Plan Coverage
Participation
& Vesting
Losing and Protecting Benefits
Recent Coverage
Contribution Account Benefit
Five-Year Average Benefit
Normal Retirement
Early Retirement
Disability Retirement
Death & Survivor Benefits
Applying for Retirement
Benefits
Working After You Retire
Other Information
Plan Coverage
Q. Do my union dues pay for Plan benefits?
A. No. Only employer contributions made
on your behalf and their investment earnings
pay for Plan benefits.
Q. Can I pay additional contributions
to the Plan to increase my benefit?
A. Additional contributions outside of your
pension agreement cannot be accepted by the Plan. Only contributions
paid by your employer according to your collective bargaining agreement
can be accepted. Contact your local union if you would like more information
about your contract and contribution rates.
Q. Are employer contributions paid on all of my hours?
A. That depends on what your collective
bargaining agreement provides. For example, not all collective bargaining
agreements require Plan contributions for all forms of paid hours such
as overtime hours.
Your agreement may contain daily, weekly, monthly or annual maximums on the hours that require contributions. Be sure to contact your local union if you have questions about your contract and whether contributions are required for all the hours you work.
Q. Will the pension rate for my
current employer change throughout my employment?
A. The pension rates in your collective
bargaining agreement can
never decrease. Your pension
rate will either remain the same or increase. Typically, pension
rates increase over time based on each new negotiated contract.
Participation & Vesting
Q. Once I’m in my fifth vesting
year, do I have to wait until the end of the year to be vested?
A. If you’re in your fifth vesting
year, you’ll be vested when you complete your 500th covered hour.
You don’t have to wait until the end of the calendar year to be
vested.
While most active participants are vested after five years of covered employment, it may take longer if you don’t work the minimum hours each year or if you left the Plan before 1991. Click here for more information about vesting. If you have questions about your vesting status or Plan coverage, contact your Area Administrative Office.
Q. My bargaining unit joined the Plan
in 2008 when I was age 53. I’ve been continuously employed
there for four years. If I work full-time, when will I become vested?
A. In your situation, based on the special
vesting rule for units first entering the Plan on or after January 1,
2002, the Plan counts two of your four years of continuous past employment
as years of vesting service. This means you only need to earn three
more years of vesting service to satisfy the Plan’s five-year
vesting requirements.
Q. My Personal Benefit Statement shows
that 2,080 hours were paid on my behalf last year. But I actually
worked more hours than that. Are contributions made for overtime?
A. Your Personal Benefit Statement only
shows the hours for which pension contributions were paid. Your collective
bargaining agreement may not require your employer to contribute on
overtime hours. Or it may have a monthly or yearly maximum on the number
of hours that require pension contributions.
Click here for a sample statement that
shows the employer contributions paid in
the previous calendar year based on the participant’s collective
bargaining agreement.
Losing and Protecting Benefits
Q. Before I was vested, I had low hours
for a few years until I began working full time. Does that time
still count toward the amount of my pension?
A. That depends. As long as you
don’t have five consecutive interruptions of service (years when
you earn less than 250 hours of service),
all your covered hours count when calculating
your benefit. Remember, only years when you have at least 500 hours
of service count for vesting. Click
here for an explanation of forfeiture of service.
Q. In the past, I took a non-union job when there was not enough
Teamster work available. How could that hurt my pension benefit?
A. If you leave covered employment
for too long before becoming vested, you may suffer a forfeiture
of service. However, if you return to covered employment before
having a forfeiture and later become vested, your entire period
of covered employment counts toward your pension benefit.
Q. I worked three years in covered employment and then transferred
to a non-covered management position with the same employer before I
was vested. Will I lose the three years I earned before moving into
management?
A. No. As long as you remained
continuously employed, your non-covered work with a covered employer
may count toward vesting and help protect you from a complete loss
of your Plan benefits. Click here for more information.
Q. I worked in covered employment
for two years in the late 1960s, but left covered employment and had
a break in service in 1971. In 1985, I returned to covered employment
and later became vested. Can my two years of covered employment from
the 1960s be restored and counted toward my Plan benefits?
