Critical Status and Annual Funding Notice 2018
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Standard 715-80 requires certain Employer companies to disclose information in their Financial Statement Footnotes, in connection with their participation in Multi-Employer Pension Plans.
Notice of Critical Status – EIN #94-6050970
Plan Year: September 1, 2018 – August 31, 2019
If you are currently retired and receiving a monthly benefit payment from the Pension Fund, your monthly check will continue uninterrupted.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (“PPA”) imposed rules designed to accelerate the funding of defined benefit plans like the Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California. Previously, plans were required to address funding issues only when a plan would not satisfy minimum funding standards for the current year, and could spread investment losses over longer periods of time. Alternatively, the PPA mandates that plans accelerate funding, anticipate future funding issues based upon projections, and for those certified to be in critical status to develop a “Rehabilitation Plan.”
Federal law requires that you receive this notice. Following the determination of critical status (“red zone”) for prior Plan Years, a Rehabilitation Plan was adopted that was designed to have the Pension Plan emerge from the red zone within the time frame allowed by law.
This is to inform you that on November 29, 2018, the actuary for the Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for Northern California (the “Plan”) certified to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and to the Board of Trustees, that the Plan remains in critical status (the “red zone”) for the Plan Year beginning September 1, 2018. The certification also notified the IRS that the Plan is making the scheduled progress in meeting the requirement of its Rehabilitation Plan.
Although the Pension Plan remains in critical (red zone) status, because the Rehabilitation Plan continues to address long term funding issues, no new changes are required at this time.
CRITICAL STATUS
According to provisions of the PPA, for the Plan Year beginning September 1, 2018, the Plan is labeled as being in critical status because the Plan has an accumulated funding deficiency within the next four Plan years.
REHABILITATION PLAN
The Plan’s actuary certified the Plan was in critical status for the first time for the Plan Year beginning September 1, 2009. Federal law requires that pension plans in critical status adopt a Rehabilitation Plan aimed at restoring the financial health of the plan. This is the tenth year the Plan has been in critical status. The law permits pension plans in critical status to reduce, or even eliminate, benefits called “adjustable benefits” as part of a Rehabilitation Plan. On July 27, 2010, the Board of Trustees adopted a Rehabilitation Plan consisting of two contribution rate/benefit schedules. All contributing employers and bargaining units adopted the Rehabilitation Plan’s “Preferred Schedule” which does not require elimination or reduction in “adjustable benefits.” To minimize the impact to participants and employers, it was anticipated that the adopted Rehabilitation Plan would address the long term funding issues over the full time frame allowed by law.
The Plan remains in critical status. At this time no further modification to the benefit levels under the Preferred Schedule of the Rehabilitation Plan have been made. The Plan is continuing to make scheduled progress in meeting the requirements of its Rehabilitation Plan.
If, in future years, the Trustees determine that future benefit reductions are necessary, you will receive a separate notice identifying and explaining the effect of those reductions. Any reduction of adjustable benefits (other than a repeal of a recent benefit increase) will not reduce the level of a participant’s basic benefit payable at Normal Retirement Age.
Please be advised that whether or not the Plan reduces adjustable benefits in the future, the Plan has not been permitted to pay lump sum benefits (i.e., Level Income Option benefits) since it first provided Notice of Critical Status on December 23, 2009 and will not be permitted to do so while it continues to be in critical status.
ADJUSTABLE BENEFITS
During the rehabilitation period, the Plan continues to offer the following adjustable benefits:
- Disability Pension Benefits (if not yet in pay status);
- Service Pension Benefits;
- Early Retirement Pension Subsidies;
- 75% and 100% Husband-and-Wife Pension;
- Pre-Retirement Death Benefit;
- 36 and 60 month Guarantee connected with Single-Life Pension.
If the existing Rehabilitation Plan has to be modified sometime in the future, adjustable benefits may be reduced or eliminated.
