If You Were Not Married
If you were not married and you die after becoming vestedand before reaching age 62, a benefit will be paid to your named beneficiary onthe earliest date you would have retired. This benefit is also paidimmediately to your beneficiary if you die after becoming eligible for a Normal, Early Retirement or Service Pension, but before your payments start.
The benefit will be 24 monthly payments in the amount youwould have received had you retired. This benefit will end upon the death ofthe named beneficiary or, if sooner, when the 24-month period ends.
Note: The pre-retirement survivor benefits described inthis section are payable whether or not you are still working in CoveredEmployment at the time of your death, as long as you had met the requirementsfor, but had not received, a benefit.
Your pension may be affected if you marry or divorce.
Note: Whether a change in family status occurs- whetherit is a marriage, a divorce, a death or the birth of a child- it is good ideato think about the effect of that event under all your benefit plans- not justthis Plan- and any beneficiary designations and coverage elections you may havemade. Contact the Fund Office if you have any questions about the effect ofthese events under all the plans you are covered under.
Plan Amendment Or Termination
The Board of Trustees expects to continue the Planindefinitely, but reserves the right to amend, modify or terminate the Plan atany time. If the Plan is ended, you will be fully vested in any benefit youhave accrued to the extent then funded. Plan assets will be applied to providebenefits in accordance with the applicable provisions of Federal law.
Normal Forms Of Payment
The way your pension is normally paid depends on thevalue of your benefit and whether you are legally married or single whenpayments start. If the lump sum value of your benefit is $5,000 or less, itwill automatically be paid in a lump sum. .
If you are legally married your benefit isnormally paid as a 50% Joint and Survivor Pension. This means that youreceive a reduced monthly amount for life, with 50% of that reduced amountcontinuing to your spouse for his or her lifetime upon your death, if he or shesurvives you and was married to you for at least a year at the time of yourdeath.
The benefit reduction is based on the ages of you andyour spouse when payments begin and the type of benefit you are retiring on. See the section called Examples of Payment Options for an example of thisform of payment. The Fund Office can give you more details on what thereduction would be in your case.
In the event your spouse dies before you, and youinitially retired on a Joint and Survivor Pension after January 1, 2001, yourmonthly payments following your spouses death will pop-up to the full amountyou would have received under the normal form of unmarried participants. Thatincreased amount will be paid monthly for your lifetime and, upon your death,no payment will be made to anyone else.
If you die after the end of the 24-month period, allpayments stop and no benefits are paid to your beneficiary.
· You retired at or after age 62 or on a Disability Pension,
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Ne Teamsters Facing $51b Pension Shortfall Putting Retirees At Risk
A pension plan covering more than 72,000 truck drivers and warehouse workers represented by the New England Teamsters union is the nations second-most-underfunded multi-employer pension plan and is on track to run out of money within two decades, according to a study.
The study, released Thursday by the pension consulting firm Cheiron Inc., details a worsening crisis for US multi-employer plans. Under those plans, multiple small businesses, such as trucking companies and liquor distributors, jointly contribute to a pension fund. Many are in industries such as transportation, manufacturing, and construction, where many companies have shut down, leaving fewer active workers to support a growing number of retirees.
Nationwide, the study said, 121 multi-employer plans covering 1.3 million workers are underfunded by a total of $48.9 billion and have told regulators they could slip into insolvency within 20 years.
It said the Burlington-based New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Plan has an unfunded liability of $5.1 billion, second only to the $22.9 billion liability of the Teamsters Central States Fund, which also covers some workers in Massachusetts.
Sean OBrien, cochairman of the New England Teamsters plan and president of Teamsters Local 25 in Charlestown, said 60 percent of the locals 12,500 members are covered by the plan. He said plan officials are working to stabilize it, but also looking to Congress for relief.
% Pension Bonus Granted For Service In Years 2021 2023

The Trustees have granted a special three-year 33% pension bonus under the Plans contribution account benefit formula for each of the years 2021, 2022, and 2023, increasing the benefit percentage from 1.2% to 1.6% of contributions for those three years. Therefore, Plan participants will earn a higher pension for every hour of covered work for 2021, 2022, and 2023. This is on top of the 25% pension bonus granted for covered work in 2020 at the accrual rate of 1.5% of contributions. The Trustees were pleased to grant this additional bonus in light of the Plans continued funding improvements and accelerated path toward its funding targets.
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Assistance With Your Questions
If you have any questions about your Plan, you shouldcontact the Plan Administrator. If you have any questions about this statementor about your rights under ERISA, you should contact the nearest office of theEmployee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, listed inyou telephone directory, or:
Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Examples Of Payment Options
Earlier wecalculated a benefit of $1,200.00 for John. If John is not married and has hisbenefit paid under the normal form for unmarried participants , he will receive the full $1,200.00 a month for as long as he lives,with the guarantee that if he dies before receiving 24 monthly payments,payments of $1,200.00 per month will continue to his named beneficiary for thebalance of the guaranteed period. For example, if John collected 10 paymentsbefore his death, his named beneficiary will receive 14 payments.
