Glossary Glossary

Glossary

Adverse Benefit Determination means your claim for a benefit in whole or in part has been denied.

Break in Service is the end of two consecutive Plan Years during which a Participant has no service in Covered Employment.

Carpenters’ Plan Covered Employment includes service that is considered Covered Employment under the Carpenters’ Plan.

Carpenters’ Plan Non-Covered Employment includes employment, other than Carpenters’ Plan Covered Employment, by an employer who contributes to the Carpenters’ Plan.

Carpenters’ Plan Reciprocal Service refers to certain service performed under the Carpenters’ Pension Plan after a Break in Service that occurred before May 1, 1978. Section 3.6 of the Plan Document of the Shops Plan describes when such service is included as Carpenters’ Plan Reciprocal Service.

Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is the 3% adjustment increase made to your Retirement Benefit each May 1 (or a fraction of 3% if you have been retired less than a full year at the time of the increase).

Designated Beneficiary means the beneficiary most recently designated by the Participant for benefits under this Plan, provided such designation has been filed on a form that is acceptable to the Trustees. Otherwise, it means the beneficiary most recently designated and in effect under the Health and Welfare Plan of the Carpenters’ Health and Welfare Trust Fund of St. Louis. If a Participant dies without a written designation of beneficiary in effect for either this Plan or the Health and Welfare Plan, then the Designated Beneficiary shall be the Participant’s surviving spouse, or if none, the Participant's living descendants, per stirpes, or if there are none, the Participant’s estate. If a Designated Beneficiary dies after starting to receive benefits, the remaining benefits shall be paid to such person or persons or organization as the Designated Beneficiary has designated in a form filed with the Trustees or, in the absence of such designation, to the Designated Beneficiary’s estate. If a Participant’s spouse is the Designated Beneficiary, their subsequent divorce or annulment nullifies such designation on the date of the divorce or annulment.

Forfeiture of Service means all service and benefits earned to date are eliminated and ignored for the purposes of subsequent Covered or Non-Covered employment.

Level Benefit means an increased level monthly income payable at the election of the participant in lieu of a COLA benefit (which is subject to annual increases).

Minimum Vesting Service includes Plan Years in which you completed 1,000 hours of Covered Employment, Carpenters’ Plan Covered Employment, as well as Non-Covered and Carpenters’ Plan Non-Covered Employment that immediately precedes or follows Covered Employment or Carpenters’ Plan Covered Employment.

Non-Covered Employment includes employment, other than Covered Employment, by an employer who contributes to the Shops Plan but who does or did contribute immediately before or after employment.

Normal Retirement Date (NRD) for active participants is the first of the month coinciding with or following your 62nd birthday (or your date of Plan participation, if later).

Past Service means, in general, continuous service as an employee of an employer required to contribute to the Shops Plan.

Plan Year means a period of 12 consecutive months beginning on May 1. (Example: May 1, 2009 through April 30, 2010).

Pension Credit describes the amount of Credited Service earned under the Plan.

Per Stirpes is a legal term used to describe how the distribution of a deceased person’s benefit is divided among beneficiaries when children take the representative share that would have been taken if the parent were still alive. For example, suppose you died unmarried without naming a Designated Beneficiary. A Plan death benefit would be divided equally among your three children. But, if one of those three children had died before you, that son’s or daughter’s one-third share would be divided equally among the children of that deceased son or daughter.

Pro Rata Service means service earned in another Pension Plan and recognized in a formal pro rata pension credit agreement (e. g., International Reciprocal Agreement). Pro Rata Service, if applicable, can take a non-vested benefit to partial or full vesting or a partially vested benefit to full vesting. Pro Rata Service also can be used to attain the required vesting for a Death Benefit or a disability benefit. Pro Rata Service with other Funds does not count toward requirements for Rule of 90 or 30-Year Rule since these special provisions were specifically created and applied to service earned under the Pension Plan of Carpenters' Pension Trust Fund of St. Louis.

Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is a court order subsequent to a divorce or legal separation that modified a participant’s interest in a retirement plan by assigning the former spouse all or a portion of the benefits payable under that plan.

Shops Plan is the current Appendix A of the Pension Plan of Carpenters’ Pension Trust Fund of St. Louis, which prior to May 1, 1995, was a separate pension plan named the Carpenters' District Council Shops and Mills Pension Plan.

Shops Plan Covered Employment includes employment as a covered employee by an employer who contributes to the Shops Plan.

Shops Plan Non-Covered Employment includes employment other than Shops Plan Covered Employment, by an employer who contributes to the Shops Plan.

Spouse means the person to whom you are legally married on your retirement date or date of death, except that you must be married to your spouse for at least one year to qualify for certain Pre-Retirement Death Benefits. The validity of marriage shall be determined under the law of the state in which the marriage took place.

Vesting Service includes Plan Years in Covered Employment, provided such service was not disregarded because of an Interruption of Future Service Credit (Carpenters’ Plan) or Break in Service (Shops Plan). Vesting Service also includes Carpenters’ Plan Reciprocal Service and Pro Rata Service.