Plan Information - Credits & Vesting
How Working Time Counts
The amount of time you work in a job covered by the Plan determines whether you are eligible for a pension and how much your pension will be. For these purposes, the time you work as a participant in the Plan is measured in two ways — in years of credited service and in benefit accruals.
Once you become a participant in the Plan, you receive credited service and accrue benefits during the time your employer contributes to the Plan with respect to your work. This period of time is referred to as “after your contribution date” and the credit earned is called credited future service or contributory credit.
You may also receive credited service and benefit credit for the time you worked before the contribution period began. That period is referred to as “before your contribution date” and the credit earned is called credited past service or non-contributory credit.
Credited past service and credited future service are used in determining eligibility for a pension. The actual amount of your pension is calculated on the basis of the benefit units you have earned and percentages of contributions paid on your behalf.
Credited Service Before Your Contribution Date
You receive one year of credited past service for each calendar year before your contribution date in which you worked 1,400 hours or more in the geographical jurisdiction of the Union in a job now requiring contributions to the Pension Fund. If you worked less than 1,400 hours, one-quarter of credited past service will be granted for each 350 of such hours of work in a calendar year.
If you worked in covered employment at the Resilient Floor Covering Pension Fund Office on or after January 1, 2001, you will also receive credited past service for your employment with an administrative office performing administrative services on behalf of the Fund.
To figure the number of hours you worked before your contribution date, the Board of Trustees uses certain records. These records include:
- The records or statement of past employers;
- The records of the Social Security Administration; and
- Union records.
Credited Service After Your Contribution Date
After your contribution date you receive credited future service for all hours for which you are paid or entitled to be paid (hours of service) according to the following schedules:
|
Hours of Service In Calendar Year |
Credited Future Service | |
|
Between the Contribution Date and January 1, 1976 |
Less than 350 hours | None |
| 350 to 699 hours | 1/4 | |
| 700 to 999 hours | 2/4 | |
| 1,000 hours or more | One Year | |
|
Beginning January 1, 1976 |
Less than 500 hours | None |
| 500 to 749 hours | 2/4 | |
| 750 to 999 hours | 3/4 | |
| 1,000 hours or more | One Year |
Beginning January 1, 1976, you also receive credited future service for work in a job not covered by the Plan if you work for a contributing employer, and
- You move directly from a covered job with that employer to a non-covered job with that employer; or
- You move directly from a non-covered job with that employer to a covered job with that employer.
If you do not work sufficient hours of service for a contributing employer in a calendar year to earn a full year of credited future service, you will not be entitled to any portion of a year of credited future service for your work in a non-covered job for that employer.
Beginning September 1, 2005, you will not receive credited service for any employer contributions paid on your behalf if the minimum contribution rate for journeymen in your geographic area is not at least $2.50 per hour. These hours will be counted for purposes of vesting only.
Benefit Units Before Your Contribution Date
If you earned one year of credited past service or fraction of a year of credited past service, you also earned one benefit unit or corresponding fraction of a benefit unit.
Benefit Accruals and Benefit Units After Your Contribution Date
Beginning with the January 1 coincident with or next following the date your bargaining unit contribution rate exceeds $1.00 per hour, you accrue benefits based on percentage of contributions payable to the Pension Fund on your behalf for hours worked in covered employment. You receive benefits for all hours worked in covered employment in any calendar year in which you work at least 500 contributory hours.
Before the January 1 when your benefits first become payable based on the percent-of-contributions formula, your benefits are based on the benefit units you earn. You earn benefit units for all hours for which your employer is required to contribute with respect to your work (contributory hours), according to the following schedules:
|
Contributory Hours Worked in Calendar Year |
Contributory Benefit Units | |
| Before January 1, 1976 | Less than 350 hours | None |
| 350 to 699 hours | ¼ | |
| 700 to 1,049 hours | 2/4 | |
| 1,050 to 1,399 hours | ¾ | |
| 1,400 hours or more | One | |
| After January 1, 1976 And before January 1, 1997 | Less than 500 hours | None |
| 500 to 599 hours | 5/14 | |
| 600 to 699 hours | 6/14 | |
| 700 to 799 hours | 7/14 | |
| 800 to 899 hours | 8/14 | |
| 900 to 999 hours | 9/14 | |
| 1,000 to 1,099 hours | 10/14 | |
| 1,100 to 1,199 hours | 11/14 | |
|
1,200 to 1,299 hours |
12/14 | |
| 1,300 to 1,399 hours | 13/14 | |
| 1,400 hours or more | One |
The calendar year for which the percent-of-contributions formula is first applicable for each bargaining unit is as follows:
| Union Local | Calendar Year | |
| 12 | 1976 | |
| 419 | 1980 | |
| 1236 | 1979 | |
| 1237 | 1977 | |
| 1238 | 1980 | |
| 1711 (now merged into 1399) | 1976 |
If you are a non-bargained employee, as defined in Subsection 1.11.b. of the Plan Document, all benefits earned after your contribution date will be based on the percent-of-contributions formula.
Credit for Non-Working Periods
You may receive credited service, benefit units and accrued benefits at the rate of 30 hours per week if you are absent from covered employment after your contribution date due to:
- Non-occupational disability if certified by a physician, or for which California Unemployment Disability benefits are paid, not to exceed a maximum of 26 weeks.
- Disability for the period for which Workers’ Compensation Temporary Disability benefits are paid, not to exceed a maximum of three years.
You may also receive credited service, benefit units and accrued benefits if you are absent from covered employment after your contribution date due to qualifying military service, provided you return to covered employment within the period during which you retain reemployment rights under Federal Law. Benefits will be credited based on the average number of hours you work in covered employment in a week during the 12-month period immediately preceding your military service but not less than 30 hours per week for such military service.
