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Check here for answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding the Pension Benefit. If you don't see the answer to your question, please contact the Benefits Office. We will be happy to assist you. What benefits are available to me if I become permanently and totally disabled? What happens to my Pension Benefit if I return to work after I have retired? What benefits
are available to me if I become permanently and totally disabled? What happens to my Pension Benefit if I return to work after I have retired? The Trustees have adopted these rules and regulations to administer the suspension of pension payments provisions under the Plan. These Rules and Regulations supplement those provisions of the Plan regarding suspension of pension payments pursuant to such authority. The Trustees may amend or terminate these Rules in their discretion in accordance with the legal requirements governing suspension of benefits. Please review these Rules and Regulations carefully. Every Pensioner who is commencing pension payments shall be provided with a copy of these Rules regarding suspension of pension payments. DEFINITIONS NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE Normal Retirement Age means age 65. PENSIONER “Pensioner” means a person to whom a pension under this Plan is being paid. PLAN ADMINISTRATOR The name and address of the Plan Administrator for the Pension Plan is: St. Paul Electrical Industry Administration Service Corporation PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT (a) Before Normal Retirement Age. (i) On or before receiving six (6) monthly retirement checks and before Normal Retirement Age, a Pensioner is engaged in Prohibited Employment if he or she is employed anywhere by the industry. “Employed by the industry” means employed by an employer who is engaged in the business activities of the types engaged in by any employers maintaining the Pension Plan and such employment is covered by a collective bargaining agreement then in force which requires contribution to the Pension Plan. (ii) After receiving six (6) monthly retirement checks and before Normal Retirement Age, a Pensioner is engaged in Prohibited Employment if he or she is employed by the industry inside the geographical jurisdiction of the I.B.E.W. Local Union 110. “Employed by the industry” means employed by an employer who is engaged in the business activities of the types engaged in by any employer maintaining the Pension Plan and such employment is covered by a collective bargaining agreement then in force which requires contribution to the Pension Plan. The geographical jurisdiction of the I.B.E.W. Local Union 110 means the geographical jurisdiction of I.B.E.W. Local Union 110 as defined in the most current collective bargaining agreement between the St. Paul Chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association and the I.B.E.W. Local Union 110. (b) At or After Normal Retirement Age. At or after Normal Retirement Age, a Pensioner is engaged in Prohibited Employment if he or she is employed in an industry in which employees covered by the Pension Plan were employed, in the trade or craft in which the Participant was employed at any time under the Pension Plan, and in the geographic area covered by the Pension Plan at the time pension payments commenced to the Participant. In addition, the Participant must work in such employment by completing 40 or more Hours of Service during a four or five week payroll period ending in a calendar month or receives payment for any such Hours o Service performed on each of 8 or more days (or separate work shifts) in such month or payroll period. Prohibited Employment at or after Normal Retirement Age specifically excludes the following: (1) work as an instructor in an approved electrical training program recognized by the Trustees for which contributions are not made on behalf of the instructor to the Pension Plan, or (2) work as an electrical inspector for a governmental authority for which contributions are not made on behalf of the electrical inspector to the Pension Plan. (c) April 1 of the Year Following Attainment of Age 70 ½. There is no Prohibited Employment as of April 1 of the year following the calendar year in which the Pensioner attains age 70 ½. TRUSTEES “Trustees” means the Trustees of the St. Paul Electrical Construction Pension Fund. “Trustees” also means any committee of the Trustees who are given authority to hear appeals of determination decisions of the Plan Administrator.
