Operating Engineers Pension Fund
General Information

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ANNUAL PENSION STATEMENT

In January of each year you will receive a statement which will indicate the hours reported on your behalf for the previous Plan Year.  A Plan Year is the 12 months between July 1 and 
June 30.

The statement will indicate the following items important to you:

  1. The hours reported by your employers for the previous Plan Year.

  2. The total hours recorded on your behalf.

  3. Prior Service, if any.

4.   Any Break in Employment you may have incurred according to Plan rules.

The statement does not guarantee that you have a right to a specific amount of credits as listed on the statement.  The final audit of your credits will not be performed until you apply f or pension.  Nevertheless, it is important that you check this statement immediately upon receiving it and bring any errors to the attention of the Pension Department.  Do not ignore the statement simply because you are not thinking of retiring for several years.  The purpose of the statement is to detect any errors in your account so that they can be corrected immediately.  Leaving an error undetected and uncorrected for several years may cause significant problems for you when you decide to retire.

Please note that the Prior Credits shown are based upon Local #12's records and have not been verified.  Prior Credits are verified at the time of retirement.

 

 

APPEALS PROCEDURE

If your application for a pension benefit is denied by the Fund Office, you will receive written notice of denial which will state the reason for the denial and will also include the appeals procedure.  The Pension Trustees will make the final decision in every appeal.  The appeal must be submitted within 60 days of notification of the denial.
 

In the case of denied Disability Pension applications, the Fund Office will arrange for additional medical examinations at Fund expense, if necessary.  You will be reimbursed for the cost of travel from your home to the doctor's office and return.  A mileage allowance is provided for that purpose. 

If additional medical examinations do not provide conclusive evidence that the disability is total and permanent, you have the opportunity to meet with the Appeals Committee to discuss the application in person.  You may bring the doctor and/or legal counsel to the meeting to discuss the application with the Committee.  Appeals Committee meetings are scheduled at a mutually convenient time at the Fund Office.

ADDRESS CHANGES

Local #12 and the Trust have different offices.  Address changes should be sent to both simultaneously.  While we do exchange information with each other, sometimes delays occur during the course of transmitting information between offices.
 

Once your pension becomes effective, the pension check address will not be changed unless you send a written authorization to the Fund.  You  may download and print a Change of Address form here.

DIRECT DEPOSIT

In order to have your monthly check directly deposited to your bank account, we need your written instructions to do so.  You merely need to provide the Pension Department with the name and address of the bank, the account number and routing number.  We recommend this procedure as it eliminates the possibility of lost or stolen checks.  Call the Pension department and the Direct Deposit form will be mailed to you upon request or you may download and print it here.

 

You may also have your monthly check mailed to your bank for deposit.  However, if you choose this procedure, there is no guarantee that your check won't be lost or stolen.


NEWSLETTER

"News From Your Pension Trustees" is published every month and includes information about the benefits provided by the Fund.  It also notifies participants of changes in benefit provisions.  Also included is general information of interest to the participants.  This bulletin is sent to Retired participants only. Newsletters.