In the event you become re-employed after retirement, your pension payments may be withheld:

69. Under what circumstances will my pension benefit be withheld?

Your monthly benefit shall be suspended for any month you are employed in disqualifying employment before you have attained Normal Retirement Age.

If you have attained your Normal Retirement Age, your monthly benefit shall be suspended for any month in which you worked or were paid for at least 40 hours in disqualifying employment.

70. What is disqualifying employment?

Disqualifying employment is employment or self-employment that is in an industry covered by the Plan at the time your pension began and in the geographic area covered by the Plan when your pension began and in any occupation which you worked under the Plan at any time or in any occupation covered by the Plan at the time your pension payments began.

Disqualifying employment is defined as employment inside the geographic area covered by the Third District of the I.B.E.W. and also inside of Connecticut.

71. What industry or area is covered by the Plan?

Upon commencement of pension payments, the Trustees shall notify you of the plan rules governing suspension of benefits, including identity of the industry and area covered by the Plan.  If benefits have been suspended and payment resumed, new notification shall, upon resumption be given to you, if there has been any material change in the suspension rules or the identity of the industry or area covered by the Plan.

72. Do I have to notify the Plan if I work in disqualifying employment?

Yes, you should notify the Plan in writing within 30 days after starting any work of a type that is or may be disqualifying under the provisions of the Plan and without regard to the number of hours of such work (that is, whether or not you have worked less than 40 hours in a month).  If you have worked in disqualifying employment in any month and have failed to give timely notice to the Plan of such employment, the Trustees shall presume that you worked for at least 40 hours in such month and any subsequent month before you give notice that you have ceased disqualifying employment.  You have the right to overcome such presumption by establishing that your work was not in fact an appropriate basis, under the Plan, for suspension of your benefits.

A Participant may ask the Trustees whether a particular employment will be disqualifying.  The Trustees shall provide the Participant with its determination.

73. Will I be notified before my pension is suspended?

Yes, the Trustees shall inform you of any suspension of benefits by notice given by personal delivery or first class mail during the first calendar month in which your benefits are withheld.  Such notice shall include a description of the specific reasons for the suspension, copy of the relevant provisions of the Plan, reference to the applicable regulation of the U.S. Department of Labor, and a statement of the procedure for securing a review of the suspension.  In addition, the notice shall describe the procedure for you to notify the Trustees when your disqualifying employment ends.  If the Trustees intend to recover prior overpayments the suspension notice shall explain the procedure and identify the amount expected to be recovered, and the periods of employment to which they relate.

74. May I appeal any decision to suspend my pension?

Yes, you are entitled to a review of a determination suspending your benefits by written request filed with the Trustees within 180 days of the notice of suspension.  The same right of review shall apply, under the same terms, to a determination by or on behalf of the Trustees that contemplated employment will be disqualifying.

75. Are there circumstances where I could work with no suspension of benefits?

Yes, the Trustees may, upon their own motion or on request waive suspension of benefits subject to such limitations as the Trustees in their sole discretion may determine, including any limitations based on your previous record of benefit suspensions or noncompliance with reporting requirements under this Section.

76. How are my benefits determined after I stop working and retire again?

Any pensioner who becomes re-employed in the jurisdiction of I.B.E.W. Local 25 may increase his pension by earning additional Credited Service.

77.  When will my benefit payments resume after a suspension?

Benefits shall be resumed for those months after the last month for which benefits were suspended, with payments beginning no later than the third month after the last calendar month for which your benefit was suspended, provided you have notified the Trustees when your disqualifying employment ended.

Overpayment attributable to payments made for any month or months for which you had disqualifying employment shall be deducted from the first pension payment made upon resumption after a suspension.  Recovery of any additional overpayments shall be by deduction from subsequent monthly benefits, with such deduction not to exceed 25% of the pension amount (before deduction).  If you die before recoupment of overpayments has been completed, deduction shall be made from the benefits payable to your beneficiary or contingent annuitant, subject to the 25% percent limitation on the rate of deduction.