Annual Funding Notice

For

Electrical Workers Local No. 26 Pension Trust Fund

Introduction

This notice includes important funding information about your pension plan (“the Plan”). This notice also provides a summary of federal rules governing multiemployer plans in reorganization and insolvent plans and benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. This notice is for the plan year beginning January 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2008 (referred to hereafter as “Plan Year”).

Funded Percentage

The funded percentage of a plan is a measure of how well that plan is funded. This percentage is obtained by dividing the Plan’s assets by its liabilities on the valuation date for the plan year. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The Plan’s funded percentage for the Plan Year and 2 preceding plan years is set forth in the chart below, along with a statement of the value of the Plan’s assets and liabilities for the same period.

2008

2007

2006

Valuation Date

January 1, 2008

January 1, 2007

January 1, 2006

Funded Percentage

94.5%

94.0%

93.4%

Value of Assets

$451,723,144

$407,460,931

$374,460,205

Value of Liabilities

$477,944,355

$433,574,455

$401,031,115

Transition Data

In prior years’ notices, the Plan’s funded ratios shown above were required to be reported using the government’s mandated interest rate which changes from year to year. Instead, these funded ratios are now reported using our actuary’s long-term assumed rate of return on Plan assets (currently 8.0%). As a result, the funded ratios shown above for 2006 and 2007 will not match those reported in prior years’ notices. For your information, the funded ratios reported for 2006 and 2007 were 70.46% and 67.22%, respectively.

Fair Market Value of Assets

Asset values in the chart above are actuarial values, not market values. Market values tend to show a clearer picture of a plan’s funded status as of a given point in time. However, because market values can fluctuate daily based on factors in the marketplace, such as changes in the stock market, pension law allows plans to use actuarial values for funding purposes. While actuarial values fluctuate less than market values, they are estimates. As of December 31, 2008, the fair market value of the Plan’s assets was $333,992,212. As of December 31, 2007, the fair market value of the Plan’s assets was $460,234,515. As of December 31, 2006, the fair market value of the Plan’s assets was $437,476,452.

Participant Information

The total number of participants in the plan as of the Plan’s valuation date was 8,548. Of this number, 5,898 were active participants, 1,329 were retired or separated from service and receiving benefits, and 1,321 were retired or separated from service and entitled to future benefits.

Funding & Investment Policies

The law requires that every pension plan have a procedure for establishing a funding policy to carry out the plan objectives. A funding policy relates to the level of contributions needed to pay for benefits promised under the plan currently and over the years. The Plan is funded by contributions made by employers pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with the unions that represent the IBEW Local 26 Plan’s participants. The funding policy of the Plan is to require contributing employers to meet the obligations of their respective collective bargaining agreements.

Once money is contributed to the Plan, the money is invested by plan officials called fiduciaries. Specific investments are made in accordance with the Plan’s investment policy. Generally speaking, an investment policy is a written statement that provides the fiduciaries who are responsible for plan investments with guidelines or general instructions concerning various types or categories of investment management decisions.

The Investment Policy Statement (“IPS”) of the Pension Fund is a written document which the Board of Trustees has adopted to establish a framework for investing the assets in a manner consistent with the fiduciary standards of ERISA. The IPS provides that the Trustees have the responsibility to prudently guide the Fund’s investment program, establishing its investment policies and a suitable asset allocation, and to invest the assets in a manner consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, asset allocation policy, tolerance for risk, appropriate portfolio diversification and liquidity needs. The IPS also provides that the Trustees will select appropriate professionals to invest assets, and to assist in prudently measuring and evaluating investment performance on a regular basis.

The long term investment objectives set forth in the Investment Policy are several: to maintain sufficient income, liquidity, diversification and controlled volatility to facilitate the payment of benefits and expenses; to earn a long term, competitive rate of return that equals or exceeds the Fund’s policy index (pre-established percentages of market indices that represent the Fund’s asset allocation); and to establish an asset allocation that is reasonably designed to achieve a desired rate of return.

