Pension Plan
Death Before Retirement Benefits Begin
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Lump Sum Benefit
Your beneficiary is entitled to a lump sum payment equal to $250 for each Pension Credit you have accumulated when you die, up to a maximum of 10 Credits. The minimum death benefit is $1,000 and the maximum death benefit is $2,500. This lump sum benefit is in addition to the pre-retirement Joint & Survivor Annuity or the 120 Month Guarantee Benefit.
Pre-Retirement 50% Joint & Survivor Annuity
If you have been married for at least 12 months and die before retirement after you have met the service requirements for a pension, your surviving Spouse is automatically entitled to the pre-retirement Joint & Survivor Annuity. This benefit is calculated as if you had retired on the 50% Joint & Survivor Annuity on the day before you died.
If you are younger than age 45 on the date of death, benefits will not commence until the first of the month following the month in which you would have attained age 45 had you lived. If you are age 45 or older on the date of death, benefits will commence the first of the month following the date of death unless your spouse elects to defer the commencement of benefits to a later date. In no event will benefits begin later than December 1 of the year in which you would have reached age 70-1/2 had you lived, or December 1 of the year in which you died.
Your surviving Spouse may elect, within 90 days after receiving written notice from the Fund Office, the 120 Month Guarantee Benefit instead of the 50% Joint & Survivor Annuity.
120 Month Guarantee
If you are not married or you have been married for fewer than 12 months when you die, your beneficiary is entitled to 120 monthly payments equal to the amount of Regular Pension you would have received if you had been age 62 and retired on a Single Life Annuity on the day before you died. If you are married, this benefit is payable to your surviving Spouse unless you designated someone other than your Spouse as your beneficiary and your Spouse consented to that designation on the Plan’s Designation of Beneficiary Form.