When you're ready to retire, call Member Services at 800-551-3225 at least 4 months before you are ready to retire to request an appointment with a Retirement Counselor. Your Retirement Counselor will send you a pension estimate and an application for pension benefits and will review all the paperwork with you during your counseling appointment. Your pension benefit will be paid monthly, effective the first day of the month following your retirement, provided all the paperwork is submitted properly and on time.

When completing your pension application, you have several payment options to choose from:

• Single Life Pension with 60 Months Guaranteed – for unmarried participants and married participants with spousal consent
• Single Life Pension with 120 Months Guaranteed – for unmarried and married participants with spousal consent
• 50% Joint and Survivor Pension – for married participants only
• 75% Joint and Survivor Pension - for married participants only

A Joint and Survivor Pension is available for married participants only. Both the 50% Joint and Survivor Pension and the 75% Joint and Survivor Pension provide a monthly retirement benefit to you for your lifetime and to your spouse should your spouse survive you. If you are married, you are required to elect one of these two options unless your spouse consents to the election of the Single Life Pension with 60 Months Guaranteed or Single Life Pension with 120 Months Guaranteed Option. If you elect a Joint and Survivor Pension and die before your spouse, your spouse receives either 50% or 75% (as you elect at the time of your retirement) of the amount you had been receiving after your death for the rest of their life. If your spouse dies before you, you will continue to receive the same monthly benefit you chose at the time of retirement for the rest of your life.

The Single Life Pension with 60 Months Guaranteed option provides a benefit for your lifetime. If you die within 60 months of having started your pension, your beneficiary will receive the same amount you were receiving for the balance of the 60 month guarantee period.

The Single Life Pension with 120 Months Guaranteed option provides a benefit for your lifetime. If you die within 120 months of having started your pension, your beneficiary will receive the same amount you were receiving for the balance of the 120 month guarantee period

Nothing is payable to your beneficiary after the expiration of the guarantee period. If you are married and want to choose the Single Life Pension with either the 60 or 120 Months Guaranteed option, your spouse must sign a Spousal Waiver to indicate that they have agreed to give up their right to the Joint and Survivor Pension.

No, you may not name anyone other than your spouse for survivor benefits under a Joint and Survivor Pension.

If your spouse agrees in writing, you can name someone other than your spouse to receive payments for all or a part of the benefits payable for the 60 or 120 month guarantee period. If your spouse does not agree by signing the Spousal Waiver, the payments will be made to him/her.

Your spouse can revoke their consent waiving their right to the Joint and Survivor pension before payments begin. Your spouse must notify the Fund of their revocation before the date payments are set to begin in writing at the following address:

Building Service 32BJ Pension Plan
Retirement Services Department
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011

No, you may not change the form of payment you have chosen once your pension has started.

If you are divorced when you retire and commence your pension, you are not obligated to elect a Joint and Survivor pension. The only exception is if there is a special court order (a Qualified Domestic Relation Order - QDRO) that requires you to make such an election. If you are thinking about getting a divorce, you should get legal advice from a lawyer on your rights to benefits under the Plan. It is also a good idea to have the Fund office review a draft of the QDRO to determine whether it is qualified prior to entering it in court. If a domestic relations order is not qualified, then the Fund office cannot enforce the terms of the order.

You can retire as early as age 55 if you meet certain eligibility criteria. Your pension will be reduced based on the number of months you retire before age 65. Your monthly benefit is reduced by one-half percent for each month you are younger than age 65; this reduction is because you will receive a pension benefit for a longer period of time than if you retire at age 65, your Normal Retirement Age. Alternatively, you may retire at your Normal Retirement Age.

You may apply for a Disability Pension through June 30, 2023. You will receive a Disability Pension if you have met the Plans service and age requirements and are determined to have become permanently and totally disabled while working in covered employment as evidenced by a Social Security Disability Notice of Award. Refer to the Plan's Summary Plan Description for more information.

