About Your Pension Plan
 

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Click this Link to view Important Pension Plan Changes Effective April 1, 2007

As of March 1, 2006, the Trustees of this Plan are:

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Important Facts About the Plan

The following information provides important facts about the Plan, which you should know:

1. Name of Plan. The Plan is known as the Carpenters District Council of Kansas City Pension Fund.
2. Board of Trustees. A Board of Trustees is responsible for the operation of this Plan. The Board of Trustees consists of Employer and Union representatives selected by the Employers and the Union, which have entered into collective bargaining agreements, which relate to this Plan. If you wish to contact the Board of Trustees, you may use the addresses listed above.
3. Plan Sponsor and Administrator. The Board of Trustees is both the Plan Sponsor and Plan Administrator.
4. Identification Number. The number assigned to this Plan by the Board of Trustees pursuant to instructions of the Internal Revenue Service is 001. The Employer Identification Number (EIN) assigned to the Board of Trustees by the Internal Revenue Service is 43-6108379.
5. Agent for Service of Legal Process. Michael C. Arnold, Esq. is the Plan’s agent for service of legal process. Accordingly, if legal disputes involving the Plan arise, any legal documents should be served upon Mr. Arnold at
                                       1125 Grand Boulevard – Suite 1600
                                       Kansas City, MO  64106
   or upon any individual Trustee at the Fund Office.

   Board of Trustees
   Carpenters District Council of Kansas City Pension Fund

    3100 Broadway Suite 805
   Kansas City, Missouri 64111
   Telephone:  (816) 756-3113
   Fax:  (816) 777-2655
   Toll Free:  1-866-756-3113

6. Collective Bargaining Agreements. This Plan is maintained pursuant to collective bargaining agreements between the employers and the Carpenters’ District Council of Kansas City and Vicinity.
   
   The Fund Office will provide you, upon written request, information as to whether a particular employer is contributing to the Plan on behalf of participants working under the collective bargaining agreements.
7. Source of Contributions. The benefits described on this website are provided through employer contributions. The amount of employer contributions and the employees on whose behalf contributions are made are determined by the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
8. Pension Trust’s Assets and Reserves. All assets are held in trust by the Board of Trustees for the purpose of providing benefits to eligible participants and defraying reasonable administrative expenses. The assets of the Pension Fund are invested through professional investment managers selected by the Trustees.
9. Plan Year. The records of the Plan are kept separately for each Plan Year. The Plan Year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31. This serves as the period for which pension credits, years of vesting service and breaks in service are computed and recorded.
10. Type of Plan. This is a defined benefit plan maintained for the purpose of providing retirement benefits to eligible Participants.
11. Eligibility and Benefits. The types of benefits provided and the plan’s requirements with respect to eligibility as well as circumstances that may result in disqualification, ineligibility or denial or loss of any benefits are fully described in this booklet.

    Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Your pension benefits under this plan are insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal insurance agency. If the plan terminates (ends) without enough money to pay all benefits, the PBGC will step in to pay pension benefits. Most people receive all of the pension benefits they would have received under their plan, but some people may lose certain benefits.
    
    The PBGC guarantee generally covers:

        1.  Normal and early retirement benefits;
        2.  Disability benefits, if you become disabled before the plan terminates; and
        3.  Certain benefits for your survivors.

    The PBGC guarantee generally does not cover:

    1. benefits greater than the maximum guaranteed amount set by law for the year in which the Plan terminates;
    2. some or all benefit increases and new benefits based on Plan provisions that have been in place for fewer than 5 years at the time the Plan terminates;
    3. benefits that are not vested because you have not worked long enough under the Plan;
    4. benefits for which you have not met all of the requirements at the time  the Plan terminates;
    5. certain early retirement payments (such as supplemental benefits that stop when you become eligible for Social Security) that result in an early retirement monthly benefit greater than your monthly benefit at the Plan’s normal retirement age; and
    6. non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, certain death benefits, vacation pay and severance pay.