SUSPENSION OF PENSION PAYMENTS Time of Suspension If, in any calendar year, a Pensioner is employed in Prohibited Employment, his pension payment shall be suspended for each calendar month thereafter in which he performs Prohibited Employment. Payment of pension benefits shall resume no later than the first day of the calendar month following the calendar month in which the Pensioner ceases Prohibited Employment, provided that he has given notice to the Plan in accordance with the Plan and these Rules. Exception To Suspension of Benefits Rules For Certain Pensioners Aged 58 to 62. Pension payments will not be suspended if a Pensioner retired under the Early Retirement Provisions in the Pension Plan, the Pensioner is at least age 58 nor older than attained age 62, the Pensioner has received at least six (6) monthly retirement checks with no Prohibited Employment during the six months covered by the payments, and the Pensioner is working for an Employer in the geographical jurisdiction of the I.B.E.W. Local Union 110 who is making contributions to the Pension Fund on the Pensioner’s behalf. In addition, the Pensioner may only work 479 hours in the 12-month period starting when the Pensioner returns to work. The Pensioner may avoid suspension for an additional 479 hours of service, if the Pensioner does not work in Prohibited Employment for 9 months and receives pension checks during such 9-month period starting from the end of the first 479-hour period. Notification – By Plan 1. Upon commencement of pension payments, the Plan Administrator shall notify the Pensioner of the Plan rules governing suspension of benefits. The Plan Administrator shall inform all Pensioners at least once every twelve (12) months of the reemployment notification requirements and the presumptions set forth in these Rules. 2. The Trustees or the Plan Administrator shall inform a Participant of any suspension of benefits by notice given by personal delivery or first class mail during the first calendar month in which his or her benefits are withheld. 3. If benefits have been suspended, new notification shall, upon resumption of benefits, be given to the Participant if there have been any material changes in the suspension rules or the identity of the industries or area covered by the Plan. 4. The Plan Administrator or the Trustees may annually request from each Pensioner a copy of the first page of the Pensioner’s federal income tax return and copies of any relevant W-2 forms in order to determine whether the Pensioner may be engaged in Prohibited Employment. If Pensioner refuses to comply with the request for information, Pensioner shall be deemed to be working in Prohibited Employment as of the date of the request. Notification – By Pensioner 1. A Pensioner shall notify the Plan Administrator in writing within twenty-one (21) days after starting work of the type that is or may be Prohibited Employment without regard to the number of hours of such work. The Participant shall have the right to overcome such presumption that he is working at least 40 Hours of Service a month by establishing through written evidence that his work was not in Prohibited Employment. If he fails to give written notice as required in these Rules, his pension may be suspended by the Plan Administrator for an additional period of three (3) months over and above the suspension period specified in these Rules. 2. A Pensioner whose pension has been suspended shall notify the Plan Administrator when Prohibited Employment has ended. The Plan Administrator may require Pensioner to provide proof, such as a letter from the employer that Pensioner’s Prohibited Employment has ceased. Benefit payments may be withheld until such notice and any required proof of termination of Prohibited Employment is provided to the Plan Administrator. 3. A Participant may ask the Plan Administrator whether a particular employment will be Prohibited Employment. The Plan Administrator shall provide the Participant with its determination. Review A Participant shall be entitled to a full and fair review by the Trustees of any determination of the Plan Administrator relating to these Rules and Regulations, including but not limited to whether particular employment constitutes Prohibited Employment, whether benefits were properly suspended, or whether benefits should not be reinstated. Appeal of the Plan Administrator’s determination shall be made by written request filed with the Trustees within sixty (60) days of the notice of any such determination from the Plan Administrator. Resumption of Benefit Payments 1. Overpayments attributable to payments made for any month or months for which the Participant’s benefits have been suspended shall be deducted from pension payments otherwise paid or payable subsequent to the period of suspension. A deduction from a monthly benefit for a month after the Participant attained Normal Retirement Age shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the pension amount (before deduction), except that the Trustees may withhold up to one hundred percent (100%) of the first pension payment made upon resumption of benefits after suspension. 2. A Participant who resumes retirement before Normal Retirement Age shall have one hundred percent (100%) of his benefit withheld until the amount of overpayments is recovered or, if earlier, until he reaches Normal Retirement Age, at which time the rules in paragraph 1. above shall apply. 3. If a Pensioner dies before overpayments have been recovered, deductions shall be made from the benefits payable to his Beneficiary or surviving Spouse, subject to the above percentage limitations on the rate of deduction in paragraphs 1. and 2. above.
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