What You Need to Know
The Annuity Fund helps you build a solid financial future. The plan is designed to help supplement retirement income provided by Social Security and any personal retirement savings you may have.
Enrollment and Eligibility
You are automatically eligible to participate in the plan, based on the terms of your employer’s collective bargaining agreement with the union.
How the Plan Works
- Your employer contributes money to your Individual Account for each hour you work in covered employment.
- The money in your account is invested by professional investment managers at the direction of the Trustees. Investments are designed to grow tax-deferred until you retire or leave covered employment.
- The Fund’s investment goal is to obtain a competitive rate of return while safeguarding the value of the Fund’s assets. The value of your Individual Account at any time reflects any changes in the total value of the Fund’s holdings.
- The final amount in your Individual Account reflects the total of employer contributions and the Fund’s investment gains and losses minus Fund administration expenses.
Determining Your Benefit
Your Annuity Plan benefit can grow based on the Fund’s investments. However, the value of these investments changes over time.
At retirement, your benefit will be equal to:
- The value of your Individual Account as of the last valuation date (generally, December 31)
- Plus any contributions your employer has made since the last valuation date
- Minus any distributions or withdrawals you’ve made during the year
- Plus or minus any interest gains or losses from January 1 of the year you apply for a benefit to the date you submit your benefit application form
- Minus Fund administration expenses.
Check your annual statements to track your Annuity Fund and retirement benefits!
Each year, you’ll receive an Annuity Fund statement showing the balance of your Individual Account as of the last valuation date (December 31).
In 2022 and each year after that, you’ll also receive a retirement income planning statement that will estimate your retirement income from the Annuity Fund, the Pension Fund (if you’re eligible to participate), and Social Security, at various retirement ages.
Accessing Your Money
Payment options if you are married when you retire
- 50% Joint and Survivor Benefit is the automatic form of payment if you are married when you apply for your Annuity Fund benefits.
- Qualified Optional Survivor Annuity, which provides 75% of your benefit to your spouse when you die.
You can select an optional form of payment (see below) if you get your spouse’s notarized consent.
Payment options if you are single when you retire
A Straight Life Annuity is the automatic form of payment if you are single at retirement. However, you can elect any of the optional forms of payment (see below).
Optional forms of payment
- Lump Sum: If you choose the lump sum option, your benefit will be subject to applicable income taxes. You can avoid current income taxes if you roll over your benefit into another eligible employer plan or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) within 60 days of receiving your distribution.
- 60 Guaranteed Monthly Payments: The amount in your Individual Account will be divided so that you will receive an equal monthly amount for 60 months. If you die before 60 payments are made, your beneficiary will receive the remaining payments.
- Automatic Cash-Out of Benefit: If the value of your Individual Account is $5,000 or less at retirement, you will receive the total amount as a lump sum.
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