Even if certain of your benefits are not guaranteed, you still may receive some of those benefits from the PBGC depending on how much money your plan has and on how much the PBGC collects from your employers. For more information about the PBGC and the benefits it guarantees, ask your Plan Administrator or contact the PBGC’s Technical Assistance Division,
                        1200 K Street N.W.
                        Suite 930
                        Washington DC  20005-4026
                        (202) 326-4000 (not a toll-free number)
                        TTY/TDD 1-800-877-8339 (ask to be connected to (202) 326-4000)
Additional information about the PBGC’s pension insurance program is available through the PBGC’s website at http://www.pbgc.gov.

13. Rights and Responsibilities. As someone who may be eligible for benefits from this Plan, you are no doubt aware of the fact that the benefits are paid in accordance with Plan provisions out of a trust fund, which is used solely for that purpose. If you have had any questions or problems as to benefit payments, you have had, as you know, the right to get answers from the Trustees who administer the Plan.

The same basic rights have now been incorporated in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which Congress adopted in 1974, for application to all benefit plans. Those rights are set forth in the following section.

14. Trustees’ Authority. The Trustees of the Fund shall have the authority to revise, interpret, construe and apply the provisions of the Restated Plan Document and the Summary Plan Description including, but not limited to, provisions relating to the eligibility for, entitlement to and/or nature, amount and duration of benefits.

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Statement of Rights Under Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974

As a participant in the Carpenters District Council of Kansas City Pension Fund, you are entitled to certain rights and protections under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA provides that all plan participants shall be entitled to:

Examine, without charge, at the Plan Administrator’s office and at other specified locations, such as worksites and union halls, where at least 50 plan participants are customarily employed, all plan documents, including insurance contracts, collective bargaining agreements and copies of all documents filed by the plan with the U.S. Department of Labor, such as detailed annual reports and plan descriptions.

Obtain copies of all plan documents and other plan information upon written request to the Plan Administrator. The administrator may make a reasonable charge for the copies.

Receive a summary of the Plan’s annual financial report. The Plan Administrator is required by law to furnish each participant with a copy of this summary annual report.

Obtain a statement telling you whether you have a right to receive a pension at normal retirement age and, if so, what your benefits would be at normal retirement age if you stop working under the plan now. If you do not have a right to a pension, the statement will tell you how many more years you have to work to get a right to a pension. This statement must be requested in writing and is not required to be given more than once a year. The Plan must provide this statement free of charge. The Plan will provide this information to the extent it is able to be based on the available records.

In addition to creating rights for plan participants, ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the operation of the employee benefit plan. The people who operate your plan, called “fiduciaries” of the Plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interest of you and other plan participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your employer, your union, or any other person may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a pension benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA. If your claim for a pension benefit is denied in whole or in part, you must receive a written explanation of the reason for the denial. You have the right to have the Plan review and reconsider your claim. Under ERISA, there are steps you can take to enforce the above rights. For instance, if you request materials from the Plan and do not receive them within 30 days, you may file suit in a federal court. In such case, the court may require the Plan Administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to $110 a day until you receive the materials, unless the materials were not sent because of reasons beyond the control of the administrator. If you have a claim for benefits, which is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you may file suit in a state or federal court. If it should happen that Plan fiduciaries misused the Plan’s money, or if you are discriminated against for asserting your rights, you may seek assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, or you may file suit in a federal court. The court will decide who should pay court costs and legal fees. If you are successful, the court may order the person you have sued to pay these costs and fees. If you lose, the court may order you to pay these costs and fees, for example, if it finds your claim is frivolous. If you have any questions about your plan, you should contact the Plan Administrator. If you have any questions about this statement or about your rights under the ERISA, you should contact the nearest area office of the Pension and Welfare Benefit Administration, U.S. Department of Labor listed in your telephone directory or the
            Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries
            Employee Benefits Security Administration
            U.S. Department of Labor
            200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
            Washington D.C.  20210

IMPORTANT

• Save your Summary Plan Description booklet.
• Tell your family, particularly your spouse, about the booklet and its location.
• If you have lost your booklet, you may request another copy from the Fund Office.
• If you have worked in employment covered by the Plan for five years or more and you are leaving without definite plans to return in the near future, you may be entitled to a pension, payable when you have reached a retirement age. To protect your benefit rights, call or write the Fund Office to request a statement of your benefit rights. If you are vested, the Fund Office will notify the government so that the Social Security Administration can remind you of your vested pension rights at the time that benefits should commence.
• Notify the Fund Office approximately six months in advance of the date you plan to retire.

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