NEW EXCEPTION TO THE PENSION PLAN’S RETIREMENT AND SUSPENSION OF BENEFITS RULES
Thursday, January 23, 2025

NEW EXCEPTION TO THE PENSION PLAN’S RETIREMENT AND
SUSPENSION OF BENEFITS RULES EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2025

January 2025

Dear Participant:

The Trustees of the National Automatic Sprinkler Industry (“NASI”) Pension Fund are pleased to announce a new exception to the Pension Plan’s Retirement and Suspension of Benefits Rules.

By way of background, the Pension Plan requires Participants to Retire to start their pension. In general, to be considered Retired, Participants must separate from all service in the sprinkler industry. In addition, once Retired, Participants are generally prohibited from returning to work in the industry. The rules against working in the industry vary depending on whether you have reached Normal Retirement Age (in general, age 65). If you violate these rules, the Pension Fund will suspend your benefit for one or more months, meaning that you will not be entitled to a pension for those months.

Nevertheless, the Trustees recognize that Participants who have accrued decades of experience in the industry represent ideal candidates for certain positions with Contributing Employers. They further recognize that the continued retention of these Participants in the industry, even after Retirement, presents an opportunity to facilitate the sharing of knowledge to future generations of Plan Participants and support Contributing Employers with generating contribution income to the Pension Fund.

Accordingly, the Trustees have adopted a pilot program whereby qualifying individuals may: (a) start their pension without separating from service in the sprinkler industry (or return to work, if already Retired); and (b) continue to receive their monthly pension while working in certain categories of employment with a Contributing Employer. Under this pilot program, a Participant who begins their monthly benefit and becomes a Pensioner will be a Qualifying Pensioner (and therefore will not have their monthly benefit suspended for engaging in specified categories of employment) if he or she meets the following criteria:

1. The Participant is at least age 61.
2. The Participant has at least 20 Pension Credits.
3. The Participant is a bargaining-unit alumni performing work (or who intends to return to work) in a non-bargaining unit capacity for a Contributing Employer as an owner (with at least a 51% ownership interest), estimator, salesperson, layout designer, or in-office manager.
4. The Contributing Employer for whom the Participant works must be current with all fringe benefit contributions owed to the NASI Trust Funds, and hold one or more fringe benefit bonds, letters of credit, or monies held in escrow in the amount(s) required under applicable collective bargaining agreements.
5. The Participant completes an application form for Qualifying Pensioner status provided by the Fund Office, and the Fund Office approves application.

Work performed as a Qualifying Pensioner is not considered Covered Employment as defined by the Pension Plan. Consequently, the Fund Office will not accept any contributions for work performed as a Qualifying Pensioner, and any such contributions will be returned to the Contributing Employer.

If you are a Qualifying Pensioner, you must follow special rules to remain a Qualifying Pensioner:

1. If you perform work in the field of any kind, you will permanently lose your Qualifying Pensioner status effective as of the first day you perform such work, and the Plan’s general rules for suspending pensions will apply. This includes but is not limited to supervisory work in the field of any kind (as a superintendent or otherwise), and inspection work.
2. If your Contributing Employer becomes delinquent (other than a delinquency arising from a payroll audit), you will temporarily lose your Qualifying Pensioner status unless and until your Contributing Employer cures the delinquency (or enters into a settlement agreement to cure the delinquency). Under this provision, the Plan’s general rules for suspending pensions will apply as of the first day of the third month after the month in which contributions (including settlement payments, if applicable) are due. For example, if your Contributing Employer fails to submit contributions due for the work month of December on time in January, and remains delinquent in February and March, you will lose your Qualifying Pensioner status on April 1st. You may reapply to be reconsidered a Qualifying Pensioner once the delinquency is resolved through full payment or entering a settlement agreement.
3. If you are considered a Qualifying Pensioner by virtue of your status as an owner, you must continuously maintain at least a 51% ownership interest in the Contributing Employer. If you fail to continuously meet this requirement, you will no longer be considered a Qualifying Pensioner, subject to reapplication if you subsequently require enough of an ownership interest in the Contributing Employer to requalify. (Regardless of your ownership percentage, please be mindful that it is possible for you to be considered a Qualifying Pensioner if you are an in-office manager.)
4. If you leave employment with your Contributing Employer or commence employment in a different category of work, you will temporarily lose your Qualifying Pensioner status as of the date of the change in your employment. Applications for Qualifying Pensioner status apply only for the Contributing Employer and category of work identified in your application. If you leave your Contributing Employer or change jobs, you must reapply if you would like to resume your status as a Qualifying Pensioner, subject to approval of your application. Until then, the Plan’s general rules for suspending pensions will apply.

Importantly, if you are a covered retiree under the NASI Welfare Fund, your coverage will be considered suspended while you are considered a Qualifying Pensioner, and you must purchase the coverage available to active employees by having the cost of coverage applicable to owners deducted from your monthly pension benefit. You must pay this premium for every month during which you work for a Contributing Employer as a Qualifying Pensioner.

Finally, as previously noted, this new exception to the Pension Plan’s suspension of benefits rules is considered a pilot program. It is effective on January 1, 2025, and is scheduled to expire at midnight on December 31, 2028, absent extension by the Trustees.

The Trustees believe the NASI Pension Fund plays an important role in your retirement security, and they are proud to be involved in its continued operation. If you have any questions regarding this notice or would like to request an official application for this new program, please do not hesitate to contact the Fund Office.

The Board of Trustees of the National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund has the sole and exclusive discretionary authority to interpret and apply the provisions of the Pension Fund’s Restated Trust Agreement, the Pension Plan, and any rules, regulations and policies issued in connection with these documents (“the Pension Fund’s Rules”). Any such interpretation or application is binding upon all parties. In the event of any conflict or ambiguity arising between this notice and the Pension Fund’s Rules, the Pension Fund’s Rules as interpretated and applied solely by the Board of Trustees shall prevail. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to modify the Pension Fund’s Rules at any time.