|
Plan History & Objective
1. When was the Plan
established?
The Plan came into effect on April 1, 1969. The Plan
was most recently amended effective January 1,
2004.
2. What is the
objective of the Plan?
The Plan is designed to provide a monthly life income
for Members who retire under the Plan after
completing certain age and service requirements. Additionally,
if a Member qualifies, a monthly
income is payable if he becomes permanently and
totally disabled before retirement.
Plan Set Up
1. How is the Plan
constituted?
The Plan has been set up as provided for in a Trust Agreement
between Local 118, the participating employers
and the Trustees of the Plan. All money contributed
to the Plan is held in trust on behalf of the
Members.
The Plan is a Defined Benefit
Pension Plan. This means
that you earn a monthly benefit in the Plan, rather
than accumulate contributions with interest. The
Plan is registered with both the British Columbia
Government under the BC Pension Benefit
Standards Act and Canada Revenue Agency
(CRA) under the Income Tax Act of Canada.
2. How is the Plan run?
The Trustees interpret
the Plan, provide certain guidelines
to the Plan Administrator, Custodian, Investment
Manager and Actuary, and oversee the running
of the Plan.
The Plan Administrator (currently
D.A. Townley and Associates Ltd.)
administers the Plan by keeping records
of service and contributions and by calculating
pensions and benefits under the Plan.
The Custodian of assets (currently
RBC Global Services) holds the
pension fund assets and invests them
following instructions from the Investment Managers.
All contributions are made to the Custodian,
and all pensions and benefits are paid by
the Custodian.
The Investment Managers (currently
Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel
and Greystone Managed
Investments) make investment decisions within
guidelines and objectives set by the Trustees.
The Actuary (currently
D.A. Townley and Associates Ltd.)
makes periodic estimates of pension fund
surpluses and deficits, and provides direction
and advice to the Trustees.
The Plan is
subject to the rules for registration under
the Income Tax Act (federal) and the BC Pension
Benefits Standards Act (provincial) and is subject
to change from time to time when those rules
change.
Reciprocity
1. What
happens if I am not working within Local 118's jurisdiction?
Local 118 has entered into agreements with other Locals
across Canada whereby if you are working in
another local in which there is a reciprocity agreement,
the contributions made on your behalf can
be transferred to this Pension Plan. You must fill
out a form requesting and authorizing the reciprocal
transfer. In addition, Reciprocal
Agreements have been signed with
certain other Trade Unions which belong
to the B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction
Trades Council. This enables you to receive
credit while temporarily working out of another
jurisdiction. Contributions
submitted on your behalf from another
Pension Plan are subject to an adjustment in accordance with
the standard industrial/institutional hourly
contribution rate.
2.
What happens if I transfer my membership from Local 118 to
another Local?
If you transfer membership out of Local 118 to another
Local of the International in which the Plan
has a Pro Rata Agreement, the pension years of
service accrued by you will be transferred on a pro
rata basis to your new Local. If you have transferred to
Local 118 from another participating Local,
your years of service from your former Local
are recognized by this Plan.
General Information
1. Can I
assign or borrow against my
pension?
Benefits under the Plan may not be assigned in any
way, except in certain cases where benefits are split
upon divorce.
2. Are benefits taxable?
All Plan benefits are included in your income for income
tax purposes when they are paid (except for
lump sums transferred directly to another registered pension
plan or RRSP).
3. How do I get access to Plan
information?
The documents of the Plan can be viewed at the office
of the Plan Administrator, D.A. Townley and Associates
Ltd., during normal office hours. Personal
information about other Members is, of course,
not available.
4. What else should I
know?
It is your responsibility or your beneficiary’s to apply
to the Trustees to receive benefits when entitled. If
no application is received by the Trustees within
one year after the date when payment became
due, the Trustees will attempt to contact the
person eligible to receive the payment due. If they
are unable to do so, then the benefit may be forfeited.
When you name someone as your
beneficiary, please advise them.
When you change your beneficiary, please
advise both parties of the change. The
Plan is administered by a Board of Trustees composed
of five Trustees, all of whom are appointed
by the Local Union following an election process.
|
|
PDF - 65 Kb)