Can You Lose Your Credited Service, Benefit Units and Accrued Benefits?
Once you have attained vested status, you cannot lose your credited service, benefit units and accrued benefits. However, you may permanently lose them prior to achieving vested status if you fail to work a required number of hours in a covered job for a certain number of consecutive years, as explained below.
Before January 1, 1976. You lost your credited service, benefit units and accrued benefits if you did not earn one-quarter of credited future service in a period of two consecutive calendar years. Time off for a disability or involuntary unemployment may be counted towards preventing the loss of credited service, benefit units and accrued benefits. (See “Grace Periods” below)
In addition, if you accumulated one contributory benefit unit prior to having a permanent break in service before January 1, 1976 and also returned to work before that date, all of your credited service, benefit units, and accrued benefits lost before January 1, 1976 may be reinstated on the first day of the month prior to January 1, 1985, coincident with or next following completion of both of the following requirements:
- You earned at least five additional contributory benefit units; and
- Beginning with the first calendar year in which you earned one quarter of credited service after your return to covered employment before January 1, 1976, you earned credited service in each year during the time you earned the five additional contributory benefit units.
Beginning January 1, 1976. You can permanently lose your credited service, benefit units and accrued benefits if the number of consecutive one-year breaks in service* you incur equal or exceed your full years of credited service, as shown in Example 1. Beginning June 1, 1987, you cannot permanently lose your credited service, benefit units and accrued benefits until you have at least five consecutive one-year breaks in service, regardless of the number of years of credited service, as shown in Example 2. Beginning June 1, 1987, time off for maternity/paternity leave may be counted towards preventing the loss of credited service, benefit units and accrued benefit. (See “Grace Periods” below)
- * You have a one-year break in service if you fail to complete 500 hours of service in a calendar year.
Example 1.
In the employment history below, you earned 4 years of credited service. Then came 2 years in which you had less than 500 hours of service. You still had not lost your 4 years of credited service. The next year, you worked only 200 hours. You added another break in service year, which totaled 3. The following year, you only worked 100 hours which added another break in service year. You then had 4 break in service years and incurred a permanent break in service and lost your previously accumulated years of credited service, benefit units and accrued benefits.
|
1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year 5th year 6th year 7th year 8th year |
– – – – – – – – |
1,400 hours 1,500 hours 1,000 hours 1,300 hours 175 hours 250 hours 200 hours 100 hours |
year of credited service year of credited service, total 2 years year of credited service, total 3 years year of credited service, total 4 years break in service, 1 year break in service, 2 years break in service, 3 years Break in service, 4 years |
Example 2.
In this case, you earned 2 years of credited service through 1990. Then from 1991 through 1994, you failed to complete 500 hours of service in any years. You still had not lost your 2 years of credited service. In 1995, you worked 1,500 hours and prevented a permanent break in service.
|
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 |
1,400 hours 1,500 hours 200 hours 00 hours 00 hours 275 hours 1,500 hours |
year of credited service year of credited service, total 2 years break in service, 1 year break in service, 2 years break in service, 3 years break in service, 4 years year of credited service, total 3 years |
Grace Periods
A grace period does not add to your years of credited service, but it is a period which is to be disregarded in determining whether you worked sufficient hours to prevent a break in service.
After the contribution date and before January 1, 1976 you were allowed a grace period.
Special Reinstatement of Lost Credits
If you are a participant on or after January 1, 1989 and you previously incurred a permanent break in service, you may have your cancelled future service credits, benefit units, and accrued benefits reinstated if you return to covered employment and earn additional years of credited future service without a subsequent permanent break in service.
Once you have accumulated 5 additional years of credited future service without a permanent break in service, 100% of your canceled years of credited future service and 50% of your canceled contributory benefit units and accrued benefits will be reinstated. If you continue to accumulate additional years of credited future service without a permanent break in service, contributory benefit units and accrued benefits will be reinstated in accordance with the following schedule:
|
Years of Credited Service Earned After a Permanent Break in Service |
Percentage of Benefit Units and Accrued Benefits Reinstated |
| At least 10 | 100% |
| At least 9 but less than 10 | 90% |
| At least 8 but less than 9 | 80% |
| At least 7 but less than 8 | 70% |
| At least 6 but less than 7 | 60% |
| At least 5 but less than 6 | 50% |
| Less than 5 | 0% |
This provision will operate to reinstate future service credits canceled by the most recent permanent break in service only. Multiple permanent breaks in service are not covered.
How You Achieve Vested Status
If you are a non-bargained employee who has one hour of service after May 31, 1988, you achieve vested status once you have accumulated 5 years of credited service without a permanent break in service. If you are a collectively bargained employee who has at least one hour of service on or after January 1, 1999 and has worked at least 1,400 hours in covered employment after your contribution date, you achieve vested status once you have accumulated 5 years of credited service without a permanent break in service. Otherwise you achieve vested status once you have accumulated 7 years of credited service without a permanent break in service, has worked at least 1,400 hours in covered employment after your contribution date and has at least one hour of service on or after January 1, 1997 or you have accumulated 10 years of credited service without a permanent break in service and have worked at least 1,400 hours in covered employment after your contribution date.
If you separated from covered employment prior to June 1, 1976, please refer to Section 6.09 of the Plan Document for the vesting requirements in effect at the time you separated.
If you were a participant under the Carpet, Linoleum and Soft Tile Local Union 1926 Pension Plan prior to August 1, 2001, please refer to the vesting rules described in Section 3.19.d. of the Plan Document.