have to work to earn a right to a pension. This statement must be requested in writing and is not required to be given more than once every 12 months. The Plan must provide the statement free of charge. 

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 pension benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA. 

If your application for a pension 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 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 Plan 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 Administrator.

If you have a claim for benefits that 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 Plan 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. 

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 EBSA, U.S. Department of Labor at: 

Nearest Regional Office
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Chicago Regional Office
200 West Adams Street, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60606
312-353-0900

National Office
The Division of Technical Assistance and Inquires
Employee Benefits Security Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210
866-444-3272

You may also obtain certain publications and learn more about your rights and responsibilities under ERISA by visiting the EBSA website at www.dol.gov/ebsa or by calling the publications hotline of EBSA. For single copies of publications, contact EBSA’s Brochure Request Line at (800) 998-7542 or contact the nearest EBSA field office.