The Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust

Spouse Lifetime Pension
Lump Sum Death Benefit
48-Month Death Benefit
Child Survivor Benefit
Change in Marital Status

Spouse Lifetime Pension Eligibility

Your surviving spouse receives this lifetime benefit if you are a married vested participant and die before retirement.

Special rules apply if you are age 70 or over when you die.

Your Plan’s Beneficiary Designation Form is the only way to name a Plan beneficiary or cancel a previous designation.

If You Have Recent Coverage at Death

Benefit Amount. Your surviving spouse receives 66 2/3% of the employee and spouse pension you would receive if you retired the day before your death. If you are not eligible to retire, your spouse’s benefit is calculated as if you were age 55 on your date of death.

This benefit is calculated under the Rule of 84 or PEER if you are eligible for either of these early retirement benefits when you die.

Benefit Effective Date—Death Before Age 65. Once your surviving spouse applies for the spouse lifetime pension, he or she can request that benefit payments go back to the beginning of the month following your death. Or your spouse can request a later benefit effective date up to your 65th birthday.

However, under Plan rules, benefit payments cannot go back more than 23 calendar months from the date your Area Administrative Office receives the request on the proper form (24 months if the request is received on the first day of the month).

Benefit Effective Date—Death at Age 65 or Later. Once your surviving spouse applies for the spouse lifetime pension and the application is approved, benefit payments are made back to the first of the month following your death. Your spouse cannot request a later benefit effective date.

If You Do Not Have Recent Coverage at Death

Benefit Amount. Your surviving spouse receives 50% of the employee and spouse pension you would receive if you retired the day before your death. If you are not eligible to retire, your spouse’s benefit is calculated as if you were age 55.

Benefit Effective Date—Death Before Age 65. Once your surviving spouse applies for the spouse lifetime pension, he or she can request that benefit payments go back to the beginning of the month following your death if you die after age 55.

If you die before age 55, your spouse can request that benefit payments begin the month after your 55th birthday.

Regardless of your age when you die, your spouse can request a later benefit effective date up to your 65th birthday.

Under Plan rules, benefit payments cannot go back more than 23 calendar months from the date your Area Administrative Office receives the request on the proper form (24 months if the request is received on the first day of the month).

Benefit Effective Date—Death at Age 65 or Later. Once your surviving spouse applies for the spouse lifetime pension and the application is approved, benefit payments go back to the first of the month following your death. Your spouse cannot request a later benefit effective date.

How Spouse Lifetime Benefits Increase
Your spouse can increase the amount of the before retirement spouse lifetime pension in either of the following situations:

You die before your earliest retirement date (usually age 55) and your spouse chooses to start benefit payments later than your earliest retirement date. Click here to see the factor used to calculate the increased amount. The amount of the increase depends on the number of calendar months between your earliest retirement date and the benefit effective date requested, or
You die after your earliest retirement date and your spouse chooses to start benefit payments later than the month following your death. Click here to see the factor used to calculate the increased amount. The amount of the increase depends on the number of calendar months between the month of your death and the benefit effective date requested.

If your surviving spouse dies before applying for the spouse lifetime pension, or before the benefit effective date he or she requests, no benefits are payable.

Lump Sum Death Benefit

(Recent Coverage Not Required)

Eligibility. This benefit is payable to your Plan beneficiary if you are a vested participant and die before retirement. (Click here for information about how to name a Plan beneficiary.) It is payable whether you are married or single. You do not need recent coverage.

Benefit Amount. Your Plan beneficiary receives an amount equal to 50% of the total basic contributions paid into the Pension Trust on your behalf up to a maximum of $10,000. This benefit is payable in a lump sum.

48-Month Death Benefit

(Recent Coverage Required)

Eligibility. Your Plan beneficiary receives this benefit if you are a vested participant with recent coverage and die before retirement. (Click here for information about how to name a Plan beneficiary.) This benefit is only payable if you are not married. You must have recent coverage at death. Click here for details about recent coverage.

Benefit Amount. Your Plan beneficiary receives an amount equal to 48 times the monthly life only pension you would receive if you retired the day before your death. If you are not eligible to retire, your Plan calculates this benefit as if you were age 55. The benefit is payable in a lump sum.

This benefit is calculated under the Rule of 84 or PEER if you are eligible for either of these early retirement benefits when you die.

Child Survivor Benefit

(Recent Coverage Required)

Eligibility. This benefit is payable whether or not you are vested but you must have recent coverage at death. Your eligible children receive this monthly benefit following your death if you meet all the requirements shown below:

You die before retirement and before your 65th birthday, and
You have recent coverage at death, and
You work at least 3,000 covered hours, and
Your survivor benefit rate is more than 21¢.

To be eligible, your child must be:

Under age 18 or have a disability that begins before age 18, and
Receiving Social Security survivor or disability benefits because of your death.

Benefit Amount. The amount of the child survivor benefit based on your survivor benefit rate. This total monthly amount is divided equally among your eligible children.

In most cases, the Plan pays each child’s benefit to the person receiving Social Security benefits for that child. The survivor benefit for each child stops when that child becomes ineligible (usually age 18). After that, the survivor benefit for that child is divided among any remaining eligible children.

Child survivor benefits stop entirely when there are no longer any eligible children (usually when the youngest child reaches age 18).

Click here for an example of how child survivor benefits are paid.

Click here for the amount of the child survivor benefit based on sample survivor benefit rates.

Survivor Benefit Rate. Your Plan calculates your survivor benefit rate by dividing the total basic contributions paid for your covered employment after 1991 by your total covered hours after 1991.

For participants who died before January 1, 2000, your Plan calculated their survivor benefit rate by dividing the total basic contributions paid for their covered employment after 1986 by their total covered hours after 1986.

Remember that total basic contributions used do not include PEER contributions.

Click here to view how a child survivor benefit is paid.

Change in Marital Status

If you marry or remarry after your pension effective date, your new spouse does not qualify for a spouse lifetime pension.

If you choose an employee and spouse pension and later divorce, your employee and spouse pension stays in effect. Your former spouse remains the person who receives the spouse lifetime pension after your death. This rule may not apply if a court enters a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) that provides for conversion of your employee and spouse pension to a life only pension and certain other requirements are met. Contact your Area Administrative Office for details.