Service Employees 32BJ North Pension Fund

North Pension Fund Summary Plan Description (SPD) >> Breaks in Service

A Break in Service occurs when you fail to earn at least 501 Hours of Service in any 12 month period, commencing on the day in which a Participant first performed an Hour of Service for a Contributing Employer and each Plan Year commencing on or after that date.

However, you will not incur a Break in Service if:

• You are on a leave of absence provided for in your collective bargaining agreement between the Union and your Contributing Employer, provided you return to active employment immediately upon the conclusion of your leave of absence; or

• Your reemployment rights are protected by law, such as under FMLA; or

• You are absent from Covered Employment for maternity or paternity reasons for the birth of your child or placement of your adopted child or the care of such child for the period immediately following such birth or placement. The hours will be credited for the Plan Year in which the absence begins, if the crediting of such hours is necessary to prevent a Break in Service, or in any other case, the immediately following year. You must supply any requested documentation supporting the reason for your maternity or paternity leave.

If you are not Vested (see Section 5), you will incur a permanent Break in Service if your number of consecutive Breaks in Service equals or exceeds the greater of 5 or your total number of years of Vesting Service. If you have a permanent Break in Service before you are Vested, all your Pension Service before the Break is cancelled and cannot be reinstated. If you return to Covered Employment, you are considered a new Participant.

The following examples illustrate these rules:

• You left Covered Employment in July 1998, with 4 years of Pension Service and Vesting Service. On December 31, 2002, after an absence of 4½ years, you return to work for a Contributing Employer and continue working for 12 months or more. Since your number of Breaks in Service (4) was less than 5 and you earned one year of Vesting Service, the 4 years of Pension and Vesting Service earned prior to your Breaks in Service will be restored.

• You left Covered Employment in July 2000, with 4 years of Pension Service and Vesting Service. On December 31, 2006, after an absence of 6½ years, you return to work for a Contributing Employer. Because your Breaks in Service (6) exceeded 5 years, your 4 years of Pension Service and Vesting Service earned prior to your 6½ year absence is lost and you begin as a new Participant.

• You left Covered Employment in July 2001, with 6 years of Pension Service and Vesting Service. On July 2007, after an absence of 6 years, you return to work for a Contributing Employer. Because you were Vested at the time you commenced your Breaks in Service, you will not lose the 6 years of Pension Service and Vesting Service earned prior to your Breaks in Service.

The rules governing the restoration of your pre-Break in Service pension credit is based on the terms of the Plan in effect at the time you incurred your Break in Service. If you have any questions regarding these rules, please contact the Fund Office.