DC 37 ANNUITY FUND PLAN
The District Council 37 AFSCME Annuity Fund Plan is a
defined contribution employees' pension plan. It is funded by Employer
contributions made pursuant to collective bargaining agreements between
District Council 37 and agencies and subdivisions of the City of
Your benefit under the Plan is based on Employer contributions
allocated to your account, plus earnings and losses thereon, and your allocable
share of expenses. You are at all times vested in your benefit under the Plan.
Your benefit is available for distribution from the Annuity Fund upon your
termination of employment with an Employer who contributes, has contributed, or
is required to contribute to the Annuity Fund for any reason, including
retirement or death.
Participation in the Plan
You are eligible to participate in the
Plan if:
- As of
- As of
- At any time between
- you are on the active payroll of an
Employer described in (1) above and employed in a job title or
classification described in (2) above, or
- you are employed under a collective
bargaining agreement between a
Employees whose bargaining unit designations are:
- Educational
Substitute
Employees whose bargaining unit designation is Sludge Boat Titles substitute
December 3, 1998 for the date provided in (1) and (2) above, and December 3,
1995 to December 2, 1996 is substituted for the period provided in (3) above.
Your Participant Account
Employer
contributions payable pursuant to collective bargaining agreements are
allocated to your Participant Account. The amount in your Participant Account
represents an undivided interest in the Annuity Fund and reflects income gains
or losses, appreciation and depreciation, and your allocable share of Annuity
Fund expenses. You may roll over or transfer contributions from another
tax-qualified plan or individual retirement account or annuity into this Plan,
which will accumulate in a separate account under your name. You may not make
contributions to the Annuity Fund.
The Annuity Fund and the Participant Accounts are valued on the last day of
each calendar month (the "Valuation Date"). Under the valuation:
- All payments and distributions made
from your Account since the last valuation date are charged against your
Account,
- Your Account is adjusted in
relation to the value of all other Accounts to reflect the fair market
value of the Annuity Fund as of the Valuation Date (less contributions)
and
Your Account is increased by any allocation of Employer contributions for service for the period ending with the Valuation Date.
You
are not entitled to an allocation of Contributions until contributions to the
Annuity Fund are made by the Employer and received by the Annuity Fund. After
the close of each Plan Year, you will receive an annual report regarding the
status of your Account as of the last Valuation Date for that Plan Year.
You
are entitled to receive benefits under the Plan upon your termination of
employment which occurs due to retirement with the Employer, termination of
employment with the Employer, or death. You must apply for benefits in writing
on a form prescribed by the Trustees. Your Account is valued and is payable as
follows:
- as soon as practicable after your
application for benefits is received by the Annuity Fund Administrator –
the District Council 37 Health & Security Plan staff – you will
receive a distribution of the full value of your Account determined as of
the Valuation Date that next follows the receipt of your application by
the Annuity Fund Administrator, and
- as soon as practicable after the
Valuation Date next following the date on which any contributions
attributable to your service prior to your termination of employment are
received by the Annuity Fund after the calendar month that you apply for a
distribution, you will receive a distribution of those contributions, if
any.
Upon
termination of employment with an Employer, you may request a direct rollover
of a distribution from your Account to another tax-qualified plan (that accepts
rollovers) or an individual retirement account ("IRA") or annuity. If
you choose to receive the distribution in cash, it is subject to 20% mandatory
federal income tax withholding by the Annuity Fund (except to the extent of any
required minimum distribution after age 70 ). There is no direct rollover or
income tax withholding if your distribution for the year is reasonably expected
to total less than $200.
You may leave your Account in the Annuity Fund when you terminate employment.
You continue to be a Participant and your Account shares in the Fund's gains
and losses and expenses, until payment of your Account occurs. Benefits under
the Plan must be distributed no later than April 1 of the calendar year
following the calendar year in which you attain age 70 , or the calendar year
in which you terminate employment with an Employer, whichever occurs last.