EMPLOYER SURCHARGE
The law requires that all contributing employers who have not agreed to a Collective Bargaining Agreement that implements the Rehabilitation Plan, pay to the Plan a surcharge to help correct the Plan's financial situation beginning 30 days after the employer is notified that the Plan is in critical status. If applicable, the surcharge would have been 5% of an employer’s negotiated contribution rate applicable the first Plan Year in critical status (September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2010) and would have been increased to 10% beginning September 1, 2010 for each succeeding Plan year in which the Plan remains in critical status. All contributing employers have agreed to a Collective Bargaining Agreement implementing the Rehabilitation Plan, therefore no surcharges have been assessed.
WHAT’S NEXT
We understand that legally required notices like this one can create concern about the Plan’s future. Be assured that the Board of Trustees takes very seriously its obligation to preserve the financial viability of the Plan and has been very proactive in addressing funding issues. Also, if you are currently retired and receiving a monthly benefit payment from the Pension Fund, your monthly check will continue uninterrupted.
With the assistance of the Plan’s actuary, legal counsel and other professionals, and working with the contributing employers and the Union, the Trustees have developed a Rehabilitation Plan that addresses these issues. As a final note, since the Pension Plan is influenced by economic and financial variables beyond our control (such as market volatility and changes in employment and/or the number of contributing employers), unexpected developments can further affect the Plan’s status and may require additional future corrective actions. Each year the Board of Trustees will review the Plan’s progress with its professional advisors and adjust Plan rules as necessary to maintain the Plan’s financial integrity.
WHERE TO GET MORE INFORMATION
For more information about this notice or the Pension Plan in general, please contact the Trust Fund Office at the address or phone number below. You have a right to receive a copy of the Rehabilitation Plan from the Plan.
Carpenter Funds Administrative Office of Northern California, Inc.
P.O. Box 2280
Oakland, California 94621-1418
Toll-Free: (888) 547-2054 or (510) 633-0333
benefitservices@carpenterfunds.com
As required by law, this notice is being provided to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
and the Department of Labor (DOL).
Annual Funding Notice – EIN #94-6050970
Plan Year: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018
Introduction
This notice, which is required by Federal law, includes important information about the funding status of your multiemployer Pension Plan (the “Plan”). It also includes general information about the benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”), a federal insurance agency. All traditional pension plans (called “defined benefit pension plans”) must provide this notice every year regardless of their funding status. This notice does not mean that the Plan is terminating. It is provided for informational purposes and you are not required to respond in any way. This notice is for the Plan Year beginning September 1, 2017 and ending August 31, 2018 (“Plan Year”).
How Well Funded Is Your Plan
The law requires the administrator of the Plan to tell you how well the Plan is funded, using a measure called the “funded percentage.” The Plan divides its assets by its liabilities on the Valuation Date for the Plan Year to get this percentage. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the Plan. The Plan’s funded percentage for the Plan Year and each of the two preceding Plan Years is shown in the chart below. The chart also states the value of the Plan’s assets and liabilities for the same period.
| Funded Percentage |
| Valuation Date | 2017 Plan Year as of September 1,2017 | 2016 Plan Year as of September 1, 2016 | 2015 Plan Year as of September 1, 2015 |
| Funded Percentage | 75.2% | 73.6% | 72.7% |
| Value of Assets | $3,501,420,752 | $3,244,749,584 | $3,034,401,380 |
| Value of Liabilities | $4,653,720,236 | $4,409,199,516 | $4,175,399,026 |
Year-End Fair Market Value of Assets
The asset values in the chart above are measured as of the Valuation Date. They also are “actuarial values.” Actuarial values differ from market values in that they do not fluctuate daily based on changes in the stock or other markets. Actuarial values smooth out those fluctuations and can allow for more predictable levels of future contributions. Despite the fluctuations, market values tend to show a clearer picture of a plan’s funded status at a given point in time. The asset values in the chart below are market values and are measured on the last day of the Plan Year. The chart also includes the year-end market value of the Plan’s assets for each of the two preceding Plan Years.
| Market Value of Assets |
| August 31, 2018[1] | August 31, 2017 | August 31, 2016 | |
| Fair Market Value of Assets | $3,856,446,580 | $3,439,725,233 | $3,072,933,152 |
[1] Unaudited figure, subject to change.
