Operating Engineers Pension Funds

Pension Types

REGULAR PENSION

When is an Operating Engineer eligible for a Regular Pension?
  • When he is at least 62 years of age; and
  
  • he has acquired either:
 
          (a) At least three (3) Pension Credits or 3,000 hours
          without a break in employment for which contributions are
          obligated to this Plan on or before June 30, 1978, or
 
 
          (b) at least six (6) Pension Credits or 6,000 hours
          without a break in employment for which contributions are
          obligated to this Plan.

How much is the Regular Pension?
 
  • Effective September, 2000, the Regular Pension is a monthly amount equal to $8.00 for each prior Service Credit plus $50.00 for each Current Service Credit.

What if I retire after Normal Retirement Age (age 65)?
 
  • If the effective date of your pension is after Normal Retirement Age (age 65), and you did not work 40 or more hours in each month between age 65 and your pension effective date, then your benefit may be calculated differently.  You will receive the greater of:
 

          1.The benefit payable as of your effective date,
          calculated as shown above; or
 
 

          2.The benefit you would have received if you had
          retired at Normal Retirement Age (based on the
          benefit rates in effect at that time), actuarially
          increased for each month after that date in which you
          worked fewer than 40 hours. The actuarial increase
          will be 1% per month for the first 60 months after
          Normal Retirement Age and 1.5% per month for each
          month thereafter.
 




If the effective date of your benefits will be delayed beyond the first month following Normal Retirement Age (age 65) and you have any questions about how this Plan provision will affect the calculation of your benefits, you should contact the Fund Office.
SERVICE PENSION
When is an Operating Engineer eligible for a Service Pension?
                       
  • When he is at least 60 years of  age; and
  • he has acquired a minimum of 30,000 hours without a   break in employment and has 30 years of membership in Local #12 or has worked as an Operating Engineer, for a contributing employer, for 30years in the geographic area of the Plan.
 
How much is the Service Pension?
 
  • If you are eligible, there is no percentage reduction on this type of pension.  It is paid the same as a Regular Pension.* 

*IMPORTANT:  These amounts are based on you retiring on the normal form of Pension with 120 payments guaranteed.  If you selected the Husband-and-Wife pension , or the Level Income Option, or if you have a Break in Employment, the monthly amount of Pension will be reduced.
EARLY PENSION
When is an Operating Engineer eligible for an Early Retirement Pension?

  • When he is at least 45 years of age, but is not yet 62; and

  • he has acquired either:

          (a) At least three (3) Pension Credits or 3,000 hours reported
           without a break in employment for which contributions are obligated
           to this Plan on or before June 30, 1978, or
          (b) at least six (6) Pension Credits or 6,000 hours reported
           without a break in employment for which contributions are obligated
           to this Plan.
How much is the Early Pension?
  •  The monthly amount of Early Pension is determined as follows:

1.

 Figure the amount of the Regular Pension to which you would be entitled if you were age 62.

2.

 Reduce this amount by 1/4 of 1% for each month you are younger than 62. (If there is a Break in Employment due to employment for a non-contributory employer or doing covered work for which no contributions are obligated to the Trust, the reduction is 1/2 of 1% for each month you are younger than 62 unless, after the Break, you work at least 6,000 hours in contributory employment.)

                  The resulting figure is then rounded to the nearest even dollar amount.
For example: You retire in September, 2000 with 10 Prior Credits and 40 Current Service Credits at age 53.  (You are 108 months younger than age 62).  Your Regular Pension, if you were 62, would be:

 

 10 Prior Credit @ $8.00 

=

$    80.00

 

 40 Current Service Credits @ $50.00

=

+2,000.00

 

 Regular Pension amount at 62

=

$2,080.00

 

 Early Pension Reduction Factor

(108 x .0025= .27 x $2,080.00)

=

-561.60

 

EARLY PENSION AMOUNT

=

1,518.40

 

Rounded to

=

$1,518.40

The reduction for a participant who incurs a Break in Employment due to employment for a non-contributory employer or doing covered work for which no contributions are obligated to the Trust will be 1/2 of 1% for each month that the participant is younger than age 62.  This reduction ranges from 60% at age 52 to 0.50% at age 61 and 11 months.
 

*IMPORTANT:  These amounts are based on you retiring on the normal form of Pension with 120 payments guaranteed.  If you selected the Husband-and-Wife pension , or the Level Income Option, or if there has been a Break in Employment, the monthly amount of Pension will be reduced.

DISABILITY PENSION
What is the definition of Disability?

  • You may qualify to receive a Disability Pension if you are totally and permanently disabled due to sickness or accidental bodily injury, or both, so as to be unable to perform the duties of any position covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement.

  • The requirement that a participant be "totally and permanently disabled" is interpreted by the Board of Trustees as follows:

"A participant shall be considered totally and permanently disabled only if the Trustees, in their sole judgment, find that he is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable, physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.  The term "substantial gainful activity" refers to work activity as both substantial and gainful.  Substantial work activity involves performance of significant physical or mental duties, or a combination of both, productive in nature.  Gainful work activity is activity for remuneration or profit to the individual performing it. An individual shall be determined to be totally and permanently disabled only if his physical or mental impairment or impairments are of such severity that he is not only unable to do his previous work but cannot considering his age, education and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work, regardless of whether such work exists in the immediate area in which he lives, or whether a specific job vacancy exists for him, or whether he would be hired if he applied for work."