In accordance with the Plan’s investment policy, the Plan’s assets were allocated among the following categories of investments, as of the end of the Plan Year. These allocations are percentages of total assets:

Asset Allocations	Percentage
1. Interest-bearing cash	4.30%
2. U.S. Government securities	14.84%
3. Corporate debt instruments (other than employer securities):
Preferred	0.00%
All other	16.37%
4. Corporate stocks (other than employer securities):
Preferred	0.23%
Common	42.86%
5. Partnership/joint venture interests	7.98%
6. Real estate (other than employer real property)	0.00%
7. Loans (other than to participants)	0.00%
8. Participant loans	0.00%
9. Value of interest in common/collective trusts	11.82%
10. Value of interest in pooled separate accounts	0.00%
11. Value of interest in master trust investment accounts	0.00%
12. Value of interest in 103-12 investment entities	0.00%
13. Value of interest in registered investment companies (e.g., mutual funds)	0.00%
14. Value of funds held in insurance co. general account (unallocated contracts)	0.00%
15. Employer-related investments:
Employer securities	0.00%
Employer real property	0.00%
16. Buildings and other property used in plan operation	0.01%
17. Other	1.59%

Critical or Endangered Status

Under federal pension law a plan generally will be considered to be in “endangered” status if, at the beginning of the plan year, the funded percentage of the plan is less than 80 percent or in “critical” status if the percentage is less than 65 percent (other factors may also apply). If a pension plan enters endangered status, the trustees of the plan are required to adopt a funding improvement plan. Similarly, if a pension plan enters critical status, the trustees of the plan are required to adopt a rehabilitation plan. Rehabilitation and funding improvement plans establish steps and benchmarks for pension plans to improve their funding status over a specified period of time.

The Plan was not in endangered or critical status in the Plan Year.

Events with Material Effect on Assets or Liabilities

Federal law requires trustees to include in this notice an explanation of events, taking effect in the current plan year, which are expected to have a material effect on plan liabilities or assets. For the first two months of the plan year beginning January 1, 2009, the Plan’s assets declined as a result of the unprecedented collapse in the credit markets of the United States and the resulting decline in the American economy and the stock martket. If this trend continues for the duration of the plan year (January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009), it would have a material, adverse effect on plan assets, although the Trustees expect that the Plan will share in the recovery of the market as things progress forward and the the market improves substantially, in which case the assets of the Plan could be positively impacted.

Right to Request a Copy of the Annual Report

A pension plan is required to file with the US Department of Labor an annual report (i.e., Form 5500) containing financial and other information about the plan. This report will be available later in the year. Copies of the annual report are available from the US Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Public Disclosure Room at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-1513, Washington, DC 20210, or by calling 202-693-8673. Or you may obtain a copy of the Plan’s annual report by making a written request to the plan administrator. The Annual Report is also available on the website for the Plan. The Plan’s website address is: www.ewtf.org.

Summary of Rules Governing Plans in Reorganization and Insolvent Plans

Federal law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’s guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide notification that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization.

Despite the special plan reorganization rules, a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves.

A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent.

Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC

The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the Plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service.

Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for a $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 x $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 x 10).

Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 x $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 x 10).

The PBGC guarantees pension benefits payable at normal retirement age and some early retirement benefits. In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency (or benefits that were in effect for less than 60 months at the time of termination or insolvency). Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified pre-retirement survivor annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay.

Where to Get More Information

For more information about this notice, you may contact Peter Klein at telephone number 301-731-1050, by mail to 4601 President’s Drive, Lanham, MD 20706, or by sending an email to info@ewtf.org. For identification purposes, the official plan number is 001 and the Plan’s employer identification number or “EIN” is 52-6117919. For more information about the PBGC and benefit guarantees, go to PBGC's website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1-800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1-800-400-7242).

