Boilermakers
Local Lodge No. 5 Vacation Fund
The Vacation Fund is a negotiated contractual arrangement that is designed to accumulate and distribute annual benefits to participants based on employer contributions.
You are eligible to participate in the Boilermakers Local Lodge No. 5 Vacation Fund if:
· You work in a job that is covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers of America, AFL-CIO, Local Lodge No. 5 (Local 5) requiring contributions to be made to Boilermakers Local Lodge No. 5 Vacation Fund (Vacation Fund); or
· You are an officer, business agent, or employees of the Union, and the Union contributes to the Vacation Fund on your behalf, as employers contribute on behalf of employees working a full workweek.
Your participation in the Vacation Fund starts as soon as you complete at least one hour in a job:
· That is covered by a collective bargaining agreement that requires contributions to the Vacation Fund with the Boilermakers Local Lodge No. 5; or
· As an employee of the Union.
Your employer(s) makes contributions to the Fund during each calendar year (January 1 - December 31) at the rate(s) established by the collective bargaining agreement in effect between your contributing employer and the Boilermakers Local Lodge No. 5. You make no contributions to the Fund. Union and employer trustees manage and invest the money in the Fund on your behalf.
All contributions to the Fund are made by employers in accordance with their collective bargaining agreements with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers of America, AFL-CIO Local Lodge No. 5 or the Local Unions affiliated with Local Lodge No. 5.
Your employer makes contributions to the Fund based on a percentage of your earnings. These contributions are then credited in your name, although all contributions are pooled until individual distributions are made.
The vacation benefit you earn
in a calendar year is automatically paid to you, usually during the first four
months of the calendar year. For example, your 2007 benefit would be paid to
you during the first four months of the year 2008.
The Fund Office will send you a check, which will be mailed to the address on file at the Fund Office. Be sure to let the Fund Office know if you’ve recently moved.
Notify the Fund Office promptly if you change your address. If the Board of Trustees is unable to reach you at your last address in its files, you will not receive benefit payments. Your benefit will be held until your address is known to the Fund.
The value of your benefit will be equal to the amount of contributions received by the Fund on your behalf adjusted for any administrative expenses that may apply.
No. You do not have to take a vacation to receive your vacation benefit.
No. Your benefit cannot be assigned, transferred, sold, or pledged for any reason prior to distribution.
If you think your vacation benefit is incorrect, contact the Fund Office so that a review may be made of the amount processed. Then, if an error at the Fund Office is discovered, it will be corrected. If you do not receive a benefit to which you believe you are entitled, you should file a claim in writing with the Board of Trustees. Your written claim must be filed no later than August 1 of the calendar year following the year in which your claim arose.
Once the Board of Trustees receives your claim, they will generally make a decision about it at their next regularly scheduled meeting. However, if your request is received less than 30 days before the meeting, the decision may be postponed to the second meeting following your request. If special circumstances require an extension of time for processing you will be notified in writing that a decision may be made at the third meeting following the date the request for a review was made.
The Board of Trustees’ decision will be in writing and will include the specific reason(s) for the decision and specific references to Plan provisions on which the decision is based. If you request a review of a denied claim, you will be notified of the approximate date that you can expect to receive a decision.
You have the right to appeal a denial. You may submit a written appeal to the Fund Office within 90 days after you receive the claim denial notice. You and your representative may review pertinent documents to your claim and submit written comments and relevant information. The Board of Trustees will respond to the appeal with a decision within 90 days after acknowledgement of the receipt of the appeal and all requested and submitted information in support of the appeal.
If you die before you receive your benefit, the Fund will pay the balance of your benefit to your estate on the next regular Vacation Fund disbursement date. Your estate will receive your benefit as of the December 31 preceding your death, plus any contributions received on your behalf up to the date of payment. If the executor or administrator of your estate hasn’t been appointed within 24 months of your death, then the benefit will not be distributed but will revert to the Fund for administrative purposes.
You can lose your vacation benefit if:
· You don’t cash your vacation account check within the six-month period after the Fund Office mails it to you. (Please note that you’ll only lose your benefit for the period that the check covered.)
· The Fund Office does not have a record of your current address, and the Board of Trustees has not received a claim for your benefit during the 24-month period since it last determined your vacation account benefit.
Boilermakers Local Lodge No. 5 Vacation Fund
13-1951757
502
Welfare plan, specifically a vacation plan
January 1 through December 31
Board of Trustees
Boilermakers Local Lodge No. 5
24 Van Siclen Ave.
Floral Park NY 11001
(516) 487-3404
(718) 895-7722
Barnes, Iaccarino & Shepherd LLP
3 Surrey Lane
Hempstead, NY 11550
Marshall & Moss Administrative Services
1400 Old Country Road, Suite 406
Westbury, NY 11590
P (516) 333-9010
F (516) 644-9039
All contributions to the Fund are made by
contributing employers according to the terms of the collective bargaining
agreement or other agreement with the Board of Trustees in effect. You are not allowed to make
contributions to the Fund. A list of contributing employers is available from
the Fund Office.
Contact the Fund Office in writing if you want to know whether a
particular employer contributes to the Fund on behalf of participants working
under the collective bargaining agreement.
The Board of Trustees has the full authority to interpret the Plan and its provisions. However, the Fund Administrator and the Fund Office are responsible for answering all day-to-day questions concerning eligibility, benefits, and claims procedures.
The Plan does not create a contract of employment, or any promises regarding employment. It is not meant to interpret, extend or change the provisions of the Plan in any way. The Board of Trustees expects to continue the Plan, but reserves the right to amend, modify or discontinue all or part of this program whenever conditions so warrant.
The Fund’s assets and reserves are held in a money market account.
The Vacation Fund is administered by a joint Board of Trustees composed of two union representatives and two employer representatives. The Board of Trustees is an administrator who employs and staffs the Fund Administrative Office. The Board of Trustees has delegated the regular operations of administering the Fund to an employed administrator.
You can request, in writing, a copy of the collective bargaining agreement related to the Plan. Write to:
Boilermakers Local Lodge No. 5
24 Van Siclen Ave.
Floral Park, NY 11001
Your Rights under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), passed by Congress in 1974, gives you certain basic rights as a participant in this benefit plan. These rights apply to all plans, including yours. By law, you are entitled to:
· Examine all Plan documents without charge at the Plan Administrator’s office. These include insurance contracts, detailed annual reports, and Plan descriptions.
· Get copies of all Plan documents and other Plan information if you ask for copies in writing. There may be a small charge to cover the cost of reproducing the documents.
· Receive a summary of the Plan’s annual financial reports. By law, the Plan Administrator must give you a copy of these reports every year.
In addition to outlining your rights as a Plan participant, ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the administration of the Plan. The people who administer the Plan are called “fiduciaries.” They have a duty to do their job wisely and in the interest of all participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your contributing employer or any other person, may fire you or discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a Plan benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA. If your claim for a Plan benefit is denied in whole or in part, you have the right to receive a written explanation of the reason for the denial. You also have the right to have the Plan reviewed and your claim reconsidered.
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 a 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 Plan Administrator.
If you have a claim for benefits that 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 misuse the Plan’s money, or 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 the court decides in your favor, the court may order the person you have sued to pay these costs and fees. If the court decides against you (for example, if it finds your claim is frivolous), the court may order you to pay these costs and fees.
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 ERISA, you should contact the nearest Office of Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA), U.S. Department of Labor, listed in your telephone directory. You also may contact the Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. You may also telephone a PWBA advisor in Washington, D.C. at (202) 219-8776 or visit the PWBA’s Internet site at www.dol.gov/dol/pwba.