A. Yes. As long as you had
no forfeitures of service after 1975 and became vested before 2004,
you may qualify to have your pre-1976 credit restored and counted
toward your Plan benefits. Click here for more information about pre-1976 restored covered hours.
Recent Coverage
Q. Why is recent coverage important?
A. Many Plan benefits are not available unless
you have recent coverage. Others are higher if you have
recent coverage. Click here to see which Plan benefits require recent coverage and which benefit amounts are higher with recent coverage.
Q. I’ve been in the Plan full-time
for many years. Do I still have to worry about maintaining recent
coverage until I retire?
A. If you maintain your recent coverage
until you complete 25 years of contributory service, your recent coverage
is locked in for good.
You can’t lose it by leaving covered employment or going on a reduced work schedule, even if you have not yet reached your earliest retirement date. See the Recent Coverage section for an explanation.
Q. How can I make sure I have recent coverage?
A. If you stay in full-time covered employment
up to your earliest retirement date (usually age 55), you always have
recent coverage. You have recent coverage by working 1,500 covered hours
in the 60-month period immediately before your pension effective date,
your earliest retirement date or any date that falls between.
As long as you continue to work at least 500 covered hours each calendar year—until your earliest retirement date—you won’t lose your recent coverage.
If you go on a reduced work schedule for more than a year,
it could affect your recent coverage. Check
with your Area
Administrative Office about
your exact situation.
Contribution Account Benefit
Q. If I work more than 2,080 covered
hours each year, is there a limit on how much pension I earn?
A. No. All basic contributions your employer
makes for your covered work count toward
your monthly pension. But remember to check
if your collective bargaining agreement limits
the number of hours your employer is required
to contribute on your behalf (click
here for more information).
Q. How can I find out my estimated pension amount?
A. Your Personal Benefit Statement shows
the pension benefit you earned for your covered
work in the prior calendar year and your
total accrued benefit earned to date, payable
at age 65. The Plan also offers other forms
of benefit information explaining your Plan
status and accrued benefits (click
here for more information).
If you’re near retirement, your Area Administrative Office can verify your benefit amount. Your monthly benefit is calculated based on the exact benefit percentages that apply to your covered hours in the months and years they are earned.
Q. Once I retire, how long does
it take to get back all the contributions that were paid into the
Plan for my covered employment?
A. The answer depends on how long you work and how much is contributed.
For most participants who retire at normal retirement age, it takes
approximately four years in retirement for the Plan to pay out more
dollars than the contributions paid in by your employers.
Five-Year Average Benefit
Q. How are service credits calculated
under the five-year average formula?
A. To calculate service credits, your Plan divides the total of all your
covered hours before 1987 by 1,875. The result is your total service
credits.
If you have more than 1,875 covered hours in a calendar year before 1987, those extra hours add to your total service credits (click here for an example of calculating total service credits).
Q. How can I find out my five-year
average rate and how much I get at retirement?
A. Your five-year average rate
is the average of the contribution rates paid by your contributing
employers in your five most recent calendar years before
1992 when you worked at least 500 covered hours (click
here for an example of how to calculate your
five-year average rate).
Once you know your five-year average rate, click here to look up the value of that rate in Table 4. This value is multiplied by your total service credits to determine the five-year average benefit you’ll get at retirement.
Remember, if you have coverage after 1986, you also earn a contribution account benefit that adds to your total retirement benefit (click here for more information).
Q. I joined the Plan in 1987.
Does this mean I don’t have a five-year
average benefit?
A. That’s correct. All your benefits are earned under the contribution
account benefit formula (click
here for more information).
Normal Retirement
Q. If I wait to draw my pension at age
68 or 70, will my benefit be higher?
A. Yes. Your pension grows with each year
of covered work. If you retire after age
65, you also qualify for a late
retirement factor that
gives you an even higher benefit for the time you wait to retire after
age 65 (click
here to see how your late retirement factor
increases). Remember,
you must start receiving benefits by age
70, even if you are still working.
If you’re near retirement, it’s a good idea to request an Estimate of Benefits based on your possible retirement dates. Your estimate helps you compare your monthly benefits depending on when you decide to retire.
Q. Is my pension affected by Social Security
benefits?