Notice to Participants of the Electrical Workers Local No. 26 Pension Plan

This notice is being provided to you as a participant or beneficiary of the Electrical Workers Local No. 26 Pension Plan. It is required by the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, a law passed by Congress in December 2008, (WRERA). This notice is also being provided to contributing employers, IBEW Local 26, the Washington D.C. Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Secretary of the Department of Labor. Much of the content of this notice is required by §204 of WRERA.

The WRERA and other recent federal laws were passed by Congress in response to the unprecedented collapse in the credit markets of the United States and the resulting decline in the American economy and the stock market. Before these tragic events, this Pension Plan was in solid financial shape and, except for the same stock market decline felt by pension plans all across America, it still is. The Board of Trustees expects the Pension Plan to share in the recovery of the market as things progress forward, although it may take some time. In the meantime, you are receiving this notice which is required by federal law because of the impact on the Pension Plan caused by the fallen American and worldwide economy.

(A)This notice applies to the Electrical Workers Local No. 26 Pension Plan. The Electrical Workers Local No. 26 Pension Plan is administered by the Board of Trustees, the plan sponsor. The employer identification number of the Plan is 52-6117919. The plan number is 001.

(B) An election has been made under §204 of WRERA to treat the plan as being in neither endangered nor critical status for the Plan year beginning on January 1, 2009. This means that under the law, the Plan is not in either endangered or critical status for this plan year.

(C) On March 31, 2009, the Plan’s actuary certified that for the Plan year beginning January 1, 2009 the Plan's status is seriously endangered. If the Plan had not made an election under §204 of WRERA, the plan’s status for 2009 would be seriously endangered. The status of “seriously endangered” was defined in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to identify plans for whom funding improvement plans are required to be implemented. As a result of the §204 election, the Electrical Workers Local No. 26 Pension Plan is not required to adopt a funding improvement plan for calendar year 2009.

(D)The §204 election described in this notice applies only for the current plan year, 2009. During the plan year 2008, the Plan’s actuary certified the Electrical Workers Local No. 26 Pension Plan to be in neither critical nor endangered status. As a result of the §204 election, the 2008 status remains applicable throughout 2009. In the event the Electrical Workers Local No. 26 Pension Plan is certified by the Plan’s actuary to be in an endangered or critical status for the year 2010, the Board of Trustees will provide a notice of the Plan’s status, whether it is endangered or critical, for the year 2010 and the Board of Trustees will undertake to adopt a funding improvement plan or a rehabilitation plan as is required by law. These steps will be designed to improve the Plan’s funded status, and may include increases in contributions or reductions in future benefit accruals. Those steps will not be required if the Plan is in neither endangered nor critical status for 2010.

Although this notice is required by law to be sent to you, the Board of Trustees believes it is important for you to be advised of the following facts as well:

• You should not construe this notice to indicate that the Board of Trustees is fearful of the financial health of this Plan. This notice is merely required by law, including the information in paragraphs A-D above. The Board of Trustees continues to believe the Pension Plan is healthy and will share in the recovery as the American economy recovers.

• The actuary’s determination of the status of the Plan as of January 1, 2009, does not take into account the substantial improvement in the economy and the stock market over the past several months, nor does it take into account the anticipated improvement to the economy expected as a result of the stimulus plan and other actions taken by the federal government to improve the economy.

• Although the Board is required by law to set forth the explanation in the above paragraph D of what would happen if the Plan is in either endangered or critical status in 2010, the Board of Trustees expects the Plan to be neither critical nor endangered in 2010, and, if that occurs, the Board will not be required to adopt a funding improvement plan.

• Your benefits accrued to date and benefits to be accrued during the remainder of this year will be unchanged. The Board of Trustees will continue to take all necessary action to preserve the pension benefits you have already accrued.

(E) You may obtain additional information about the §204 election from the Board of Trustees by contacting Peter Klein at telephone number 301-731-1050, by mail to 4601 President’s Drive, Lanham, MD 20706, or by sending an e-mail to info@ewtf.org.