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In order to begin receiving benefits under the Plan, you must submit a written application to the Fund Office. When you are ready to apply, contact the Fund Office for the necessary forms.

You should file an application for benefits no more than 180 days or fewer than 30 days before the date you want payments to begin. Upon receipt of your application, the Fund Office will provide you with an estimate of your benefit and the amounts payable under the normal forms of payment. If you want to elect an optional form of payment, you must return the waiver and election forms, along with the spousal consent form (if applicable) prior to your effective date.

Ready to apply for your Individual Account Plan benefit?
Contact the Fund Office at 301-731-1050 for the forms you’ll need to file your claim for benefits.

If You Are Married When You Apply

If you are married when you apply for your benefit, you and your spouse have a 180-day period (beginning on the date you receive information about your payment options and ending on your effective date) to reject the 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity. During this period, you and your spouse may also revoke a rejection or file a new rejection at any time. Note that if you elect to receive a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity, a 75% Joint and Survivor Annuity Option, or a Life Annuity, once your Accumulated Share has been used to purchase an annuity contract from an insurance company, your election cannot be revoked.

If You Are Single When You Apply

If you are single when you apply for your benefit, you will have a 180-day period (beginning on the date you receive information about your payment options and ending on your effective date) to reject the Life Annuity. During this period, you may revoke a rejection or file a new rejection. Note that if you elect to receive a Life Annuity, once your Accumulated Share has been used to purchase an annuity contract from an insurance company, your election cannot be revoked.

When Your Payments Begin

Generally, benefit payments will begin no later than the first day of the month following the 60th day after the Trustees receive your application, unless you elect otherwise. You may not elect to postpone the effective date of benefits beyond your Required Beginning Date.

Your Required Beginning Date

You don’t have to begin receiving your benefit immediately when you leave employment with a contributing employer. If you want, you can wait to begin receiving your distribution until you reach your Required Beginning Date. Your Required Beginning Date is defined as April 1 following the later* of the year in which you retire, or the year in which you reach the Applicable Age. Your Applicable Age is:

• Age 73 if you attain age 72 after December 31, 2022 and age 73 before January 1, 2033, and
• Age 75 if you attain age 74 after December 31, 2032.

*If you are a 5% owner of a contributing employer, your Required Beginning Date is April 1 following the year in which you turn the applicable age.

Paying Income Tax

Generally, the money in your Individual Account is not taxable until you actually receive it. When you receive the money in your Individual Account, you must report it as taxable income.

Federal law governs the withholding of income tax and tax-free rollovers. You will be given the opportunity to elect a direct transfer of the money in your Individual Account to another “eligible retirement plan” (as defined by law). An “eligible retirement plan” includes an individual retirement account (IRA), another qualified plan, a tax qualified annuity, or a qualified state or local government plan that accepts rollovers.

Eligible Rollover Distributions

If you receive your Accumulated Share as a lump sum benefit or elect to receive your benefit in installments payable over a period of fewer than 120 months, you may be eligible for a direct rollover. By making a direct rollover into an eligible retirement plan, you avoid a 20% federal income tax withholding. If you elect to receive your lump sum payment or other eligible rollover distribution without rolling it over, the Plan will withhold 20% of your benefit for federal taxes and any state income taxes that are required by law. If you are younger than age 59 ½ when you receive your benefit, you may also be subject to 10% excise tax. The same rollover rules that apply to you also apply to your spouse in the event he or she elects to receive his or her survivor benefit as a lump sum benefit or in installments payable over a period of fewer than 120 months.

You (or your surviving spouse or non-spouse beneficiary, if applicable) must complete the appropriate forms and inform the Fund Office of the name of the plan or the IRA to which you wish to directly transfer your benefit amount, as well as any other information that is necessary to make the transfer. The Plan will notify you of your right to make a “direct rollover” within the 180-day period prior to your effective date.

Non-Spouse Beneficiaries

For federal income tax purposes, a distribution from this Plan to your surviving beneficiary who is not your spouse generally will be treated as taxable income to that beneficiary in the year it is distributed. However, a non-spouse beneficiary may elect to have the Plan directly transfer a Death Benefit to an Inherited IRA. An Inherited IRA is a special IRA your non-spouse beneficiary acquires specifically to accept direct transfers of death benefits. Subject to special IRS minimum distribution rules, your non-spouse beneficiary may be able to defer taxes on a portion of a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to later tax periods. At the time your beneficiary applies for a Death Benefit, the Fund Office will notify him or her of the procedures for electing a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to an Inherited IRA.

To determine the best way for you to receive the money in your Individual Account and the tax consequences of any payments you receive, you should discuss your particular circumstances with a qualified tax advisor.