A. No. Unlike some plans, your benefits
are not coordinated with amounts you may receive from Social Security.
Q. I’m nearing age 65 and heard
that I can start drawing my pension at age 65 and still work for
the same employer. Is this true?
A. Yes. Participants age 65 and older can
start drawing their pension without quitting
covered employment. Be sure to check with
your local union or employer to see if your
collective bargaining agreement allows you
to continue working full-time once your pension
benefits begin. Many contracts have rules
about loss of seniority or other rights that
may affect your retirement decisions. You
must still file an application with your
Area
Administrative Office before benefits
can begin. See the Applying
for Retirement Benefits section for more information.
Early Retirement
Q. How do I find out
if I’m
covered under a PEER contract and at which
PEER level?
A. You can check your current collective bargaining agreement (available
through your local union or employer) or you can request the information
from your Area
Administrative Office.
If you’re near retirement, it’s a good idea to request an Estimate of Benefits based on your possible retirement dates (click here for more information). Your estimate helps you compare your monthly benefits depending on when you decide to retire.
Q. If I continue to work after I qualify
for PEER/80, do the extra
years I work add to my pension amount?
A. Yes. Your retirement benefit is based
on all the basic contributions your employer pays into the Plan for
your covered employment up to your pension effective date.
Remember, it is only basic contributions that count toward your benefit amount—not PEER contributions.
Q. How do I make sure I stay eligible for
PEER?
A. You need to earn at least 1,000 PEER
hours during the 24-month period ending with
your pension effective date unless you’ve already locked in your
PEER coverage. Click
here for details about PEER Lock-in protection. In addition, you
need to be vested, meet the PEER age and contributory service requirements
and have recent coverage.
Q. Do I earn a PEER point based on my
anniversary dates with my employer? How are the 500 hours counted
for PEER points?
A. No. The Plan uses a calendar year for
determining whether you have earned a year
of contributory service towards your PEER points. For each calendar
year that you work at least 500 covered hours under a PEER pension agreement,
you earn a point.
Disability Retirement
Q. Can I apply for my pension if I
am in the process of applying for Social Security disability benefits?
A. Yes. You may apply for your disability retirement benefit at any time.
Assuming you meet the eligibility requirements for an early age retirement
benefit, the Plan begins paying your age retirement benefit. If you
are later awarded Social Security disability benefits, and your disability
onset date is no more than 24 months after your age retirement pension
effective date, your benefit is converted to a disability retirement
benefit payable from your disability entitlement date.
Q. If I become disabled, how is my disability retirement benefit calculated?
A. Your disability retirement benefit is
based on a percentage of your normal retirement
benefit at age 65.
If you’re under age 55, your benefit is 85% of your normal retirement benefit. If you’re age 55 or older, your benefit is the same as if you took early retirement, but never less than 85% of your normal retirement benefit. It can be higher if you qualify under a PEER program or the Rule of 84. See the Early Retirement section for more information.
Q. What happens if I recover from my
disability?
A. You must notify your Area
Administrative Office immediately that you are no longer receiving Social Security
disability benefits. If you are eligible for an age retirement benefit,
your disability benefit is converted to an age retirement benefit. If
you are not yet eligible for early retirement, you return to vested
status. It’s important to discuss your disability status with
your Area
Administrative Office if your status with Social Security
changes.
Q. If I become disabled, can I wait to
receive disability retirement benefits until I meet PEER eligibility
next year and receive a higher benefit?
A. Yes. You can postpone your disability
retirement benefits until you qualify for
unreduced benefits under a PEER program.
However, you must remain eligible for Social
Security disability benefits as well as meet
the other eligibility requirements for Plan
disability retirement benefits. See
the Disability
Retirement section for more
information.
Death & Survivor Benefits
Q. I am recently divorced and my property
settlement says my ex-spouse is not entitled to my pension. I previously
designated her as my beneficiary. Do I need to change my beneficiary
designation if I no longer want my ex-spouse as my beneficiary?
A. Yes. The Plan only recognizes the person named on the last valid Beneficiary
Designation Form you completed before your death. It doesn’t matter
if you later divorce. If there is a change in your family status, it’s
extremely important that you contact your Area
Administrative Office to request a new Beneficiary Designation Form.
