Summary Plan Description

25-And-Out Retirement

The Plan provides for the 25-And-Out (Accrued Benefit), $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out, $2,000 Monthly 25-And-Out and $2,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefits, for retirement at any age, if you meet the eligibility requirements.

You will be eligible for the receipt of the 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit (Accrued Benefit), at any age, if you have completed at least 25 Years of Future Credited Service (contrib-utory service) since your last Break-In-Service Date. It is important to remember that periods of Past Credited Service (service for which no contributions were received by the Plan) will not be utilized to calculate the 25 years of contributory service.

The 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit (Accrued Benefit) applies to partial (reciprocal) pensions if the Related Plan also provides the equivalent 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit (Accrued Benefit). See the Section entitled "Partial (Reciprocal) Pension" at page 47.

The 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit (Accrued Benefit) is effective for all Participants who are eligible, and retire, on or after April 1, 1995.

You can estimate the amount of the 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit (Accrued Benefit) you will receive each month after you retire by following these steps:

1. Estimate the number of Years of Credited Service you will have earned at the time of your 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit (Accrued Benefit) Date. You can find out the amount of Credited Service you have earned by making a written request to the Fund Office.

2. Follow the same procedure provided at pages 22-23 to calculate your Normal Retirement Benefit.

3. The application of the Qualified Joint and Survivor Benefit is explained in the Section entitled "Qualified Joint And Survivor Benefit" at page 43.

Assume that you retire on September 1, 1999 at age 55, with 25 Years of Future Credited Service (contributory service), and your monthly Normal Retirement Benefit is $750. Under the 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit (Accrued Benefit), you can retire at age 55, receive the monthly benefit of $750 for life, and not incur an Early Retirement Discount for retiring prior to age 60. Without the 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit (Accrued Benefit), you would have incurred a 30% discount (60 months x 0.5%) and received a reduced monthly benefit of $525. This example assumes that you and, if married, your spouse, waived all Survivor Options.

You will be eligible for the receipt of the $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit, at any age, if you earn at least 25 years of Future Credited Service (contributory service), and meet the following requirements:

1. Retire on or after September 1, 1994; and,

2. Contributions made on your behalf for at least 20 out of the 25 years of Future Credited Service (contributory service) at the Freight Level, and attain the weekly contribution rate of $116; and,

3. Contributions made on your behalf at the Freight Level for a total of at least 120 weeks in the 3 out of the 6 continuous years (without a one year break in contributions), immediately prior to attaining eligibility for the Benefit.

Periods of Past Credited Service (service for which no contributions were received by the Plan), will not be utilized to calculate the 25 continuous (without a Break-in-Service) years of contributory service necessary to be eligible for the $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit.

Contributions at the Freight Level for casual service will not be utilized to determine the period of Future Credited Service (contributory service) at the Freight Level.

The $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit applies to partial (reciprocal) pensions if the Related Plan also provides the equivalent $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit. See the Section entitled "Partial (Reciprocal) Pension" at page 47.

If you are eligible for the $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit, the monthly benefit is $1,500, or your accrued benefit (amount of Normal Retirement Benefit), whichever is greater, at the date of retirement. To compute the estimate of the Normal Retirement Benefit you will receive each month upon retirement, follow the procedures provided at pages 22-23.

As the result of being eligible for the $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit, you should refer to Tables 1 through 6 to determine the appropriate Unit Multipliers to compute the estimate of the Normal Retirement Benefit available to you at retirement.

The $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit becomes ef-fective for any Contributing Employer who contributed at the same rate schedule as the Freight Level contribution rate schedule, and who reaches the contribution rate of $116 per week. However, if the Contributing Employer did not reach the weekly contribution rate of $116 by December 31, 1998, the Participants of the Contributing Employer will not be eligible in the future for the $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit.

Remember that if a Contributing Employer, who contributed at the same rate schedule as the Freight Level contribution rate schedule and reached the weekly contribution rate of $116 by December 31, 1998, subsequently voluntarily withdraws and leaves the Plan, the Participants who were employed by that Contributing Employer, and who retire following the Contributing Employer's voluntary withdrawal from the Plan, will not be eligible for the $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit.