If you terminate your employment with an Employer who has made, was required to
make, or continues to make contributions to the Annuity Fund, but you continue
to be employed by a governmental entity that is affiliated with the City of New
York:
- you may receive a distribution of
your benefits,
- you may defer receipt of your benefits
while continuing to have your Account invested under the Plan, or
- you may request a trust-to-trust
transfer of your Account to a tax-qualified plan maintained by the
affiliated entity with whom you are employed.
Death Benefits
The
Annuity Fund Administrator will provide you with a Beneficiary designation
form. You should use it to designate the person who will receive all or any
part of your benefits remaining in the event of your death before you terminate
employment with an Employer or otherwise receive a full distribution of your
benefits.
The benefits to a Beneficiary are determined and payable in the manner
described above. You may change your Beneficiary designation at any time
(subject to the provisions of a qualified domestic relations order). If you
have designated your spouse as your Beneficiary and you subsequently divorce,
your former spouse will continue to be your Beneficiary unless you change your
Beneficiary designation or you remarry, in which case your spouse at the time
of your death will be considered your designated Beneficiary. If no Beneficiary
has been designated, or your Beneficiary predeceases you, your Beneficiary is
the beneficiary you designated to receive death benefits from the District
Council 37 Health & Security Plan, or absent such a designation, your
surviving spouse, or if none, the administrator or executor of your estate.
Filing A Claim
If
the Annuity Fund Administrator denies your application for benefits, you may
file a claim with the Administrator stating why you believe that your
application should have been granted. The Administrator will review the claim,
and grant or deny the claim in writing within 90 days after the claim is
received. If special circumstances require an extension of time, the Administrator
will notify you before the expiration of the 90 days and will make a
determination on your claim in no more than 180 days from the date of the
original application for benefits is received.
In case of a denial of your claim for benefits, the specific reasons for the
denial with references to the Plan provisions upon which the denial is based
will be furnished to you in writing. The Administrator will also inform you of
the materials or information, which, if provided, would allow you to perfect
your claim for benefits. You will have 60 days after receiving notice of denial
(or after receiving a grant of benefits with which you partially agree) to
appeal the determination (thereafter, your right to appeal is revoked).
In pursuing an appeal, you or your representative may review pertinent
documents and submit issues and comments in writing. The Annuity Fund Trustees
will make a determination on your appeal in writing within 60 days after the
filing of the appeal. If special circumstances require an extension of time,
the Trustees will notify you before the expiration of the 60 days and will make
a determination on your claim in no more than 120 days from the date you filed
the appeal. If no determination is received within the prescribed time limits,
it will constitute a denial of the claim on appeal.
Domestic Relations Order
The
assets of the Annuity Fund and benefits under the Plan are not subject to
transfer, assignment, garnishment, attachment, or judicial process to satisfy
the claims of creditors, except to the extent of a qualified domestic relations
order.
The Plan will recognize a domestic relations order which creates or recognizes
the existence of an alternate payee's right to, or assigns to an alternate
payee the right to, receive all or a portion of the benefits payable under the
Plan with respect to a Participant. A domestic relations order is a judgment,
decree or order which relates to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other
dependent of a Participant, and which is made pursuant to a State domestic
relations law. The Annuity Fund will provide rules for determining what orders
will constitute qualified domestic relations orders.
Amendment
or Termination
District
Council 37 may amend the Plan at any time, and may merge or terminate the Plan
and dissolve the Annuity Fund at any time. No transfer of assets or liabilities
will occur unless each Participant in the Plan would receive a benefit
immediately after the merger or transfer which is equal to or greater than the
benefit he would have been entitled to receive immediately before the merger or
transfer. No Plan amendment or termination will make it possible for any part
of the assets of the Annuity Fund to be used for, or diverted to, purposes
other than the exclusive benefit of the Participants and their beneficiaries.
Plan
Administration
District
Council 37 has appointed the Annuity Fund Trustees to oversee the operations of
the Plan and Annuity Fund pursuant to the District Council 37 AFSCME Annuity
Fund Declaration of Trust. The Annuity Fund Trustees have contracted with the
District Council 37 Health & Security Plan to serve as the day-to-day
Administrator of the Plan. You may contact the Annuity Fund Trustees at
District Council 37, AFSCME,
