Other Information

APPLYING FOR YOUR PENSION BENEFIT

A completed application for pension benefits should be submitted to the Fund Office at least 30 days, but no more than 180 days, before the date you wish your benefits to begin. You must submit satisfactory proof of the dates of birth for yourself and your spouse, and proof of marriage, along with your application. You should be aware that payment for a benefit from this Plan is not automatic. It is your obligation to contact the Fund Office and apply for your benefit. Your pension benefits will commence only after all necessary forms have been completed and returned to the Fund Administrator. We urge you to come into the Fund Office for an estimate of your benefits as early as possible before your retirement date.

The Fund Office will provide you with information on the forms of payment available to you and the amount of your monthly benefit under each form. This information must be provided at least 30 days before your Annuity Starting Date. The Plan permits a participant to waive the 30-day election period before the Annuity Starting Date. In order to waive the 30-day election period prior to the Annuity Starting Date, the following conditions must be met: (continued on the next page)

• The distributions cannot begin until at least 7 days after the participant receives the 30-day waiver.
• The participant must acknowledge that he was informed that he has 30 days to waive a joint and survivor annuity under normal circumstances.
• The participant has the right to revoke the waiver at any time prior to the annuity starting date.
• A waiver cannot be used within 7 days prior to the first of any given month.
  

Your spouse must consent to the waiver of the 30-day election period.

Appeals Procedure:

No Employee, Participant, Beneficiary, other persons or entity will have any right or claim to benefits under the Plan, or any right or claim to payment from the Plan, except as specified by the Plan. Any dispute as to eligibility, type, amount or duration of benefits or any right or claim to payments from the Plan shall be resolved by the Board of Trustees under and pursuant to the provisions of the Plan. The decision(s) made by the Board of Trustees are final and binding subject only to such judicial review as may be in harmony with federal labor policy and only after applicable administrative remedies have been exhausted.

Any person or entity whose application for benefits under the Plan, claim to benefits or claim against the Fund has been denied will be notified in writing of the denial within 90 days after receipt of the application or claim. An extension of time, not exceeding 90 days, may be required by special circumstances. If an extension is required, notice of the extension, indicating what special circumstances exist and the date by which a final decision is expected to be rendered, will be furnished to the claimant or applicant prior to the expiration of the initial 90-day period.

The notice of denial will be in a manner reasonably expected to be understood by the claimant or applicant, the following: the specific reason for the denial, the specific reference to the pertinent Plan provisions on which the denial is based, the description of any additional material or information necessary for the claimant or applicant to perfect the claim and an explanation as to why such material and information is necessary and the appropriate information as to the procedures to be followed if the claimant wishes to submit the claim for further review.

Any such person or entity may petition the Board of Trustees for review of the denial. A petition for review must be in writing, stating in clear and concise terms the reason or reasons for disputing the denial. The petition must be accompanied by any pertinent or relevant document or material not already furnished to the Plan and shall be filed by the petitioner or the petitioner’s duly authorized representative with the Board of Trustees within 60 days after the petitioner receives notice of the initial denial.

On a showing of good cause, the Board will permit the petition to be amended or supplemented and will grant a hearing on the petition before a panel consisting of at least one Employer Trustee and One Employee/Participant Trustee. The panel shall receive and hear any evidence or argument that cannot be presented satisfactorily by correspondence. The failure to file a petition within such 60-day period or the failure to appear and participate in any timely scheduled hearing, will constitute a waiver of the claimant’s right to a review of the denial. However, the Board may relieve a claimant of any such waiver for good cause shown, provided application for such relief is made within one year after the date shown on the notice of denial.

The Board of Trustees will make its decision on the review of the denial no later than the meeting of the Board that immediately follows the Plan’s receipt of a petition for review. However, if the petition is received within 30 days before the date of such meeting, the decision may be made no later than the date of the second meeting following the Plan’s receipt of the petition for review. If special circumstances require a further extension of time, a benefit determination shall be made at the following meeting, but in no case later than the third meeting of the Board following the Plan’s receipt of the petition for review. If an extension of time is required, the Board of Trustees, before the extension commences, will notify the petitioner in writing of the extension, describing the special circumstances and the date which the benefit determination will be made. The notice of decision shall include specific reasons for the decision, written to be understood by the petitioner and with specific references to the Particular Plan provisions which the decision is based.
The Board’s decision will be provided to the petitioner in writing. The notice of decision will include specific reasons for the decision, written designed to be understood by the petitioner and with specific references to the particular Plan provisions on which the decision is based.
The denial of an application or claim as to which the right of review has been waived as well as any decision of the Board of Trustees with respect to a petition for review, will be final and binding on all parties including the applicant, claimant or petitioner of any person or entity claiming under the application, claim or petition, subject only to judicial review as provided in the first paragraph under the Appeals Procedure subheading. The provisions of this Section will apply to and include any and every claim for benefits from the Plan and any claim or right asserted under or against the Plan, regardless of the basis asserted for the claim or right, regardless of when the act or omission on which the claim or right is based occurred and regardless of whether or not the claimant or applicant is a “Participant” or “Beneficiary” of the Plan within the meaning of those terms as defined in ERISA.