Examples

Assume that you earned 25 years (without a Break-in- Service) of Future Credited Service (contributory service) as follows:

You will be eligible for the $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit, or your accrued benefit, whichever is greater, effective September 1, 1999, because contributions were made at the Freight Level for at least 20 of the 25 years, and for 3 years (without a one year break in contributions) out of the 6 years, immediately prior to attaining eligibility for the Benefit. This example assumes that you and, if married, your spouse, waived all Survivor Options.

You will be eligible for the receipt of the $2,000 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit, at any age, if you earn at least 25 years of Future Credited Service (contributory service), and meet the following requirements:

1. Retire on or after April 1, 1996; and,

2. Attain eligibility for the Freight Level 25-And-Out Benefit (see the Section entitled "Eligibility For $1,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit" at page 26); and,

3. Contributions made on your behalf at a certain specified weekly contribution rate as explained below.

If you are eligible for the $2,000 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit, and contributions are made on your behalf at the weekly contribution rate of $134, the monthly benefit is $2,000, or your accrued benefit (amount of Normal Retirement Benefit), whichever is greater, at the date of retirement. In addition, for each year of Future Credited Service (contributory service) earned at the Freight Level between 25 years and 30 years (effective only for the credited service earned after April 1, 1996, or the date contributions are made at the weekly rate of $134, whichever date is later), you will earn an additional monthly benefit of $100.

Assume that you earned 25 years (without a break-in-service) of Future Credited Service (contributory service) at the Freight Level as of June 30, 1999, and contributions were made on your behalf at the weekly contribution rate of $134 prior to that date. You will be eligible to retire on July 1, 1999, and receive the monthly benefit of $2,000. This example assumes that you and, if married, your spouse, waived all Survivor Options.

Assume that you earned 25 years (without a break-in-service) of Future Credited Service (contributory service) at the Freight Level as of April 1, 1999, and contributions were made on your behalf as of that date at the weekly contribution rate of $134 or greater. Assume further that you continue to be employed 1 more year through March 31, 2000, and contributions are made on your behalf during the 1 year period at the Freight Level. Effective April 1, 2000, you will be eligible to retire and receive the monthly benefit of $2,100. This example assumes you and, if married, your spouse, waived all Survivor Options.

If you are eligible for the $2,000 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit, and contributions are made on your behalf at the weekly contribution rate of $144, on or after April 1, 1997, the monthly benefit is $2,000, or your accrued benefit (amount of Normal Retirement Benefit), whichever is greater, at the date of retirement. In addition, for each year of Future Credited Service (contributory service) earned at the Freight Level between 25 years and 30 years (effective only for credited service earned after April 1, 1997, or the date contributions are made at the weekly rate of $144, whichever date is later), you will earn the additional monthly benefit of $200.

Example

Assume that you earned 25 years (without a break-in-service) of Future Credited Service (contributory service) at the Freight Level as of August 1, 1999, and contributions are made on your behalf as of that date at a weekly contribution rate of $144 or greater. Assume further that you continue to be employed 1 more year through July 31, 2000, and contributions are made on your behalf during the 1 year period at the weekly contribution rate of $144 or greater. Effective August 1, 2000, you will be eligible to retire and receive the monthly benefit of $2,200 ($2,000 plus $200 for the 1 year of Future Credited Service (contributory service) from August 1, 1999 to July 31, 2000). This example assumes that you and, if married, your spouse, waived all Survivor Options.

The $2,000 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit applies to partial (reciprocal) pensions if the Related Plan also provides the equivalent $2,000 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit. See the Section entitled "Partial (Reciprocal) Pension" at page 47.

In the event that a Contributing Employer voluntarily withdraws from the Plan, a Participant who retires following the voluntary withdrawal will not be eligible for the $2,000 Monthly 25-And-Out Retirement Benefit.

$2,500 MONTHLY 25-AND-OUT RETIREMENT BENEFIT

The Trustees instituted a $2,500 Monthly 25-And-Out Benefit effective April 1, 2000. Click here for eligibility and other details for the Benefit.

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