Before Retirement: If you are married while you are working, your qualified spouse becomes your beneficiary for any Plan benefits you have earned. In order for your spouse to be eligible for benefits, you must be legally married to one another under applicable state law or the laws of a foreign jurisdiction. In addition, one year of marriage is required in some cases. A spouse is also someone who is required to be treated as a spouse or surviving spouse under a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).
If you die before your pension benefit begins, your spouse may be eligible to receive a pre-retirement surviving spouse pension or a pre-retirement death benefit.
After Retirement: Your pension benefit is not affected when you marry after you have begun to receive a pension benefit. It is not affected because once you begin to receive a pension benefit, you cannot change the form of payment you are receiving. Your new spouse will not qualify for a benefit regardless of the form of payment you are receiving.
To apply for a disability pension, you will need to contact the Fund Office.
If you have recently moved, please complete a Change of Address Form and return to the Fund Office.
If your employment is interrupted before you are vested, you may lose your accumulated vesting service and pension credits. However, once you are vested, you will not lose your accumulated vesting service or pension credits. Certain interruptions may not result in a break in service. Some breaks in service do not result in a loss of vesting service and pension credits, but do impact how your benefits are calculated (see breaks in service on Page 14 of the SPD for an explanation).
If you and your spouse get a divorce or legal separation, your spouse will no longer be eligible for coverage. Your spouse may elect to continue coverage under COBRA for up to 36 months upon divorce or legal separation. You or your spouse must notify the Fund Office, within 60 days of the divorce or separation date for your spouse to obtain COBRA continuation coverage. You must also submit a copy of the divorce decree to the Fund Office.
If you meet certain criteria defined in the pension Summary Plan Description you may be eligible to receive a pension
If you die before your pension payments begin, one of the following benefits may be available to your spouse or beneficiary:
If you die after your pension payments begin and you were receiving your pension in the form of a:
Please contact the Fund Office for more information.