Summary Plan Description

Retirement Benefits Provided By The Pension Plan

Normal Retirement

The Plan provides for the payment of Normal Retirement Benefits to you if you retire after reaching age 60 and you meet all of the eligibility requirements.

Normal Retirement Date is the later date of (1) the attainment of age 60, and (2) the completion of 10 Years of Participation in the Plan since your last Break-in-Service Date; or if you are not covered under a collective bargaining agreement not earlier than the completion of 5 Years of Participation since your last Break-in-Service date; or if you earned service on or after January 1, 1997, the completion of 5 Years of Participation since your last Break-in-Service date; or if you earned service on or after January 1, 1999, the completion of 3 Years of Participation since your last Break-in-Service date.

You are eligible for the receipt of the Normal Retirement Benefit when you reach your Normal Retirement Age.

Once you reach Normal Retirement Age, you are entitled to retire and receive your benefits. You are not required to retire; however, benefit payments will not begin until you retire. Please note that you are not permitted to receive pension benefits if you are employed in "Suspendible Employment" as explained at page 59.

You can estimate the amount of Normal Retirement 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 Normal Retirement Date. You can find out the amount of Credited Service you have earned by making a written request to the Fund Office.

2. Determine your Employer's last weekly contribution rate. The weekly contribution rate paid by your Employer determines the amount of the Unit Multiplier utilized to calculate your benefit. Turn to Tables 1 through 6 and look for your Employer's last Contribution Rate Schedule. If your Contribution Rate Schedule is not listed on the Tables, the Fund Office will provide you with your Contribution Rate Schedule upon written request.

It is important to determine whether you retire under a contract negotiated before or after October 1, 1979. The date of October 1, 1979 is critical because on that date the Trustees adopted an amendment to the Plan which changed the rules for Unit Multipliers for Future Credited Service in order to eliminate deficits in all Contribution Rate Schedules for contracts negotiated after October 1, 1979. The deficit reduction program Unit Multipliers are provided at Tables 5 and 6. The Fund Office will provide you further information concerning the deficit reduction program upon written request.

3. Find your Unit Multiplier for Normal Retirement Benefits by referring to Tables 1 through 6. If your Unit Multiplier is not listed on the Tables, the Fund Office will provide you with your Unit Multiplier upon written request.

4. Multiply your Unit Multiplier, as determined in Step 3, by your Credited Service. This is your estimated monthly benefit which will be paid to you each month for the rest of your life. The amount of your benefit may be reduced by the 2% penalty explained at page 14, if applicable.

5. The Plan automatically provides that you will receive the Qualified Joint and Survivor Benefit when you retire. The Plan further provides that if you wish to waive the Qualified Joint and Survivor Benefit, your spouse must agree to the waiver, in writing, which is notarized, on a form provided by the Fund Office. Under this benefit, your monthly benefit will be reduced, but if you should die before your spouse, your spouse will receive 50%, 75% or 100%, depending upon the Option chosen, of the benefit payable to you for the remainder of his or her life. This benefit is explained in the Section entitled "Qualified Joint And Survivor Benefit" at page 43.

Assume that you estimate that you will have earned 20 Years Of Credited Service when you retire at age 60 (your Normal Retirement Age) in 1999, and that your Unit Multiplier is $35. Multiplying 20 Years of Credited Service by the Unit Multiplier of $35 results in the monthly lifetime benefit of $700.

Assume that your Employer contributed at the National Master Freight Level contribution rate schedule on your behalf, and you estimate that you will have earned 20 continuous Years of Credited Service when you retire at age 60 on January 1, 1999. Multiplying 20 Years of Credited Service by the Unit Multipliers (for the stated time periods) stated on Table 3, results in the monthly lifetime benefit of $1,531.50.

These examples assume that you and, if married, your spouse, waived all Survivor Options.

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