SUMMARY OF MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS December 2023
Wednesday, December 20, 2023

SUMMARY OF MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS
PENSION IMPROVEMENTS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2024

December 2023

Dear Participant:

This notice, referred to as a Summary of Material Modifications (SMM), describes important changes to the benefits provided by the National Automatic Sprinkler Industry (NASI) Pension Fund. We encourage you to read this notice carefully and to keep it with your Summary Plan Description (SPD) and Plan Document (Plan).ⁱ If you have any questions, please contact the Fund Office.

Increase in the Value of Pension Credits Earned for Plan Years
Commencing on and after January 1, 2024, from $135 to $140

The Trustees are pleased to announce that the benefit rate per Pension Credit earned for Plan Years commencing on and after January 1, 2024, will increase from $135 to $140. This improvement applies to all Participants on a prospective basis only. It does not apply to Pension Credits earned before January 1, 2024, under any circumstances.ⁱⁱ

^{13th Check for Pensioners and Beneficiaries Receiving a Pension on January 31, 2024}

The Trustees are pleased to announce that they have authorized the payment of a “13th check” to all Pensioners and Beneficiaries receiving a monthly benefit from the Fund on January 31, 2024. Your 13th check is an additional pension payment in the same amount as your monthly benefit as of January 1, 2024. The following bullet points provide additional detail about this improvement.

• To qualify for a 13th check, you must establish a Pension Effective Date on or before January 1, 2024, meaning that you must submit your pension application before the end of 2023 and meet all requirements to commence your pension.

• As a reminder, your Pension Effective Date is the first day of the first calendar month beginning after you have fulfilled all conditions for entitlement to benefits, including receipt by the Fund Office of an official, written application for benefits.

• An application is considered received as of the earlier of: (1) the date it is physically received in the Fund Office, and (2) the date it is provided to a delivery service or mailed, provided that the Fund Office actually receives the application as well as documentation to support the date on which the application was provided to the delivery service or mailed.

• 13th checks are scheduled to be paid in mid-to-late February 2024.

• Pensioners eligible for a 13th check should expect to receive their payment in mid-to-late February 2024 in the same way they presently receive their monthly benefit. For example, if you are receiving your regular pension payments by direct deposit, you will likewise receive your 13th check by direct deposit.

• If you have not received your 13th check after the first week of March 2024, please contact the Fund Office. Otherwise, we ask for your patience as we prepare these additional payments for eligible individuals.

• Federal and State tax withholdings, if authorized for deduction from your regular pension payments, will likewise apply to your 13th check. However, other withholdings (such as your monthly medical premium payable to the NASI Welfare Fund, if applicable) may not apply. This means that the net amount of your 13th check may be slightly higher than the net amount of your regular pension payments.

• Deceased Pensioners and Beneficiaries.

• Pensioners and Beneficiaries eligible for a 13th check must be living at the time of payment.

• If a Pensioner or Beneficiary is not alive at the time of payment, the 13th check will be paid to the individual’s surviving Beneficiary, if any, who receives a monthly survivor benefit payment during the Plan Year beginning on January 1, 2024.

• In no event will a 13th check be paid to the estate of any Pensioner or Beneficiary.

• If your benefit is suspended, you must leave Disqualifying Employment to receive your payment.

• Pensioners eligible for a 13th check whose benefit is suspended for working in Disqualifying Employment must leave such employment to receive their 13th check.

Conclusion

The Trustees believe that the NASI Pension Fund plays an important role in your retirement security and are proud to be involved in its continued operation. As always, if you have any questions about this correspondence, or the Fund in general, please feel free to contact the Fund Office.

ⁱ This SMM is intended as a non-technical summary of certain changes to the rules of the NASI Pension Fund, so it does not contain all the details. It modifies the information set forth in the Fund’s SPD that was previously provided to you. In the event of a discrepancy between this SMM and the Plan, the Plan, as interpreted and applied solely by the Trustees pursuant to their exclusive discretionary authority, will prevail. The Trustees reserve the right to modify the Plan and the benefits offered by the NASI Pension Fund at any time.

ⁱⁱ For clarity, the benefit rates per Pension Credit earned during prior Plan Years remain unchanged and are ineligible for upward adjustment to $140 through the improvement summarized in this SMM or any other Plan provision, including but not limited to the Plan’s Break-in-Continuity rules.