General

ANSWER: Unlike the defined BENEFIT Plan which is a traditional pension plan, your defined CONTRIBUTION plan accumulates your retirement benefit within an individual account--very similar to a 401k plan. The amount you get at retirement depends on investment results. At retirement, you can take it out as a lump sum. In the defined benefit pension plan, your benefit at retirement is DEFINED in advance, and is always in the form of a monthly benefit for life. You don't have a "balance" and you cannot withdraw a lump sum.

ANSWER: Yes. See the BenefitTab covering this topic.

ANSWER: Yes. After your have been out of the industry as defined by the plan (union or non-union employment) for a full year.

ANSWER: There is a full reciprocal agreement with IBEW Local 357, which means contributions can be reciprocated, but benefits are not.

ANSWER: Yes, the DC account may be rolled over into a traditional IRA, but not a ROTH IRA. IRA's accumulate investment earnings, but are subject to ordinary income tax on withdrawal. Mandatory withdrawals must begin after you reach age 70 1/2. It is strongly recommended that you read the special tax notive and seek the advice of your tax advisor before you roll-over an account.

ANSWER: Currently, the DC Plan assets are managed by investment professionals who report to the Board of Trustees. These professionals use state-of-the-art software and techniques in order to help select investments that obtain a good financial return over time and that do not take excessive risks in obtaining those returns. Due to the need for some fairly extensive financial education before a typical person learns how to select investments prudently, the average participant will generally be better off by having the investments managed by professionals.