Q. I’m a single parent who recently joined the Plan. Will
my children receive Plan benefits if I die before I’m vested?
A. Even though you are not yet vested, your
children may be eligible to receive child
survivor benefits. You must have recent coverage and meet the other
Plan requirements explainedin the Death & Survivor
Benefits section. Be sure to tell
family members how to contact your Area
Administrative Office after
your death.
Q. I’m preparing a will
to name those who receive my property when I die. Does the Plan
pay death benefits to the beneficiaries named in my will?
A. The Plan only pays death benefits to
persons named as your Plan beneficiaries
on the Beneficiary Designation Form supplied
by the Plan and received by your Area
Administrative Office before your death. See Applying
for Death Benefits for
more information. You may name your estate
as your Plan beneficiary so that your death
benefits are paid to your estate. If you
are naming your estate, keep your will updated.
Be advised that your will may need to be
probated in order for Plan benefits to be
paid following your death.
Q. If my named beneficiary dies,
how can I designate someone else to receive Plan benefits?
A. The only way to name new beneficiaries
or change a previous designation is by using
the Plan’s official Beneficiary
Designation Form (click
here for an explanation).
Your most recent Personal Benefit Statement shows your current
beneficiary and provides a Beneficiary Change Form. You can
also download and print a new
form.
Designations made on forms used by other
pension or health and welfare trusts, or
for other union benefits such as life insurance,
are not accepted by this Plan. There are
no exceptions.
Applying for Retirement Benefits
Q. My last day of work is December 31,
but I have four weeks of unpaid vacation. Can I start my pension
on January 1 and continue to draw my vacation over the following
four weeks?
A. Yes. Assuming you have formally terminated
your employment, you may choose a pension effective date the first of
the month following your actual last day of work and continue to receive
pay for vacation or sick leave from your last covered employer, as long
as your collective bargaining agreement allows for this. You should
check with your Area
Administrative Office to find out whether your
collective bargaining agreement allows contributions to be paid for
vacation or sick leave after your last day of work.
Q. What happens if I retire before age
65 and return to work for the employer who was my last covered employer
within six months after I stopped working?
A. If you are under age 65 and return to
work for the same covered employer for any number of hours within six
months after you stop work, Plan rules assume that you did not intend
to retire permanently. Your benefits are temporarily suspended while
you provide proof that you really did intend to retire permanently.
If you do not provide satisfactory proof, then your early retirement
benefit is cancelled. This means you must repay any retirement benefits
you already received.
Q. If my ex-spouse was awarded a portion
of my retirement through our divorce, what documents do I need to
provide to start my benefit payments?
A. You must send copies of any court documents
related to your ex-spouse’s entitlement to your pension to your
Area Administrative Office immediately.
Plan representatives can verify whether the documents are in compliance with federal law and Plan rules, and whether you need to seek an amended order or take other action. Click here for an explanation of the requirements for a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).
Q. If I leave the Plan after I am vested,
when can I start drawing my pension?
A. As long as you’re vested when you
leave the Plan and are considered retired
from employment, you can start receiving
benefits as early as age 55, or even earlier
if you qualify under the Rule of 84 or a PEER program. See a
summary
of these four types of early retirement benefits available to vested
participants.
Remember, any employment after retirement is subject to the Plan’s benefit suspension rules, unless you are age 65 or older. See the Working After You Retire section for more information.
Q. I am planning on retiring under PEER/80.
After my birthday in December, I will have 79 PEER points. When
is the earliest date that I can retire under PEER/80?
A. You earn your 80th point toward the PEER
program after you work at least 500 covered hours in the next calendar
year. As long as all other PEER eligibility requirements are met, you
are able to retire under the PEER/80 program on the first of the month
after you work your 500th covered hour. If you don’t work 500
covered hours in the next calendar year, you’ll have 80 PEER points
after your next birthday.
It’s important to note that you are
not eligible to retire under the PEER program until your employer contributions
are received and processed by the Area
Administrative Office. If you
do not want a lapse in income, you should work at least two to three
months after the date you earn your final PEER point. Usually this allows
sufficient time to process your application so that you receive your
first benefit payment the month following your termination.
