Yes. The interest you pay goes back into your account. In other words, you pay yourself the interest.

Access your loan account online at empowermyretirement.com or call Empower at (800) 701-8255

If you are working under a collective bargaining agreement, you will receive a loan bill before the due date of each quarterly payment. You must repay the loan using a personal check or money order. If you are an Employee of the Benefit Funds or the District Council, you must repay the loan through payroll deduction.

You may take up to five years to repay a general purpose loan, in equal quarterly installments. If you are using the loan to purchase your primary residence, you may borrow for up to a 10-year period.

The minimum amount you can borrow is $500. The maximum amount you can borrow is the lesser of (1) 50% of your vested account balance or (2) $50,000 minus the highest outstanding balance of your total Plan loans during the last 12 months.

You may prepay your loan balance, at any time, without penalty. When you repay the loan, both the principal and the interest will be reinvested in your account.

If you terminate employment with an outstanding loan balance, you may repay the loan in full or continue to make repayments by check.

To apply for a loan, you must be a participant in the Plan and you may not already have three outstanding loans. In addition, you must not have defaulted on a loan within the last five (5) years of applying for a new loan. If you previously defaulted on a loan, you must repay the loan or be eligible for an offset.

No. A 401(k) plan is a “defined contribution” individual account plan under which your benefit at retirement depends on the value of assets in your account when you collect your benefit. Our Plan is a “defined benefit” pension plan under which the benefit is calculated under a stated formula. The benefit calculated under this formula is not directly affected if Plan investments decline in value.

Generally, no. However, if the actuarial present value of your Vested benefit is $7,000 or less, your benefit will be paid in a single lump sum distribution and will not be eligible for monthly lifetime benefits.

If the value of your Vested benefit is less than $1,000, it will automatically be paid in one lump sum, even if you do not submit an application.

Yes. If you have a qualified surviving spouse, your spouse may be eligible for the plan’s 50% Pre-Retirement Surviving Spouse Pension, subject to the plan’s eligibility requirements. 

If you are not married or if there is no QDRO awarding a pre-retirement death benefit to an alternate payee, the Plan pays a benefit to a non-spouse Beneficiary in one of the following three forms of benefits: 

1. A 50% Pre-Retirement Non-Spouse Pension for the lifetime of the Beneficiary,
2. A 60-month annuity, or
3. A Lump Sum Death Benefit ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 based on your number of Vesting Credits. 

To learn more about this benefit, see the section of the Summary Plan Description entitled “If You Die Before Retirement”.

Yes. While you pay no taxes on the contributions that Contributing Employers make to the Plan while you are working, the monthly pension payments you receive from the Plan are taxable. You will receive more information on tax withholding when you become entitled to a Plan distribution.

Log into the Member section of our website at www.nyccbf.org and select “View Pension Estimate” from the menu.

You can change your address by filling out a Change of Address form and following the instructions located on the form. You can find the Change of Address form here: Change of Address Form

• 870 hours worked in a year (or more) = 1 Vesting Credit (you cannot get more than 1 Vesting Credit in a year but additional hours are factored into your benefit calculation.)

• 600 hours = ½ Vesting Credit

• 300 hours = ¼ Vesting Credit

If you are eligible for benefits, it takes two to three months to process an application, depending on when it is filed.

No. Your former spouse’s right to a survivor benefit vested at the time of your retirement, and your subsequent divorce does not affect his or her right to a survivor benefit. Therefore, your former spouse will be entitled to the survivor benefit when you die. Your new spouse will not be entitled to a survivor benefit.

No. You cannot do that under this Plan. If your spouse dies before you, your benefit will pop up to the unreduced amount that would have been payable if you were not married when you retired, but you may not name a new beneficiary.

No. This Plan does not allow you to borrow or withdraw money.

No. You cannot change the optional form of pension–such as changing from a 50% Participant and Spouse option to a 75% Participant and Spouse option, or a Single Life Pension, or removing the Social Security Level Income option. Nor can you change the type of pension that you are receiving unless you cease to be eligible for that pension and subsequently qualify for a different type of pension.

Your payment options are as follows: 

• Single Life (not married) 

• 50% Participant & Spouse Pension (married) 

• 75% Participant & Spouse Pension (married)  

• Social Security Level Income 

To qualify for a Regular Pension:

• You must establish Participation in the Plan.
• • You become a Plan Participant on the first January 1 or July 1 after you work at least 870 Hours of Service in Covered Employment in a period of two consecutive calendar years.
• You must also satisfy certain Age and Vesting Credits requirements:
• • Age 55 and 15 Vesting Credits. You can retire on a Regular Pension at age 55 if you have at least 15 Vesting Credits. If you earn your 15^th Vesting Credit after age 55 but before age 65, you will be eligible to begin your Regular Pension at that time.
  • Age 65 and 5 Vesting Credits. If you do not have 15 Vesting Credits but you earned at least 5 Vesting Credits, you can begin your Regular Pension at age 65.

Important Notes:

• The complete eligibility rules are described in the Pension Plan. The Summary Plan Description also has important information.
• To receive your Regular Pension, you must actually retire and submit an application to the Fund Office. However, if you are age 70 or older, you may receive your Regular Pension even though you continue to work in Covered Employment or for a Contributing Employer.
• The above summary reflects the current Plan rules. Different rules may apply based on when you last worked in Covered Employment.
• In addition to a Regular Pension, the Fund also offers a Disability Pension and a Pro-Rata Pension.
• If you have questions about your individual circumstances, please contact the Pension Department at 800-529-FUND (3863).

Effective July 1, 2006: 

• You receive 1% of annual employer contributions on your behalf. 

• You must work at least 300 hours per year.  