YOU DO NOT NECESSARILY MEET THE DISABILITY PENSION REQUIREMENTS JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE UNABLE TO PERFORM THE NORMAL DUTIES OF AN OPERATING ENGINEER.  JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE OPERATED A CERTAIN TYPE OF EQUIPMENT FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO DO SO, DOES NOT MEAN YOU QUALIFY.

When is an Operating Engineer eligible for a Disability Pension?
If he is totally and permanently disabled, is younger than age 62, and has acquired at least six (6) Pension Credits or worked at least 6,000 hours without a break in employment for which contributions are obligated to this Plan.  Also, he must have worked at least 500 hours in contributory employment during the 24 months preceding his pension effective date.

When are Disability Pensions Effective?
Disability Pensions are effective on the first day of the sixth month of disability or on the first of the month after receipt of your pension application, whichever is later.  If you believe you are eligible for Disability Pension benefits, apply immediately.  Do NOT wait for the Social Security Administration to award Disability Benefits.

What must I do to prove that I am totally and permanently disabled?
You should obtain and submit a determination from the Social Security Administration that you are entitled to a Social Security Disability Benefit in connection with your Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance coverage.  In the absence of a Social Security Disability Award, the Board may accept written medical evidence of disability as it so determines.

Should I wait for Social Security before I apply for a Disability Pension?

NO.   Social Security may take a year or more to determine your entitlement to Social Security Disability benefits.  The rules of the Plan provide that the Disability Pension will be effective on the sixth month of disability.  Disability Pension payments from this Plan will not begin until the first of the month following the date on which your application is received.  You are, therefore, urged to file your application at the same time as you apply for Social Security benefits.  Your application would then be recorded and, even if extensive delays are encountered, pension payments could be made retroactively.

How much is the Disability Pension?
The monthly amount of a Disability Pension is equal to the monthly amount of the Regular Pension you would be entitled to receive if you were age 62 on the effective date of your Pension.  There is no reduction for age.

What happens if a participant receiving a Disability Pension recovers from his Total Disability?

If a Disability Pensioner recovers from his disability before age 62, he will no longer receive a Disability Pension.  He may, however, re-enter Covered Employment and resume accrual of Service Credit which will then be added to the Service Credit earned before the disability period began.  If a Disability Pensioner recovers from his disability after age 62, he will continue to receive his benefit, provided he remains retired as defined by the Plan.

RECIPROCAL PENSION

What is a Reciprocal Pension?

  • A Reciprocal Pension is provided for participants who would not otherwise qualify for a pension, or whose pensions would be less than the full amount because their years of employment have been divided between the jurisdiction of this Pension Plan and other Related Plans recognized by the Operating Engineers Pension Trust.

Do I receive credit in this Plan for work in other Locals?

  • This Fund has reciprocal agreements with almost all Operating Engineer Pension Funds in the nation.  These reciprocal agreements allow eligibility for a pension under this Fund to be based on combined hours (hours you worked in the jurisdiction of this Fund added to hours you worked in the jurisdiction of other Funds which signed reciprocal agreements with this Fund). The following example helps illustrate this:
 Eligibility requirement for Pension in Local #12's Trust

   6,000 hours 
   
 Hours actually worked in Local #12's Trust

   4,000
 Hours reported to Reciprocal Trust  12,000
 Total eligibility Hours  16,000
   
 Total payment hours from Local #12's Trust    4,000


Presently, this Plan requires that you have a minimum of 6,000 hours in order to qualify for a pension.  If you had worked in this area and had accumulated 4,000 hours and had an additional 12,000 hours in another local's area, we would combine those hours for eligibility purposes.  You would have a total of 16,000 hours between the two. 16,000 hours exceeds the 6,000 hour requirement of this Plan and you would qualify for a pension benefit.  The benefit payable, however, would be limited to the actual number of credits earned in this Fund, or 4,000 hours in this particular case.  The other local may pay you for the credits earned in their Fund.  You would receive a check from each Fund, not a combined check.
Do I lose my Credits in this Plan if I work out of another Operating Engineer Local?

  • Generally speaking, no.  This Trust has Reciprocal Agreements with most Operating Engineer Trust Funds in the United States and Canada.  These agreements allow for hours between Trusts to be combined to prevent breaks in employment.  The hours are also combined for eligibility purposes in order to qualify for a pension.

    This Fund has a similar Reciprocal Agreement with the Southern California Rock Products Association as well as for those members who work for a signatory Rock, Sand and Gravel employer.
How does a participant qualify for a Reciprocal Pension?

  • A Participant is eligible to receive a Reciprocal Pension if he would be entitled to a Regular, Disability or Early Pension if his Combined Pension Credits (credits earned under this Plan and those earned under a Related Plan, recognized by this Pension Plan) were treated as Local #12 Service Credits.  You cannot use Related Plan credits to qualify for a Service Pension.
What is the amount of the Reciprocal Pension?
  • The amount of the Reciprocal Pension payable by this Pension Plan is determined in the same manner as the Regular Pension, or Early Pension based on Service Credit under the Local #12 Plan except that the benefits payable by this Trust will be based upon the rates that were payable when the hours were reported.