Effective July 1, 2023, a new Total Disability Benefit will be available to eligible participants (the current Disability Pension will no longer be available). You will be eligible for the Total Disability Benefit if you:

• have at least one hour of service on or after July 1, 2022,
• have at least 15 Service Credits,
• became Totally Disabled after attaining age 45 but before attaining age 65,
• became Totally Disabled while working in Covered Employment,
• worked in Covered Employment for at least 500 Hours of Service in the 12 months before you became totally disabled, and
• present to the Fund a Social Security Disability Notice of Award showing that you became totally disabled while working in Covered Employment with a 3 year or longer review for continuing eligibility.

Benefit payments are made on or about the first of the month for that month. The best way to guarantee that your pension benefit is available to you about the same day every month is to have it deposited directly into your bank account through our Direct Deposit program. Direct deposit offers you the convenience of having your money available on the first of every month without having to go to the bank, and peace of mind in knowing that your benefit is safely deposited in your account - not delayed in the mail or sitting in your mailbox while you're away.

Your pension benefit is taxable because it is considered income for federal tax purposes. The Plan will deduct federal taxes from your pension check unless you elect otherwise. Special rules apply for retirees who are U.S. citizens and live out of the country.

Your pension benefit does not affect your Social Security benefit payment. Also, any disability pension benefits you may receive are not affected by Social Security. In either case, your pension benefit is totally separate and will not be affected by your Social Security benefit.

You may not receive your benefit as a lump sum unless the monthly benefit is very small. Consult the Fund Office if you think you may qualify.

No, you may not roll over your benefits from this Plan into another pension plan. Also, the Plan cannot accept rollovers from other pension plans or from a 401(k) plan.

Benefits are not based on the payment of dues. Participation in the pension depends on the terms of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) under which you were covered. If the CBA required contributions to the pension plan for your category of employment you may be a participant in the plan. Eligibility for a pension is subject to satisfaction of the Plan’s vesting requirements.

No. The pension plan does not accept contributions from its participants. The Plan only accepts contributions from employers who are signatory to a CBA with the Fund. The contributions made by your employer ensure that vested participants will receive a defined benefit pension when they retire. Upon retirement, vested participants are guaranteed to receive a specific, monthly pension benefit for the rest of their lives.

Your pension may be suspended. Payments begin when you retire under the rules of the Plan and will generally continue for the rest of your life. However, if you work in Disqualifying Employment after retirement and have not reached your Required Beginning Date (April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which you attain age 70½), your pension may be suspended. The Fund office will work with you to determine if you can continue to receive your pension benefits based on the number of hours you work in Disqualifying Employment. Please refer to the Plan's Summary Plan Description for additional detail.

Depending on the retirement benefit option you chose when you applied for retirement benefits, you may be able to change your beneficiary. Under the Single Life Pension with 60 Months Guaranteed or Single Life Pension with 120 Months Guaranteed payment options, you may change your beneficiary before the 60 or 120 months expire. If you were married when you retired and elected either the Single Life Pension with 60 Months Guaranteed or Single Life Pension with 120 Months Guaranteed pensions, you will need your spouse’s consent to change your beneficiary. You cannot change your beneficiary if you are receiving a Joint & Survivor Pension option even if your spouse dies or if you get divorced.

Yes, you will be eligible for a pension benefit when you retire. The benefit is payable at your normal retirement date (the first day of the month after you turn 65) or at an earlier retirement date if you meet the Plan’s early retirement eligibility requirements. Please refer to the Plan’s Summary Plan Description for more information.

You may write to the Fund office at the address below and ask for a “Benefit Statement”. Your benefit statement will provide an estimated annual benefit payable at age 65.

Yes. The pension plan is a defined benefit plan that provides guaranteed lifetime benefits to vested participants when they retire. Benefits under the Plan are also insured to a limited degree by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a federal insurance agency. For further information about the PBGC and the benefits it guarantees, visit its Web site at www.pbgc.gov or call them at (202) 326-4000..

Yes! Contact Member Services at 800-551-3225 or 212-388-3500 whenever you:

• Change your address, or phone number.
• Change your name. Participants must send any change of name to the Plan office in writing at:

Building Service 32BJ Pension Plan
Retirement Services Department
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011

• Get married, divorced, separated, or become widowed before you retire. Your marital status at the time you retire determines your benefit payment options at retirement. It also affects what happens to your pension benefit if you're vested and die before you retire, so be sure to notify the Plan of any changes. It's best to send documents to the Plan office whenever your circumstances change.