• Monthly benefits may be reduced based on the option you select. 

Your monthly pension payments will be sent/deposited at the beginning (first business day) of each month.

You can add your dependents by filling out a Health Plan Enrollment Form and submitting the required documents.  

1. Go to nyccbf.org.
2. Click the “Member Login” button located on the top right corner of the screen.
3. Log into the website using your Username (UBC #) and Password. (Please note, if logging in with a temporary password, you will be directed to the Registration Page where you will be prompted to enter your temporary password in the current password field, followed by your new password in the new password field.)
4. Check the box agreeing to the terms of the website and click “Continue.”
5. After you agree to the website terms, select the “View Active Welfare Eligibility” option and click “Continue.”
6. Upon entering the “View Active Welfare Eligibility” page, you will be presented with a chart where you will be able to see your Welfare eligibility status and hours by date

Our network providers are Comprehensive Professional Systems (CPS) and General Vision Services (GVS). To obtain a list of participating providers, you can contact CPS at (212) 675-5745 or GVS at (800) 847-4661 or visit their websites (cpsoptical.com or generalvision.com). The plan number for Welfare participants covered under GVS is 7501.

If you are a non-Medicare eligible member, you can request a card by calling Independent Administrators directly @ 1 (833) 242-3330 or via internet @ www.MyIBXTPAbenefits.com . If you are Medicare-eligible, you can contact UnitedHealthcare by calling (888) 736-7441 or via internet @ www.UHCretiree.com.

To learn more about New York’s Paid Family Leave, you can read answers to several Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) HERE.

You can change your address by filling out a Change of Address form and following the instructions located on the form. You can find the Change of Address form here: Change of Address Form

You and your covered dependents are eligible for a hearing benefit once every four years. When you use participating providers affiliated with Comprehensive Professional Systems (CPS) or NationsHearing, you may receive a hearing examination, a new digital hearing aid (with battery), and other services all at little or no cost. Call CPS at (212) 675-5745 or NationsHearing at (800) 480-0558 to find a provider near you.

Your co-payments are $20 for Primary Care visits, $25 for Specialist visits , and $200 for Emergency Room visits (fee waived if admitted).

To be eligible for Welfare coverage as a Retiree, you must satisfy one of the two requirements below:

• You have reached the age of 55 and earned a minimum of 30 Vesting Credits with the New York City District Council of Carpenters Pension Fund (“Pension Fund”); or

• You have reached the age of 55, earned at least 20 Vesting Credits under the Pension Fund and, during the 60-month period immediately preceding the effective date of your pension, you are eligible as an Active Employee for at least 24 months.

Express Scripts is your pharmacy benefit manager. Retail co-payments are $15 for generic, $25 for preferred, and $40 for non-preferred prescriptions. Additionally, mail order co-payments are $25 for generic, $45 for preferred, and $75 for non-preferred prescriptions. *Note that mail-order co-payments represent a three month supply.

If you are eligible for Welfare Benefits at the time of your death and do not have a Beneficiary on file, payments will be made in the following order:

• your surviving spouse or, if none

• your children in equal shares, or, if none,

• your parents in equal shares or, if none,

• your brothers and sisters in equal shares, or, if none,

• your estate.

If you are a non-Medicare eligible member, contact Independence Administrators. You can log onto www.MyIBXTPAbenefits.com and register to view your claims that have been processed. If a claim was denied by Independence Administrators, contact them for appeal instructions. If you are Medicare-eligible, contact UnitedHealthcare directly at www.UHCretiree.com or by calling (888) 736-7441.

In general, you are eligible for Welfare Fund coverage as an Active Participant after you have worked 250 hours in Covered Employment. These 250 hours “buy” you a calendar quarter (three months) of coverage.

You become Medicare-Eligible under the following conditions:

1. When you turn age 65.
2. Two years after you are awarded Social Security Disability benefits, regardless of your age. You can be awarded Social Security Disability prior to age 65.
3. You are diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (“ESRD”).

Your dental provider is Anthem BlueCross BlueShield. To search a list of participating providers, go to www.anthem.com, click “Find Care,” select “Basic Search as a Guest,” and then “Dental Network,” followed by the location you are looking to search, etc.

Yes. The Fund is required to honor any court order, garnishment or other final judgment of a court of law or the Internal Revenue Service, but only up to the amount that has accrued and has not been paid out at the time the garnishment is received.

Yes. You are always 100% vested in the contributions that are made to your Vacation Account, unless fraud is committed. If you die before all of your Vacation Benefits have been paid, any remaining money in your Vacation Account will be paid to your Beneficiary. However, your Vacation Benefits may be suspended or forfeited if you commit fraud.

No. Your employer makes all contributions for Vacation Benefits. Such contributions are deposited to a Vacation Account set up in your name.

Yes. Your Vacation Benefits are taxable as ordinary income. Vacation Benefits are subject to income tax withholding, which are processed by your employer and are included on the W-2 Form that is sent to you each year in January from your employers.

You will receive all contributions made to your Vacation Account by your employer. Your Vacation Account does not pay interest.

Since you are 100% vested (unless fraud is committed), any money in your Vacation Account will be paid to your beneficiary.  If you do not have a Beneficiary, payments will be made in the following order:

• your surviving spouse, or, if none,
• your children in equal shares, or, if none,
• your parents in equal shares, or, if none,
• your brothers and sisters in equal shares, or, if none,
• your estate.

Vacation Benefits are paid out four times per year, generally in March, June, September, and December. Payouts are made via direct deposit or a rapid! PayCard.

You are eligible if you are working in Covered Employment for an employer who makes contributions to the Welfare Fund for Vacation Benefits on your behalf.