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IF YOU BECOME DISABLED
The Board of Trustees determines if you have a Total and Permanent Disability. However, in general, a Total and Permanent Disability means that you cannot work any longer as a laborer or in any other kind of job for pay due to an injury or a disease.
If you meet the Plan’s eligibility requirements, you may be entitled to receive a Disability Pension from the Plan.
Disability Pension Eligibility
You can receive a Disability Pension if you:
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Become totally and permanently disabled before reaching your Normal Retirement Age (usually age 65);
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Have earned Years of Vesting Service (for work covered under this Plan) and Pension Credits (excluding Bonus Credits) as indicated below:
- If you were hired on or after June 1, 2008: 10 Years of Vesting Service or at least 10 Pension Credits; or
- If you were hired on or before May 31, 2008: Five Years of Vesting Service or at least five Pension Credits; and
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Have earned at least ¼ Pension Credit during the three consecutive Plan Years (not including reciprocal service) immediately preceding the date at which the disability began.
Disability Pension Calculation
Your monthly Disability Pension benefit will be calculated in the same way as a Regular Pension with no reduction for age (see Regular pension calculation). If you elect to receive a Husband-and-Wife Pension, your benefits will be reduced to provide this form of payment (see How benefits are paid).
On June 1, 2008, Ben became disabled at age 42. He could no longer work as a laborer or in any other job. He had earned 20 Pension Credits plus 2 Bonus Credits. Since he had worked continuously and earned at least ½ Pension Credit between June 1, 2006 and May 31, 2008, his Past Pension and Bonus Credits were credited at the $107 Benefit Accrual Rate. His monthly pension benefit is $2,354, calculated as follows:
Ben's Pension and Bonus Credits 22
Benefit Accrual Rate x $107
Ben's Monthly Disability Pension Benefit $2,354
This assumes payment in the Single Life Pension form of payment, which is payable for Ben's lifetime with a minimum of 60 monthly payments.
top ^About the Examples
Most of the examples in this booklet are based on the Benefit Accrual Rate of $107, effective June 1, 2008.
To be eligible for the $107 Benefit Accrual Rate to apply to your Past Pension and Bonus Credits you earned before June 1, 2008, you must retire on or after June 1, 2008, and either:
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Have earned at least ½ Pension Credit between June 1, 2006 and May 31, 2008; or
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Work at least 1,000 hours in Covered Employment in each of two consecutive Plan Years between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2013, without having five consecutive one-year Breaks in Service.
The Benefit Accrual Rate may be different at the time of your retirement.
It is important for you to apply for a Disability Pension as soon as possible after an illness or injury if it is likely that you will have an indefinite period of disability. You should not wait to become eligible for Social Security disability payments (usually after five full months of disability) beforeapplying for the Pension Plan’s Disability Pension.
If you apply for a Disability Pension more than two months after the last date you worked in Covered Employment (or if later, two months after your disability begins), you may be eligible for an Auxiliary Disability Benefit. The Auxiliary Disability Benefit is a one-time lump sum payment.
The amount of the Auxiliary Disability Benefit will be equal to the monthly benefit payable in the form you elect for your Disability Pension multiplied by the number of months between the date your Disability Pension begins and the date your Disability Pension would have started if you had applied at the later of:
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The date you last worked in Covered Employment;
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The date of your disability;
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The first day of the month following your last Weekly Income Benefits from the Laborers’ Welfare Fund (or another welfare fund); or
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Two years before the date of your application.
If you die before the date your Disability Pension begins, your surviving spouse will receive a monthly benefit based on your disability election, provided that the Trustees approve your Disability Pension application.
Your Disability Pension ends when you are no longer totally and permanently disabled. At that time, you may apply for any pension for which you qualify or return to Covered Employment. You are no longer totally and permanently disabled if, among other things, you return to work or a physician determines that your condition has improved so that you are fit to work as a laborer or in any other gainful employment. You may be required to submit to re-examination at any time by a physician selected by the Trustees to determine whether you remain permanently and totally disabled.
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Receiving an Early Pension While Waiting for a Disability Pension
If you are eligible for an Early Pension at the time you become disabled, you may apply for and receive your Early Pension while you are waiting for approval of your Disability Pension application. If your Disability Pension is later approved, your monthly Early Pension will be converted to a Disability Pension. The conversion will be retroactive to the date your Disability Pension would have started.
If you are married and you and your spouse elected to receive your Early Pension as a Husband-and-Wife Pension, you must choose the same payment option for your Disability Pension. If you and your spouse rejected the Husband-and-Wife Pension when you received your Early Pension, you will be given a new election as to the form of payment for your Disability Pension.
Social Security Disability Benefits
If you become disabled, you and your family may be entitled to Social Security disability benefits. Your Social Security disability benefits are payable after you have been totally disabled for five full calendar months.
If the Social Security Administration determines that you are disabled:
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Your dependent spouse is entitled to additional benefits from Social Security if:
- Your spouse is at least age 62; or
- Your spouse is caring for a child who is eligible for children’s Social Security benefits.
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Your dependent children under age 18 are entitled to children’s Social Security benefits.