Section IV: Retirement Benefits

The base monthly retirement benefit that is payable to you on your Normal Retirement Date if you are a vested participant is seventeen dollars ($17) multiplied by the number of Plan Years between July 1, 1956 and June 30, 1969 in which you earned one full benefit credit (1,500 Hours of Service) plus sixty dollars ($60) multiplied by the number of Plan Years after June 30, 1969 in which you earned one full benefit credit (1,200 Hours of Service). You will receive a proportional share of the $17 and $60 credits for each Plan Year during the applicable period in which you earned a fractional benefit credit (see Section III. B). If you worked more than 1,200 Hours of Service during a Plan Year, the $60 credit is increased proportionately. A cap of seventy-five dollars ($75) per month may apply to benefits earned in years between July 1, 1980 and June 30, 1993. Please contact the Administrative Office to determine if the cap applies to your benefits.

Benefits provided by the Plan have been increased many times for service during specific time periods since the Plan was started in 1956. Therefore, you may be eligible for benefits in excess of the base monthly benefit described above depending on how long you have worked and when you retire. Below is the current benefit structure for participants who worked at least 300 hours in the Plan Year ending June 30, 2000 and who retire on or after January 1, 2001. Since eligibility for each benefit increase depends upon whether you worked the minimum number of hours in a particular Plan Year, please contact the Administrative Office to determine if a particular increase applies to you.

For example, if you started in the plumbing and piping industry on July 1, 1986 and you worked 1,500 hours every year since that time in covered employment, you would have an estimated monthly normal retirement benefit of $ 1,725 computed as shown below.

After July 1, 1998, you may elect to have your benefits increased by the actuarial equivalent of a rollover contribution or elective transfer of funds from your account in the U.A. Local No. 447 Defined Contribution Plan. The amount of such transfer cannot be less than $10,000 and requires your spouse's written consent.