Now assume that John is married, that he is 65 years old,and that his wife, Danielle, is 62 when John retires at 65. The followingtable shows how much they would each receive under the two retirement paymentchoices.
$526.80 for her lifetime |
||
24-Month Guarantee |
$1,200.00 |
$1,200.00 |
For most people, retirement income generally comes fromthree sources: Social Security, personal savings, and pension benefits.
This booklet explains how pensions are calculated underour Plan and has provided several examples of benefit calculations. If youwould like more help in estimating your own benefit, contact the Fund Office.
The Plan also provides benefits in the event of deathbefore retirement.
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If You Were Legally Married
If you werelegally married and died after becoming vested , but before payments start, your legal spouse is entitled to asurvivor income, as long as you were married for one year before your death.
How thebenefit is calculated- The way your surviving spouses benefit iscalculated depends on whether you were eligible to begin receiving pensionpayments at the time of your death.
If you wereentitled to immediate payments , yoursurviving legal spouse will receive the survivor income he or she would beentitled to under the 50% Joint and Survivor form of payment as if you hadretired the day before you died. Payment starts immediately.
Threeadjustments may apply in calculating this benefit: the reduction for theJoint and Survivor form of payment, any early payment reduction that wouldhave applied to your benefit because of your age, and an additional 50%reduction.
If you werenot entitled to immediate payments at the time of your death, your legalspouses benefit will be calculated as if you had left Covered Employment onyour date of death, survived until the earliest date you could receivepayments, and then died.
This benefitwill be subject to the same three adjustments . Payments to your spouse startwhen they could have started if made to you.
Lump sum cashout of small benefits- If the actuarial present value of your spousesbenefit is $5,000 or less, it will automatically be paid in one lump sum.
Comparison Of Pension Benefits For Ups Teamsters
The New UPS Pension Plan
$2500 25-at-57
The accrual rises to just $158.50 by the end of the contract.
- Pays the lowest pension benefits of any fund covering UPS Teamsters
- Covers 44,000 UPS Teamsters in the Carolinas and Central and Southern Regionsthe single largest group of UPS Teamsters covered by any plan
Western Conference
80-and-out for UPS, freight, and many others .
A UPS worker, for example, age 52 with 28 years service, can retire with $3,800 presently.
New England
$2,500 for 25-at-57 . $3,500 for 30 and out at 57. $150 for each additional year of service, up to $4,700 for 38 years. Beginning October 2008, a supplement of $1,000 per month will be paid to those between the ages of 60 and 62 for Teamsters, for those who retire with 30-and-out or 25-at-57 or more.
New York State
$5,500 for 30 and out at any age.
New York City
$3,100 for 25-and-out at any age.
$3,600 for 25-at-55, or 30-and-out at any age.
New Jersey
$3,700 for 30-and-out at any age.
Washington, D.C. Area
$5,000 at present for 30-and-out at any age. The accrual for this year is $445, so pensions will rise quite a bit higher during the life of the contract.
Philadelphia Area
$3,590 for 30-and-out. This will increase by $131 per year, thus will be $4,248 per month by 2013.
Western Pennsylvania
$3,500 for 30-and-out at present. However, the accrual is presently $270, and by the end of the current contract in 2013 the 30-and-out benefit will be approximately $4,300 per month.
Central Pennsylvania
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When Participation Starts
Your participation automatically starts on the earliestJanuary 1 or July 1 following a period of 12 consecutive months in which youcomplete 750 Hours of Service, starting from your date of hire, in CoveredEmployment. Also included are hours of work with a Contributing Employerbefore that employer was required to contribute on your behalf, as long as thatemployment is continuous with your employment during the Contribution Period.
Hours of Service are hours for which you are directlyor indirectly paid or entitled to payment by your employer for the performanceof duties. Hours of Service also include periods of up to 351 hours when youare paid or entitled to payment but not working, due to . Additionally,Hours of Service include hours for which back pay is awarded or agreed to byyour employer, up to a maximum of 40 hours per week.
Welcome To The Teamster
Few things are more important than saving for your financial future. Your retirement plan makes it easier by offering you a simple, convenient and consistent way to help save for retirement.
This is the place to learn about your plans features, get access to retirement planning and resources, and discover solutions to challenges many of us face when planning for retirement.
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Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Your pension benefit under this multiemployer plan isinsured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation , a federalinsurance agency. A multiemployer plan is a collectively bargained pensionarrangement involving two or more unrelated employers, usually in a commonindustry.
Under the multiemployer plan program, the PBGC providesfinancial assistance through loans to plans that are insolvent. Amultiemployer plan is considered insolvent if the plan is unable to paybenefits when due.
The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set bylaw. Under the multiemployer program, the PBGC guarantee equals aParticipants years of service multiplied by 100% of the first $11 of themonthly benefit accrual rate and 75% of the next $33. The PBGCs maximumguarantee limit is $33.75 per month times a Participants years of service. Forexample, the maximum annual guarantee for a retiree with 30 years of servicewould be $12,870.
The PBGC Guarantee generally covers:
· normal and early retirement benefits
· disability benefits if you become disabled before the planbecomes insolvent and
· certain benefits for your survivors.