Endangered, Critical, or Critical and Declining Status
Under federal pension law, a plan generally is in “endangered” status if its funded percentage is less than 80 percent. A plan is in “critical” status if the funded percentage is less than 65 percent (other factors may also apply). A plan is in “critical and declining” status if it is in critical status and is projected to become insolvent (run out of money to pay benefits) within 15 years (or within 20 years if a special rule applies). If a pension plan enters endangered status, the trustees of the plan are required to adopt a funding improvement plan. Similarly, if a pension plan enters critical status or critical and declining status, the trustees of the plan are required to adopt a rehabilitation plan. Funding improvement and rehabilitation plans establish steps and benchmarks for pension plans to improve their funding status over a specified period of time. The plan sponsor of a plan in critical and declining status may apply for approval to amend the plan to reduce current and future payment obligations to participants and beneficiaries.
The Plan was in “critical” status in the Plan Year ending August 31, 2018 because (1) the Plan had an accumulated funding deficiency for the current Plan Year, and (2) the Plan was in critical status the prior Plan Year and was projected to have an accumulated funding deficiency within the next ten Plan years, and (3) the Plan did not have a projected insolvency. This was the ninth year that the Plan was in critical status.
On November 25, 2009, for the Plan Year beginning September 1, 2009, the Plan’s actuary certified the Plan to be in critical status for the first time. The Plan has continued to be certified to be in critical status for all Plan Years, including the Plan Year described in this Notice. Each year, all Participants, Beneficiaries, participating Employers, Local Unions, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation have been notified of the Plan’s critical status, the requirement that the Board of Trustees adopt a “Rehabilitation Plan,” and the possibility that certain types of adjustable benefits could be eliminated under the Rehabilitation Plan.
On July 27, 2010, as required by Federal law for pension plans in critical status, a Rehabilitation Plan consisting of two contribution rate/benefit schedules aimed at restoring the financial health of the Plan was adopted by the Board of Trustees. All contributing employers and bargaining units adopted the Rehabilitation Plan’s “Preferred Schedule” which provided for a series of employer contribution increases and reductions in the future benefit accrual formula. However, no previously earned benefits or “adjustable benefits” were reduced or eliminated.
Annually, the Board of Trustees reviews and, if necessary, updates the Rehabilitation Plan. The Plan is continuing to make scheduled progress in meeting the requirements of its Rehabilitation Plan. Based on reasonable assumptions and the implemented Rehabilitation Plan, the Plan is currently projected to emerge from Critical Status by September 1, 2025.
You may get a copy of the Plan’s Rehabilitation Plan, any updates to the Plan and the actuarial and financial data that demonstrate any action taken by the Plan toward fiscal improvement. You may get this information by contacting the Plan administrator.
If the Plan is in endangered, critical, or critical and declining status for the Plan Year ending August 31, 2019, separate notification of that status will be provided.
Participant Information
The total number of participants in the Plan as of the Plan’s valuation date was 49,060. Of this number, 25,413 were active participants and beneficiaries, 14,863 were retired or separated from service and receiving benefits, and 8,784 were retired or separated from service and entitled to future benefits.
Funding & Investment Policies
Every pension plan must have a procedure to establish a funding policy for plan objectives. A funding policy relates to how much money is needed to pay promised benefits. The funding policy of the Plan is based on collective bargaining agreements that provide for employer contributions on an agreed-upon cents-per-hour basis. There are no employee contributions.
Pension plans also have investment policies. These generally are written guidelines or general instructions for making investment management decisions. The investment policy of the Plan is to invest in a manner consistent with the fiduciary standards of ERISA, namely (1) to undertake all transactions in the sole interest of Plan Participants and Beneficiaries, (2) to provide benefits and defray reasonable expenses of Plan administration in a prudent manner, and (3) to diversify assets. All investments shall be made in compliance with relevant laws and the Trust Agreement governing the Trust.
