Pension Plan Summary Plan Description
5.3 General Rules for Determining Accrued Benefit
The amount of your Accrued Benefit depends on the years of Pension Credit you have earned when you retire (see Section 5.1), the value attributable to each year of Pension Credit (explained in this section), and the benefit option you select (Article 7), and the time you begin your pension (Article 8).
As explained previously, benefits accrued under the Motor Shop or Neon Sign Agreements are not discussed in this booklet because those agreements are no longer effective. If you have accrued benefits under either of these agreements and would like a summary of the rules that apply to them, please contact the Plan Office.
In general, the amount of a Participant's annual Accrued Benefit will reflect the sum of the value of each year of Pension Credit earned by the Participant. The value of a year of Past Service is $2.50. The value of other years of Pension Credit depends on the year in which the Pension Credit was earned and when the Participant incurred a Separation from Service. Fractional years of Pension Credit are recognized on a monthly basis. A "Separation from Service" is incurred on the last day of any three calendar year periods during which the Participant had zero hours of Credited Service.
Separation from Service On or Before December 31, 1982
For a Participant who incurred a Separation from Service on or before December 31, 1982, the monthly value of the Participant's year of Pension Credit is determined in accordance with the following Table I:
Separation from Service On or After December 31, 1983 (Does Not Meet 3,000 Hour Rule)
For a Participant who did not incur a Separation from Service on or before December 31, 1982, and who does not work at least 3,000 hours of Covered Employment on or after December 31, 1980, the monthly value of the Participant's Year of Pension Credit is determined in accordance with the following Table II:
No Separation from Service Before January 1, 1984 (Meets 3,000 Hour Rule)
For a Participant who did not Separate from Service on or before January 1, 1984, and who worked 3,000 hours of Covered Employment after December 31, 1980, the value of Pension Credit is determined in accordance with Table III below, based on the benefit factor in effect as of the date of any separation.
Example: If you retired on July 1, 1997, and you earned at least 3,000 hours of Pension Credit after December 31, 1992, but not after December 31, 1993, then the annual value of your Pension
Credit will be $116. If you retired on April 1, 2001, and you earned at least 3,000 hours of Pension Credit after December 31, 1995, but not after December 31, 1996, then the annual value of your Pension Credit will be $160.
Example: As another example for more recent retirees, if you retire on July 28, 2014, all of your Years of Pension Credit will be valued at $180, provided you worked at least 3,000 hours of Covered Employment after December 31, 2009.
Regardless of when you commence your pension, the value of your Years of Pension Credit depends on the latest date you worked at least 3,000 hours, and whether you incurred a Separation from Service.
Example: As a final example, if you incurred a Separation from Service on December 31, 1992, and earned at least 3,000 hours after December 31, 1986, but not after December 31, 1987, the value of your Pension Credit earned before your Separation from Service will be $90.
Return to Covered Employment after Separation from Service
Generally, if you return to Covered Employment after a Separation from Service, you may earn additional Pension Credit at the rate set forth in Table II above, but the value of Pension Credit you earned before your Separation from Service will equal the amount provided in Table III as of the date of your separation, subject to the 3,000 hour requirement.
If, in the example above, you returned to Covered Employment after a Separation from Service occuring on December 31, 1992, and earned at least 3,000 hours after December 31, 2009, then the annual value of your Pension Credit earned before your separation will increase from $90 to $92 (because you will have satisfied the 3,000 hour requirement after December 31, 1987) and the value of your Pension Credit earned after your return to Covered Employment will be $180.
An exception to the Separation from Service rule applies if, after you have incurred a Separation from Service, you return to Covered Employment earning at least 3,000 hours of Pension Credit between January 1, 1987, and December 31, 1991. In this case your Pension Credit for your pre-Separation from Service period may increase under Table III as though you had not incurred the Separation from Service.