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Summary Plan Description (SPD)
INTRODUCTION
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IBEW-NECA PENSION PLAN
SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTION
To All Pension Plan Participants and Beneficiaries:
We are pleased to provide you with this Summary Plan Description written in Question and Answer form. It provides a summary in clear, understandable, and informal language of the major provisions of the Southern California IBEW-NECA Pension Plan (the "Plan"), a defined benefit plan, including a description of the retirement benefits to which you may be entitled. Following this section, there is the complete text of the Plan, which you can refer to if you need more detail concerning the rules and regulations of the Plan.
We recommend you review the definitions in Article 1 of the Plan, as many of the terms used in this Summary Plan Description and in the Plan itself have specific meanings.
Only the Administrative Office represents the Trustees in administering the Plan and giving information about the amount of benefits, eligibility and other provisions of the Plan. You should know that no "Union Trustee," "Employer Trustee" or Union employee is authorized to give official information, give any explanation, or make any agreements for the Trustees in any way. Only the Administrative Office is authorized to give official information on behalf of the Trustees.
In the event of any conflict between the information in the Summary (Question and Answer) and the official Plan, the Plan will govern. The other controlling legal document is the Trust Agreement, copies of which may be obtained from the Administrative Office at a modest expense.
The Pension Fund is currently providing monthly benefits to over 5,500 retirees, spouses and beneficiaries and will provide benefits in the future to approximately 8,600 currently active or terminated vested employees. Prudent financial planning and good return on Fund investments are providing for the future retirement security of Participants now in their working years.
The Pension Plan has been amended from time to time, and we have notified participants of amendments and other material modifications.
The answers contained in the Description are based on a Participant whose service is continuous and who has been active up to the time of retirement. Exceptions will be noted in certain answers.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT SOME PLAN PROVISIONS HAVE CHANGED AS THE PLAN HAS BEEN AMENDED. EARLIER PLAN PROVISIONS MAY BE APPLICABLE WHEN SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN CONTINUOUS, OR UNDER OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES, SUCH AS WHEN A BUSINESS TRANSACTION OF A PARTICIPATING EMPLOYER OR LOCAL UNION IMPACTS BENEFITS.
The Trustees may make further revisions to the Plan if changes are needed to make sure that the Plan will comply with new regulations as they are issued by the Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and to ensure that the Plan remains qualified under the Internal Revenue Code. IRS funding rules contain provisions where benefit cutbacks could occur in situations where the plan becomes significantly underfunded.
Please read this booklet carefully and discuss its contents with your family. If any details are not clear or if you have any questions, you can call or write the Administrative Office:
Southern California IBEW-NECA Pension Trust Fund
6023 Garfield Avenue,
City of Commerce, California 90040
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 910918
Los Angeles, CA 90091
(323) 221-5861 or 1-800-824-6935 Nationwide toll-free
Fax: (323) 726-3520
Office Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Voice mail messages can be left at any time.
Sincerely,
Board of Trustees
Southern California IBEW-NECA Pension Trust Fund
The Board of Trustees of the Southern California IBEW-NECA Pension Trust Fund is comprised of equal IBEW and NECA representation from the sponsoring organizations of the Plan--IBEW Local Unions 11, 440, 441 and 477, and the Los Angeles, Orange County and Southern Sierras Chapters of NECA.