The Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust

The first thing you need to know is whether your job is covered by the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan. This section explains the rules on Plan coverage and how your employer makes contributions based on your covered employment.

Topics Below

Covered Employment
Covered Employer
Union
Pension Agreement
Contribution Rate
Types of Contributions
General Information About Eligibility

Covered Employment

Your work qualifies as covered employment only if your employer is a covered employer required to make contributions to the Pension Trust for your employment according to a written pension agreement.

Periods of employment for which contributions are not required do not count as covered employment even if contributions are made for such employment.

Not all work for a covered employer qualifies as covered employment. For example, your work does not qualify as covered employment if:

You are not working in a job covered by a pension agreement.
You are self-employed.
You are a proprietor or partner of your business.

Covered Employer

A covered employer is any employer who is required to contribute to the Plan by the terms of a pension agreement. Teamster joint councils and local unions representing Plan participants can also cover their own employees by agreeing to make contributions to the Pension Trust.

An employer becomes a covered employer at the beginning of the first hour of covered employment performed by any employee. An employer stops being a covered employer at the end of the last hour of covered employment performed by any employee.

Union

Any local union affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters primarily representing employees working within the 13 Western states and any other Teamsters local union designated by the Board of Trustees.

Pension Agreement

This is a written collective bargaining agreement (labor contract) between an employer and a union, or other written agreement approved by the Board of Trustees, that requires employer contributions to the Pension Trust on behalf of the employees who work under that agreement. The agreement must conform to Plan rules and policies and be accepted by the Board of Trustees.

Your pension agreement states what your employer’s basic contribution rate is and generally lists the job classifications that are covered by the Plan. It also tells you if your employer has agreed to make supplemental PEER contributions to the Pension Trust for your work (and the work of other employees covered by the pension agreement). If you need a copy, contact your employer or local union.

The next thing you need to know is how your employer makes Plan contributions on your behalf.

Contribution Rate

Your contribution rate is a set dollar amount that your covered employer is required to pay into the Pension Trust for your covered employment. It is based on a formula contained in your pension agreement and is determined through negotiations between your employer and your local union. Your contribution rate may be defined as an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly amount.

How much your employer contributes to the Plan for your covered employment greatly affects the amount of your monthly benefit. Examples in later sections show how your benefit builds up faster as your contribution rate goes up.

Types of Contributions

There are two types of contributions that covered employers make to the Pension Trust: Basic contributions and PEER contributions. You need to understand the difference because only basic contributions are used to calculate the amount of your Plan benefit.

BASIC CONTRIBUTIONS
Basic contributions are a major part of the dollars that covered employers pay into the Plan for your covered employment. They are used to help pay for the basic benefits your Plan provides. The exact contribution rates for your work are spelled out in your collective bargaining agreement.

PEER CONTRIBUTIONS
First introduced in 1992, the Program for Enhanced Early Retirement (PEER) lets eligible participants retire early at any age with no reduction in benefit amounts. Most of your Plan’s employers make separate PEER contributions to help pay for enhanced early retirement benefits through PEER.

PEER contributions are paid in addition to the basic contributions your employer is required to make. They are not used to calculate the amount of your Plan benefit. Your pension agreement tells if your employer makes PEER contributions.

General Information About Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the Pension Plan, you must be an employee covered under a bona fide written labor contract between an employer and a Teamsters local union. This written contract must require your employer to make payments to the Pension Trust and must be accepted by the Board of Trustees as a pension agreement. A copy of your collective bargaining agreement should be available for inspection at the office of your employer or local union.

Only the Area Administrative Offices represent the Board of Trustees in administering the Plan and giving information about benefit amounts, eligibility and other provisions of the Plan. No representatives of any union, including union officers and business agents, no representatives of any employer or employer association, and no representatives of any other organization except the Area Administrative Offices, are authorized to provide information or interpret the Plan. In all cases, the terms of the Plan govern.

The Board of Trustees has the power to amend or terminate the Plan at any time.

Self-employed persons such as sole proprietors, unincorporated owners and partners are not eligible to personally participate in the Plan.

Pensions are not paid to persons who are found to be ineligible for Plan coverage, even if contributions are made on their behalf. If you have questions about whether your coverage is proper, write directly to your Area Administrative Office.

Click here for questions and answers about Plan Coverage.