Anti-Alienation Rule:

You are not allowed to sign over or alienate your Plan benefits to any other person in any way. However, if the Plan receives a domestic relations court order which meets certain technical requirements prescribed by Federal law, it will be required to pay the person designated in the order the amount of your benefit specified by the court. If you know of a court order that may affect your Plan benefit, you should contact the Fund Office immediately so that all legal requirements can be met. Also, if the Plan receives a Federal tax levy on your account, it may be required to pay all or part of your benefit to the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the levy.

Misstatements

In the event of any misstatement of fact(s) or furnished fraudulent or incorrect information affecting coverage and/or benefits under the Metal Trades Branch Local 638 Pension Fund, the true facts will be used to determine the proper coverage and the participant or qualifying dependent will be liable to repay the Fund for any excess coverage or benefits provided on the basis of the misstatement. The Trustees have sole and absolute discretion to determine eligibility for benefits and the type and amount of benefits to which a participant or beneficiary is entitled.

Overpayments

If a covered person has been paid benefits by the Pension Fund that either should not have been paid or are in excess of the benefits that should have been paid, the Fund may cause the deduction of the amount of such excess or improper payment from any subsequent benefits payable to such covered person or other present or future amounts payable to such person. The Fund, in its sole discretion, may also recover such amount by any other legal means. Each covered person hereby authorizes the deduction of such excess payment for such benefits or other present or future compensation payments.

Plan Termination Insurance:

Certain benefits to which you are entitled under this “multiemployer” Plan are insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. A multiemployer plan is a collectively bargained pension arrangement involving two or more unrelated employers, usually in a common industry.

The PBGC provides financial assistance through loans to multiemployer plans that are insolvent. A multiemployer plan is considered insolvent if it is unable to pay benefits at least equal to the PBGC’s guaranteed benefit limit when due. Each year, the Plan pays a premium for this protection. The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Under the multiemployer program, the PBGC guarantee equals a participant’s years of service multiplied by (1) 100% of the first $11 of the monthly benefit accrual and (2) 75% of the next $33. The PBGC’s maximum guaranty limit is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of service. For example, the maximum annual guarantee for a retiree with 30 years of service would be $12,870.

The PBGC guarantee generally covers (1) normal and early retirement benefits; (2) disability benefits if you become disabled before the plan becomes insolvent; and (3) certain benefits for your survivors.

The PBGC guarantee generally does not cover (1) Benefits greater than the maximum guaranteed amount set by law; (2) benefit increases and new benefits based on plan provisions that have been in place for fewer than 5 years at the earlier of (i) the date the plan terminates or (ii) the time the plan become insolvent; (3) benefits that are not vested because you have not worked long enough; (4) benefits for which you have not met all of the requirements at the time the plan becomes insolvent; and (5) non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, certain death benefits, vacation pay, and severance pay.

For more information about the PBGC and the benefits it guarantees, ask your plan administrator or contact the PBGC’s Technical Assistance Division, 1200 K Street, N.W., Suite 930, Washington, D.C. 20005-4026 or call 202-326-4000 (not a toll-free number). TTY/TDD users may call the federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-877-8339 and to ask to be connected to 202-326-4000. Additional information about the PBGC’s pension insurance program is available through the PBGC’s website on the Internet at http://www.pbgc.gov.

Termination of Plan:

Although the Trustees intend to continue the Plan indefinitely, they reserve the right to amend or end it. If the Plan is terminated, it will not affect your right to any benefit to which you have already become entitled. If the Plan terminates, you will be entitled to any benefit you have accrued to the extent then funded.

If the Plan is terminated, you will be entitled to any benefit you have accrued to the extent then funded.