Under the Plan’s investment policy, the Plan’s assets were allocated among the following categories of investments, as of the end of the Plan Year. These allocations are percentages of total assets:
| Allocation of Investments - Year End August 31, 2018 |
| Interest-bearing cash | 0.08% |
| U.S. Government Securities | 3.55% |
Corporate Debt Instruments
|
13.28% |
Corporate Stocks
|
28.09% |
| Partnership/Joint Venture Interests | 10.78% |
| Real Estate | 0.50% |
| Value of Interest in Common/Collective Trusts | 22.59% |
| Value of Interest in Pooled Separate Accounts | 1.57% |
| Value of Interest in 103-12 Investment Entities | 4.54% |
| Other | 15.02% |
| TOTAL | 100.00% |
For information about the Plan’s investment in any of the following types of investmentscommon/collective trusts, pooled separate accounts, or 103-12 investment entities – contact:
Carpenter Funds Administrative Office of Northern California, Inc.
P.O. Box 2280
Oakland, California 94621-1418
Toll-Free: (888) 547-2054 or (510) 633-0333
benefitservices@carpenterfunds.com
Events Having a Material Effect on Assets or Liabilities
By law this notice must contain a written explanation of new events that have a material effect on plan liabilities or assets. This is because such events can significantly impact the funding condition of a plan. For the Plan Year beginning on September 1, 2018 and ending on August 31, 2019, the Plan does not expect there to be any such events.
Right to Request a Copy of the Annual Report
Pension plans must file annual reports with the US Department of Labor. The report is called the “Form 5500.” These reports contain financial and other information. You may obtain an electronic copy of your Plan’s annual report by going to www.efast.dol.gov and using the search tool. Annual reports also are available from the US Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Public Disclosure Room at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-1513, Washington, DC 20210, or by calling 202.693.8673. Or you may obtain a copy of the Plan’s annual report by making a written request to the plan administrator. A copy of the Annual Report will not be available until June 2019.
Annual reports do not contain personal information, such as the amount of your accrued benefit. You may contact your Plan administrator if you want information about your accrued benefits. Your Plan administrator is identified below under “Where to Get More Information.”
Summary of Rules Governing Insolvent Plans
Federal law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans that become insolvent, either as ongoing plans or plans terminated by mass withdrawal. The plan administrator is required by law to include a summary of these rules in the annual funding notice. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for that plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at the level specified by law (see “Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC,” below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves.
A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notice of its status to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected, including loss of a lump sum option.
Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC
The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only benefits that you have earned a right to receive and that cannot be forfeited (called vested benefits) are guaranteed. There are separate insurance programs with different benefit guarantees and other provisions for single-employer plans and multiemployer plans. Your Plan is covered by PBGC’s multiemployer program. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the Plan's monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service.
Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $600, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($600/10), which equals $60. The guaranteed amount for a $60 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 x $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 x 10).
Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 x $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 x 10).
The PBGC guarantees pension benefits payable at normal retirement age and some early retirement benefits. In addition, the PBGC guarantees qualified preretirement survivor benefits (which are preretirement death benefits payable to the surviving spouse of a participant who dies before starting to receive benefit payments). In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under a plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency (or benefits that were in effect for less than 60 months at the time of termination or insolvency). Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay.
For additional information about the PBGC and the pension insurance program guarantees, go to the Multiemployer Page on PBGC’s website at www.pbgc.gov/multiemployer. Please contact your employer or plan administrator for specific information about your Pension Plan or Pension Benefit. PBGC does not have that information. See “Where to Get More Information About Your Plan,” below.
Where to Get More Information
For more information about this notice, or the Pension Plan in general, please contact the Trust Fund Office at:
Carpenter Funds Administrative Office of Northern California, Inc.
P.O. Box 2280
Oakland, California 94621-1418
Toll-Free: (888) 547-2054 or (510) 633-0333
benefitservices@carpenterfunds.com
For identification purposes, the official Plan number is 001 and the Plan’s employer identification number or “EIN” is 94-6050970. For more information about the PBGC and benefit guarantees, go to the PBGC's website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1(800) 400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal Relay Service toll free at 1(800) 877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1(800) 400-7242).