The Central Pension Fund of the International Union of Operating Engineers and Participating Employers Summary Plan Information document for the plan year ending January 31, 2020 is now available. This report is provided to participating Local Unions and contributing employers pursuant to section 104(d) of ERISA. The document is located in the For Employers section under Documents & Notices.
Coronavirus-Related Relief for Special Distributions From Retirement Plans Does Not Apply to the Central Pension Fund
As this global pandemic continues, a number of participants have asked whether the special distribution rules approved by Congress in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) apply to the Central Pension Fund. The short answer is No, for the following reasons.
Those rules only apply to certain types of pension plans, such as 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans and IRAs that have been amended to take advantage of those rules. Moreover, the new rules are limited to certain coronavirus-related distributions. The Central Pension Fund is a defined benefit pension plan funded solely by employer contributions and is a qualified retirement plan under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a). Therefore, the expanded special distribution rules found in the CARES Act DO NOT apply to your accrued benefit with the Central Pension Fund. Benefits under the Central Pension Fund can only be paid at the time of retirement or disability, and remain subject to the Plan’s eligibility requirements. For more information on the CARES Act’s special rules, you may wish to visit the IRS website at:
Semi-Annual Participant Statements were mailed to active and deferred vested participants on October 20, 2020. They cover the period January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. These statements provide vested participants an estimate of their retirement benefit, and provide all participants with current service amounts and details on contributions and hours received from your employer(s). Please review your Statement carefully and notify our office in writing if you find any discrepancies or suspect there are missing contributions.
If you change your address, please be sure to contact CPF so you can continue to get your Statements and other important documents. Thank you for trusting the Central Pension Fund with your pension.
In our last update of June 30th, we advised that the Fund Office would remain closed to the general public. We further advised we planned to have all employees continue working remotely, to the extent feasible, for the immediate future. At this point and based upon all presently available information, we plan to continue operations in the current mode through the end of October. As has been the case from the outset of this pandemic, our decisions are based upon a desire to protect the health of our employees, while continuing to provide all essential services to participants, beneficiaries and employers.
We wish to again emphasize that while the Fund Office building will remain closed, we continue to take all necessary actions to ensure that all participants and beneficiaries, who are currently receiving benefits, will continue to do so without interruption. We continue to process new claims and place new retirees and beneficiaries into payment status as expeditiously as possible. Furthermore, we are constantly investigating new procedures to improve efficiencies while most work is being performed remotely.
We shall continue to monitor all current government actions and scientific developments to help us determine when, and if, we may recall more employees back to work in the Fund Office and progress towards the resumption of normal operations. This notice will be updated as necessary, should we decide to change our mode of operation at a future date. Again, we wish to thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we all deal with this unprecedented situation.
Please note:
All changes to your records must be submitted in writing.
Central Pension Fund
4115 Chesapeake St NW
Washington DC 20016-4665
Tel: (202) 362-1000
(800) 789-5721
Fax: (202) 364-2913
MON- FRI:
7:30 am – 4:30 pm (EST)
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