Benefits for Pre-Retirement Death and Terminal Illness

Death Before Retirement Benefits

The following benefits may be payable to a beneficiary if you pass away before retirement benefits have commenced:

Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension

If you are married and die before retirement but after meeting the service requirements for pension (including a Pro Rata Pension), your spouse will automatically be entitled to the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension. This benefit is available even if you do not meet the age requirement for a pension at the time of death.

Your spouse will receive these benefits regardless of who is named as your designated beneficiary on your Beneficiary Designation Form. Under the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension, your surviving spouse will receive monthly benefits for life equal to 50% of the benefits you would have received under the 50% Joint and Survivor Pension determined as if you had terminated employment on your date of death and survived until your earliest retirement date. For example, if you are 55 or older and have at least 10 Pension Credits on the date of death, benefits to your spouse will commence the first of the month following your death. However, if you die prior to 55 and have at least 10 Pension Credits, benefits to your spouse will commence the first of the month following the month in which you would have reached age 55 had you lived.

Your spouse may elect to defer the commencement of payments, but only until the date you would have reached age 72 had you lived.

IMPORTANT: Your surviving spouse may, within 90 days of receiving written notice from the Plan Office, elect to receive the Pre-Retirement Death Benefit or the Pre-Retirement 100% Joint and Survivor Pension instead of the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension. In no event will your spouse receive less than the actuarial value of the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension and the amount of Pre-Retirement Death Benefit shall be adjusted, if necessary, to equal the actuarial value of the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension.

The Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension is only payable if you and your spouse have been married throughout the one-year period prior to your death.

Pre-Retirement 100% Joint and Survivor Pension 

The following Pre-Retirement 100% Joint and Survivor Pension is not payable if payments are payable to your spouse under the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension, unless your surviving spouse has elected, within 90 days of receiving written notice from the Plan, to receive the Pre-Retirement 100% Joint and Survivor Pension instead of the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension

Benefits to your spouse will commence the first of the month following the date you die.

Pre-Retirement Death Benefits

The following Pre-Retirement Death Benefits are automatically payable to your beneficiary if you are not legally married. They are not payable if payments are payable to your spouse under the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension, unless your spouse has elected, within 90 days of receiving written notice from the Plan, to receive the Pre-Retirement Death Benefit instead of the Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension.

Death Before Age 65. If you are younger than age 65 and have at least 5 Pension Credits without a Permanent Break in Service (or at least 8 Pension Credits including Pension Credits prior to a Permanent Break in Service), a Lump Sum Death Benefit is payable to your beneficiary. The amount of Death Benefit is equal to four times the annual Current Service Benefit earned at the time of death, but not less than $1,500. The beneficiary may, within 90 days after receiving written notice from the Plan, elect to receive this benefit in 60 equal monthly installments instead of a lump sum. The amount of the monthly payment is determined by dividing the lump sum payment by 60.
Death After Age 65. If you are age 65 or older and have at least 10 Pension Credits, a Death Benefit of 60 monthly payments is payable to your beneficiary. The monthly amount of each payment is equal to the monthly amount of Regular Pension you would have been entitled to receive if you had retired on your date of death. The beneficiary may, within 90 days after receiving written notice from the Plan, elect to receive these benefits in a single lump sum payment instead of 60 monthly installments. The lump sum payment is determined by multiplying the monthly payment by 60. If you are age 65 or older and have at least 5 Pension Credits without a Permanent Break in Service (or at least 8 Pension Credits, including Pension Credits prior to a Permanent Break in Service), the Lump Sum Death Benefit described under (1) above is payable to your beneficiary. The beneficiary may, within 90 days after receiving notice from the Plan, elect to receive this benefit in 60 equal monthly installments instead of a lump sum. The amount of the monthly payment is determined by dividing the lump sum payment by 60.

Designating a Beneficiary

You may designate a beneficiary to receive any payments due upon your death that are not automatically payable to your surviving spouse by completing a Beneficiary Designation Form. You will be asked to list at least one primary and one secondary beneficiary. However, you may list more if you wish. You may change your beneficiary at any time prior to your retirement by completing a new Beneficiary Designation Form and filing it with the Plan Office.

If you do not designate a beneficiary, death benefits will be paid to the first surviving of the following: (1) your surviving spouse, (2) your surviving children, (3) your surviving brothers and sisters, (4) your surviving parents, (5) any other person who is the object of your natural bounty as determined by the Board of Trustees.

Special Note: The beneficiary you list on the Beneficiary Designation Form will not be entitled to receive the benefits payable from the Pension Plan upon your death if:

Your spouse is entitled to the automatic Pre-Retirement 50% Joint and Survivor Pension; or
You die after beginning to receive pension benefits. When you apply for a pension, you will be required to complete a separate Beneficiary Designation Form that applies to post-retirement death benefits.

Please contact the Plan Office if you have any questions about designating a beneficiary.

Terminal Illness Benefit

Because Social Security can take up to a year to make a disability determination, it is possible for terminally ill participants to be left without any pension income during their final months of life. For this reason, the Plan has a Terminal Illness Benefit. This benefit provides a lump sum payment equal to one-half of the Pre-Retirement Death Benefit that would be payable upon your death.

Eligibility

You are eligible for a Terminal Illness Benefit if you meet all the following conditions:

You are younger than age 65.
You have at least 10 Pension Credits (excluding Pension Credit earned under the Alternative Eligibility Program).
You are Totally Disabled and Terminally Ill, as defined by the Plan.

Definitions of Total Disability and Terminally Ill

You will be deemed Totally Disabled under the Terminal Illness Benefit if you meet the definition for term illness, except that receipt of Social Security Disability benefits is not required. You will be considered Terminally Ill if a licensed physician certifies, in writing, that you have a life expectancy of less than one year.

Important Rules for the Terminal Illness Benefit:

If you elect to receive a Terminal Illness Benefit, you will not be entitled to receive a Disability Pension.
If you are married, your spouse must consent to the election of the Terminal Illness Benefit.

Amount

The amount of the Terminal Illness Benefit is equal to one-half of the Pre-Retirement Death Benefit that would otherwise be payable to your spouse or beneficiary upon your death — that is, four times the amount of the annual Current Service Benefit. This amount is payable in a lump sum.

Upon your death, the amount of the Terminal Illness Benefit is subtracted from the death benefit otherwise payable. If you should survive to retire on a Regular or Early Retirement Pension, the amount of the monthly pension will be reduced to account for amounts you have received as part of your Terminal Illness Benefit. 