Q. Once I retire and apply for
benefits, how will I receive my first benefit payment?
A. If you requested automatic deposit,
your first benefit payment
is automatically sent to
your bank and you’ll receive a letter
in the mail, confirming the
amount of your first payment.
If you do not request automatic
deposit, your first benefit
payment is mailed to your
home address. Click
here for
more information about automatic
deposit.
Q. Will I be notified when I become
eligible to begin receiving Plan benefits?
A. No. The Plan does not notify you when you become eligible to receive
benefits. It is your responsibility to stay up to date with your status
under the Plan by reviewing your Annual Benefit Statements and requesting
Work History Statements and Estimates from your Area
Administrative Office. Once you are ready to retire, you must complete and return an
application to the Area
Administrative Office. Click
here to find out how
to request information from your Area
Administrative Office.
Q. What if I cannot provide
a copy of my birth certificate as proof of my birth date?
A. If you cannot provide a copy of your
birth certificate, there are other documents
that the Pension Trust accepts as proof of your birth date. Click
here for a list of acceptable documents.
Working After You Retire
Q. What’s the difference
between covered and non-covered employment?
A. Covered employment is work that you perform for an employer who is obligated
to make contributions to the Pension Trust on your behalf under a pension
agreement with a Teamster local union. Non-covered employment is work
you perform that is not covered under a pension agreement with a Teamster
local union.
Q. After I retire, I will be moving
to California. Before retirement, I lived and worked in Washington.
If I go back to work next year in California for a different company,
will the reemployment rules still apply to me?
A. Yes. As long as you are performing work that is within the 13 Western
States, the Plan’s suspension of benefits rule will apply. It
is important that you contact your Area
Administrative Office before
returning to work and request a formal determination of your proposed
work to find out if it is suspendible employment.
Q. I have been offered a job and
they want me to start right away. Can I receive a determination
over the phone as to whether the job is considered suspendible employment?
A. No. Determinations cannot be given over the phone. In order to receive
a determination on whether a job is considered suspendible employment,
you must submit a Request for Evaluation of Reemployment to your Area
Administrative Office. Determinations are typically mailed out by the
Administrative Office about three to four weeks after the receipt of
your request. If you decide to start working for the employer before
you receive your determination letter, make sure you do not work over
the hours limit in case the work is determined to be suspendible employment.
Q. I am working in suspendible
employment and want to make sure I do not go over the hours limit.
What hours count toward the hours limit?
A. If you are working in suspendible employment, any hours you are compensated
for count toward the hours limit. Time you are compensated for, such
as vacation and holidays, count toward the hours limit, even if you
do not perform any work during this time.
Other Information
Q. How can I find out how many covered hours I have and how much my benefit
would be if I retire at age 65?
A. You can
ask your Area
Administrative Office for the following statements:
Work History Statement—Shows the hours contributed on your behalf of your covered employment.
Accrued Benefit Statement—Shows your age 65 benefit based on your coverage to date.
Estimate of Benefits—Shows the approximate amount of your monthly benefit (based on your coverage to date) and payment options you could receive on the pension effective date you choose. Available within a few years of retirement.
Click here to learn how to request information from your Area Administrative Office.
Q. If I was awarded a portion of my ex-spouse’s retirement
through our divorce, do I have to wait until
he retires to begin receiving benefits?
A. No. If you were awarded a portion of your ex-spouse’s
pension, you can begin drawing benefits when he reaches his earliest
retirement date (usually age 55,or earlier if he is eligible to retire
under a PEER Program or the Rule of 84). You should contact your Area
Administrative Office for specifics about when you can begin
receiving benefits.
Q. I’m moving. How do I change my mailing address?
A. It’s important to notify the Plan about changes to your address
so you’ll receive important Plan information (such as Personal
Benefit Statements, notices and newsletters). Send your new address
(along with your
Social Security number) to your Area
Administrative Office in advance.
You can also download and print a Change of Address Form from
this web site.
It’s also a good idea to send address changes to your local union
and contributing employer. Please be aware that your local union and
the Pension Plan are administered separately. Changing your address
with your employer or local union will not update the address the Plan
has on file for you.
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