Health & Welfare and Pension Funds
of Philadelphia and Vicinity

Benefit Service

The amount of your pension benefit is based on the Benefit Service and Contributory Benefit Service (sometimes called Benefit Credit or Contributory Benefit Credit) that you earn. Benefit Service is used to determine your benefit under the Plan's regular benefit formula (as described in Section VI). Contributory Benefit Service is Benefit Service that you earn while in Covered Employment, for which contributions are made on your behalf to the Plan. Contributory Benefit Service is used to determine your eligibility for, and the amount of, the several alternative minimum benefits which are also discussed in Section VI.

As was the case with Vesting Service, the rules for crediting Benefit Service for calendar years before and after January 1, 1976 are different.

A. Service in Covered Employment

1. Calendar Years Beginning Before January 1, 1976.

You receive one year's Benefit Credit for each calendar year before 1976 for which a Covered Employer made or was required to make contributions on your behalf for at least 175 days. For each calendar year in which contributions were made on your behalf for at least 100 but less than 175 days, you receive one-half year's Benefit Credit. You receive no credit for any calendar year in which contributions were made for less than 100 days.

2. Calendar Years Beginning On and After January 1, 1976.

For each calendar year beginning on or after January 1, 1976, you will receive one year of Benefit Service if you satisfy both of the following conditions:

(i) You are an employee in a collective bargaining unit covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement by the terms of which a Covered Employer has agreed to make contributions on your behalf.

(ii) You are credited with at least 1,800 Hours of Service.

If you earn at least 750 but less than 1,800 Hours of Service, you will receive a fraction of a year's Benefit Service equal to your actual Hours of Service divided by 1,800. You earn no Benefit Credit for years in which you earn less than 750 Hours of Service.

B. Service With a Covered Employer But Not in Covered Employment

You may be able to receive Benefit Service (but not Contributory Benefit Service) for your service with an Employer before the Employer has become a party to the Plan and has agreed to make contributions, provided that:

The rules for measuring the amount of this past service credit depend upon specific time periods and are subject to a study by the Fund’s Actuary and approval by the Fund’s Trustees. If you have employment as described above and the grant of Past Benefit Service credit to the bargaining unit in which you are/were employed is approved by the Trustees, you will receive benefit service credit as follows:

C. Military Service

If you leave Covered Employment to enter the armed services of the United States or Canada, you can receive Benefit Credit during your period of military service provided (1) that you receive certification regarding satisfactory completion of military service; (2) you began such military service while employed by a Covered Employer; and (3) you applied for reemployment with that Employer within 90 days after discharge from military service. If you were in military service as described above, you will receive up to a maximum of 5 years' credit, at the rate of one year's credit for each calendar year during which you had at least 35 weeks in the armed forces. If you had between 25 weeks' service but less than 35 in a given year, you will receive one-half year's credit. Benefit Service credited to you because of your service in the armed forces is also considered to be Contributory Benefit Service for purposes of the several alternative minimum benefits discussed in Section VI.

You cannot, under any circumstance, receive more than one year of Benefit Service with respect to any one calendar year.

Break in Service

If you have a sufficiently lengthy Break in Service (as defined in Section IV) you will lose credit for previous Benefit Service just as you lose credit for previous Vesting Service. Remember, however, that once you have accumulated 10 years of Vesting Service (5 years if you worked in Covered Employment on or after January 1, 1999) you have a nonforfeitable right to a benefit based on service prior to any interruption of employment and you will not lose credit for that service.

An Hour of Service as used in this Section has the same meaning as defined in Section IV.

 Last Date Updated :  10/16/08