About the Pension Plan

Our Local 4’s Defined Benefit Pension Plan is designed to make your retirement easy and worry-free. The Plan provides vested members, qualified surviving spouses, and other beneficiaries with a guaranteed retirement benefit. In a defined benefit plan, the Plan guarantees a specific retirement benefit amount for each participant. The amount is based on factors such as your years of service and the accrual rates in effect when you retire.

You can check your pension credits any time through the Member Self Service.

Types of Pensions Offered by the Plan

  • Regular Pension: If you have reached age 62 and have accumulated at least five Pension Credits, you may be eligible to retire on a Regular Pension
  • Early Retirement Pension: If you have reached age 52 and have accumulated at least five Pension Credits, you may be eligible to retire on an Early Retirement Pension
  • Disability Pension: If you are an active employee and you become totally and permanently disabled before you reach age 62 and you have accumulated at least ten Pension Credits (including ¼ Pension Credit in the 30-month period immediately before your disability), you may be eligible for a Disability Pension
  • Partial Pension: If your employment is divided among several locals of the International Union of Operating Engineers, you may be eligible to have the Pension Credits that you have accumulated in one pension fund combined with the Pension Credits accumulated in another fund, and thus be eligible for a pension from both funds
  • Surviving Spouse Benefit: If you are vested and you die before you retire, your spouse may receive a monthly benefit for life.

Documents and Resources

Download the Summary Plan Description

Your Summary Plan Description (SPD) provides you with a comprehensive overview of your Pension Plan benefits. Download the complete SPD below for all details. For questions, please call the Funds Office at 508-533-1400 or email us at office@local4funds.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: The following FAQs are abbreviated explanations of complicated Plan benefits. Please review the applicable Summary Plan Descriptions if you still have questions, and please note any discrepancy between these FAQs and the Plan Documents will be resolved in favor of the Plan Documents, which are the controlling documents.

Under the Local 4 Pension Plan, the Normal Retirement Age is 62. You can retire as early as 52, but there is an actuarial reduction in the amount of your monthly pension payment for each month before age 62 that you retire.

About 60-90 days. You will get an application between 45-60 days before the date of retirement, and then we need it back from you about 30 days before retirement so we can allow adequate time for processing.

If you are married, you will need to take an 80% Participant and Spouse Pension, unless your spouse agrees to waive this right. This type of pension pays you less to ensure that money remains available to continue paying a pension to your spouse should you die first. If you are not married, you can take a Life Annuity, which pays you the highest possible amount, but which ends upon your death. There are other options in which you would receive less so that money remains available for a non-spousal beneficiary.

Yes, if you have earned ¼ Pension Credit in the last five years, you can take a lump sum amount of up to $25,000 at retirement and either roll it into the Annuity and Savings Plan, into another qualified plan, or simply take the cash. If you take the cash, you will be taxed 20% federal plus state taxes.

It depends. If you are on a Disability Pension, you may not work at all. If you are before age 62, you may not work at all in the craft jurisdiction of Local 4. If you are above the age of 62, you may not work greater than 39.9 hours per month in any industry in any geographic area covered by Local 4. After you reach April 1 of the year after you turn 72, you may work as much as you want and still collect your pension.

Your pension benefit will be suspended and will not be reinstated until you meet the requirements of the Plan, as well as reimburse the Plan for any pension checks issued while you were working in Disqualifying Employment.

The applicable form to change your tax withholding is available under Important Forms and Documents. To sign up or change your direct deposit you must contact the Benefit Funds Office at 1-508-533-1400.