The PBGC guarantee generally does not cover:
· benefits greater than the maximum guaranteed amount set by law
· benefit increases and new benefits based on plan provisions thathave been in place for fewer than 5 years at the earlier of: the date theplan terminates or the time the plan becomes insolvent
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An active member becomes eligible for a disability benefit at any age if:
- The member becomes totally and permanently disabled
- The member has made at least $1,300 of contributions to the Plan
The member would then be eligible for a monthly disability benefit equivalent to what the normal retirement pension benefit would be, reduced by 3% for each year before 65.
For example, if the member became permanently and totally disabled at age 55, that would leave 10 years until retirement multiplied by a 3% reduction per year for a total benefit reduction of 30%.
$62,400
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Joint & Survivor Benefits
Retirement can last over 20 years that’s a long time with no income
If the pensioner chooses a Joint and Survivor Benefit Option at the time of retirement, their spouse can continue receiving a monthly benefit for the remainder of their life in the event the pensioner dies.
If an active member dies before receiving a pension benefit and the surviving spouse is the sole beneficiary of the death benefit, the surviving spouse may elect to receive a lifetime monthly pension in lieu of the death benefit.
Option “A”
Pensioner receives an actuarial reduced pension until death, thereafter, the surviving spouse receives two-thirds of the reduced pension benefit.
For example, if our pensioner was receiving $1000/month and then dies, their spouse will receive $670/month for the rest of their life.
The Pop-up Benefit
If the spouse passes away before the pensioner, the pension will be increased to the amount of benefit had no Joint Survivor Option been elected.
Prudent Actions By Plan Fiduciaries
In addition to creating rights for Plan Participants,ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the operation ofthe employee benefit Plan. The people who operate your Plan, calledfiduciaries of the Plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interestof you and other Plan Participants and beneficiaries. No one, including youremployer, your union, or any other person may fire you or otherwisediscriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a pensionbenefit or exercising your rights under ERISA.
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Discretionary Authority Of The Board Of Trustees
The Board of Trustees shall have the exclusive right,power, and authority, in their sole and absolute discretion, to administer,apply, construe and interpret the provisions of this Plan and its terms, aswell as the Trust Agreement, and to decide all matters arising in connectionwith the operation or administration of the Pension Fund. The authority of theTrustees includes, without limitations, the sole and absolute discretion to:
· Take all actions and make all decisions with respect to theeligibility for, and the amount of, benefits payable under the Pension Fund
· Formulate, interpret and apply rules, regulations and policiesnecessary to administer the Pension Fund in accordance with their governingdocuments
· Decide questions, including legal or factual questions, relatingto the determination and payment of benefits under the Pension Fund
· Resolve and/or clarify any ambiguities, inconsistencies, andomissions arising under the Pension Fund and its governing documents
· Process, and approve or deny, benefit claims and rule on anybenefit exclusions or limitations.
No individual has anyauthority to interpret the Trust Agreement, the Pension Fund Plan Document, toapply their terms or to make any promises to you about them.
Receive Information About Your Plan And Benefits
· Examine, without charge, at the Plan Administrators office andat other specified locations, such as worksites and union halls, all Plandocuments, including insurance contracts, collective bargaining agreements, anda copy of the latest annual report filed by the Plan withthe U.S. Department of Labor and available at the Public Disclosure Room,Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration .
· Obtain, upon written request to the Plan Administrator, copies ofdocuments governing the operation of the Plan, including all collectivebargaining agreements, and copies of the latest annual report and updated summary plan description. The Administrator may make areasonable charge for the copies.
· Receive a summary of the Plans annual financial report. ThePlan Administrator is required by law to furnish each Participant with a copyof this annual report.
· Obtain a statement telling you whether you have a right to receivea pension at Normal Retirement Age and if so, what yourbenefit would be at Normal Retirement Age if you stop working under the Plannow. If you do not have a right to a pension, the statement will tell you howmany more years you have to work to get a right to a pension. This statementmust be requested in writing and it is not required to be given more than onceevery twelve months. The Plan must provide the statement free of charge.
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Pbgc Approves Special Financial Assistance Application
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced today that it has approved the application submitted to the Special Financial Assistance Program by the Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers Pension Plan . The plan, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, covers 21,110 participants in the transportation industry.
On August 1, 2019, the Western Pennsylvania Teamsters Plan implemented a benefit suspension under the terms of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 . The plan reduced benefits of about 15,000 plan participants. On average, affected participants benefits were reduced by 20 percent.
PBGCs approval of the SFA application enables the plan to restore all benefits suspended under the terms of MPRA and to make payments to retirees to cover prior benefit suspensions. SFA will enable the plan to pay retirement benefits without reduction for many years into the future. The plan will receive $715 million in SFA, including interest to the expected date of payment to the plan.
This application was submitted and approved under PBGCs interim final rule. PBGCs final rule, published earlier this month, becomes effective on August 8.
About the Special Financial Assistance Program
The SFA Program is currently operating under an Interim Final Rule which was published in the Federal Register on July 12, 2021. Earlier this month on July 8, 2022, PBGC published a Final Rule, which will become effective on August 8, 2022.
About PBGC