BENEFITS
Normal Pension: Minimum age 65 and vested (5 years of Service Credit).
Early Pension:
Minimum age 62 with either 1) 20 years
of Service Credit or 2) a Social Security Disability
Award and vested. Pension amount is permanently reduced based
on your age on the effective
date, because payments are expected to be made for a longer period of time.
Disability Pension: You
must have a Social Security Disability
Award with a date of entitlement before
May 1, 2009, 10 years of actual Service Credit and a contribution for covered
employment must
have been made within 3 calendar years preceding your entitlement date.
The amount is
permanently reduced based on your age, using reduction factors between
ages 60 and 65.
Disability Pensions are not payable for Social Security Disability
Awards with dates of
entitlement on or after May 1, 2009.
Preretirement
If you are vested and die before receiving
pension, your spouse is eligible for a survivor pension
Death Benefit:
under the 50% SPOUSE option. If you are not married or if you reject
the survivor pension with
your spouse's consent, your beneficiary(ies) will be eligible for a lump
sum death benefit equal to
total contributions credited on your behalf. These preretirement
death benefits are payable when
you would have otherwise reached an age to be eligible for pension.
APPLYING FOR PENSION
To apply for pension, you may write, call or
fax the Plan Office for estimates and an Application for Pension.
In order to prepare estimates, we will need your social security number,
proposed retirement date and your spouse's date of birth if
you are married. The toll free phone number
is 1-877-429-2488. Usual business hours are weekdays 8:00 am to 4:00
pm Mountain Time (10:00 to 6:00 Eastern).
You need to sign the application before the month
you want your pension to begin, but no earlier than 90 days before the
pension start date. You will also need to send proof of your age
with the application. The Plan Office will accept a legible copy
of your birth certificate, baptismal certificate or passport. In
lieu of the above, you may submit a letter obtained from
your Social Security Office indicating the date
of birth they have established for you. If you are applying for a
Disability Pension, you need to send a copy of your Social Security Notice
of Disability Award.
You will be asked to select a form of pension payment on the application. All five choices have approximately the same actuarial value. You should choose the form of payment which best fits your circumstances. Some factors to consider are: your current health and the health of your spouse, your retirement income needs and other income sources, your life insurance coverage, your tax situation, and the extent to which you want benefits paid after your death.
If you are not married, you have two choices of payment: LIFE ONLY or LIFE/10. Each provides a pension for your lifetime. There are no benefits payable after your death under the LIFE ONLY form of pension. If you elect the reduced LIFE/10 form of pension and die before receiving the 120 guaranteed minimum payments, the remaining payments will be made to the person(s) you designate on a separate Designation of Beneficiary form that will be sent to you.
If you are married, you have five choices
of payment. Any payment form you choose pays a pension for your lifetime.
Payment stops when with your death under the LIFE ONLY form of pension.
LIFE/10 provides that if you die before receiving the 120 guaranteed minimum
payments (10 years), the remaining payments will be made to the person(s)
you designate. The three joint and survivor options cover two lives--yours
and your spouse's after your death (payments
continue until the last one dies). The
survivor options offer the potential for payments over a longer period
of time, so the monthly amounts are actuarially reduced.* However,
there is no guaranteed number of payments if both you and your spouse die
soon after pension begins. If you do not select a survivor option,
your spouse must consent in writing on a Selection & Spouse
Consent form that will be sent to you. You would designate your beneficiary(ies)
for LIFE/10 on that form.
FORMS OF MONTHLY PENSION PAYMENT AVAILABLE
LIFE ONLY:
Highest pension amount. Provides
a monthly pension for your lifetime, with payments ending upon
your death.
LIFE/10:
Actuarially reduced* pension amount based
on your age, to provide a guaranteed minimum
120 payments. Provides monthly pension for your lifetime,
but in the event you die before receiving
120 monthly payments (10 year minimum guarantee), any remaining guaranteed
payments will be
made to your beneficiary(ies).
Additional Options if Married (joint & survivor pension):
50% SPOUSE: Actuarially
reduced* pension amount based on your age and the age of your spouse.
Reduced
pension is paid during your lifetime. Upon your death, 50%
of the monthly amount will be paid to
your eligible surviving spouse for life.
75% SPOUSE: Actuarially
reduced* pension amount based on your age and the age of your spouse.
Reduced
pension is paid during your lifetime. Upon your death, 75%
of the monthly amount will be paid
to your eligible surviving spouse for life.
100% SPOUSE: Actuarially
reduced* pension amount based on your age and the age of your spouse.
Reduced
pension is paid during your lifetime. Upon your death, 100%
of the monthly amount will be paid
to your eligible surviving spouse for life.
For the joint & survivor options (50%, 75%
and 100%), the eligible surviving spouse is the person married to you when
payments begin. If your spouse dies, you will continue to receive
the same lifetime pension amount and payments end with your death.
If you select a joint & survivor option, a copy of your marriage certificate
and your spouse's birth certificate
will be needed.
AFTER YOUR PENSION BEGINS, YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE FORM OF PAYMENT.
*The term "actuarially reduced" means those pension
amounts are less than the LIFE ONLY form of payment in order to provide
the possibility of additional benefits after your death. The amount of
reduction for a spouse option is based on the age difference between you
and your spouse. The "actuarial reduction" for LIFE/10, is based
only on your age, without regard to the person you designate to receive
any remaining guaranteed benefits.
RELATIVE VALUE DISCLOSURE
Relative Value of Pension Payment Options
for Married Participants (LIFE ONLY, LIFE/10, 50% SPOUSE, 75% SPOUSE &
100% SPOUSE):
IRS regulations require plans such as ours to
give retiring participants a comparison of the relative values of the available
benefit payment options. The goal is to help you make an informed
choice about the form in which you receive your retirement benefits. Under
this Pension Plan, all of the pension payment options generally available
to retiring participants have approximately the same relative value.
This is true for participants retiring between ages 60 and 70 with a spouse
up to 10 years younger or older and for disabled participants retiring
between ages 30 and 65 with a spouse up to 10 years younger or older.
This conclusion is based on the valuation and reporting methodologies described
in the IRS regulation, which can be found at Treas. Reg. section 1.417(a)(3)-1.
Upon your written request to the Plan Office, we will give you a similar
comparison based on your own age and estimated benefits, and on the payment
forms for which you are eligible. We will also provide details of
the actuarial assumptions used to make the comparison.
What is the Relative Value Under our Plan
and How Was It Determined?
The "relative values" are based on comparing
the actuarial values of the other pension payment options to the actuarial
value of the 50% SPOUSE option. Actuarial values of pension benefits
are determined using:
What Happens if I Postpone the Start of
my Pension?
If you are retired and eligible for an Early
Pension, the pension amount will be reduced for each month you are
younger than age 65. Deferring the start of your pension will increase
the amount based on the Age Reduction Factors in the Summary Plan Description.
If you are eligible for a Normal Pension
(age 65 and retired from the industry), your pension amount can increase
by 1% for each month you defer the start of your pension.
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