Dear Employee:
 

United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension Plan (the “Plan”) was developed in collective bargaining between the Unions and the Original Employer Signatories to provide pension benefits payable to eligible Employees who retire because of age and in some cases, disability. The Plan is administered by a Joint Board of Trustees comprised of an equal number of Union Trustees and Employer Trustees. The Trustees work diligently on your behalf to operate the Plan efficiently and to enforce its provisions fairly.

The Plan is intended to provide a financial foundation for retirement built during your working years at no cost to you. When combined with income from Social Security and personal savings, your retirement years can be active, happy years if you plan ahead for them. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service has found the Plan to be qualified under applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

This booklet is published by the Trustees of the United Food and Commercial Workers and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension Plan and describes the highlights of the Plan. It replaces all previous booklets describing the Plan. This booklet is intended as a brief summary of the provisions currently in effect for the Plan for Participants who have earned an Hour of Service on or after January 1, 2009.   In addition, this booklet reflects changes to the benefits payable to certain terminated vested participants who are not currently receiving benefits. 

If you are a retiree receiving a pension, the changes reflected in this booklet do not apply to you with one exception.  The monthly benefit amount payable to you during your lifetime and the monthly benefit amount payable to your surviving spouse are not affected by any changes in this booklet.   However, the one-time lump sum death benefit payable to beneficiaries of retirees has been eliminated.*

A more complete description is set forth in the Plan document. In the event that this Summary Plan Description conflicts with the Plan, the text of the Plan and related Trust Agreement will govern. You may review these documents or send a written request for your own copy   if you have any questions.

It is not always possible to reprint a new SPD to reflect all of the current rules or future amendments. Therefore, before you finalize your retirement plans call the Fund Office to be sure that you are aware of any changes.

Sincerely,
Wendell W. Young, IV, Chairperson
Daniel Dosenbach, Secretary