• Money-Follows-the-Man Reciprocity
• Cross Border Reciprocity with Canada
• U.S. Travelers Working in Canada since October 2004
• Money-Follows-the-Man Reciprocal Listing
• Defined Benefit Fund/Defined Contribution Fund Money-Follows-the-Man Reciprocity
• Optional Pro Rata/Partial Pension Addendum
• Optional Pro Rata/Partial Pension Addendum Listings

The Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund (PPNPF) performs money-follows-the-man reciprocity as a fund signatory to the United Association Pension Fund Reciprocal Agreement. To aid traveling members whose situations are not covered by money-follows-the-man reciprocity, the PPNPF is also signed to the optional pro rata/partial pension addendum to the money-follows-the-man reciprocal agreement.

Money-Follows-the-Man Reciprocity - The PPNPF strongly adheres to the United Association's consistent endorsement of full money-follows-the-man reciprocity. The PPNPF would like to have a money-follows-the-man reciprocal relationship with every United Association defined benefit and defined contribution pension plan in the United States.

Cross Border Reciprocity with Canada - Since neither Canadian nor U.S. governmental authorities endorse cross border pension reciprocity, the United Association has set-up a system where one pension fund in each country is the "home" pension fund for traveling members from the other country. This will help ensure that contributions made to a number of different "cross border" pension funds results in the payment of a pension benefit for the traveler and does not result in permanent breaks-in-service in a few different "foreign" pension funds for the traveling cross border member.

Since October 2004, the PPNPF has been the home pension fund for Canadian travelers temporarily working in the United States (whether or not they are working in a local union jurisdiction covered by the PPNPF). Since that same date, the UA Canadian Pipeline Industry National Pension Trust Fund has been the home pension fund for U.S. travelers temporarily working in Canada. Upon reaching retirement age, and otherwise attaining eligibility and applying for a pension benefit from the pertinent "cross border" home pension fund, cross border travelers will receive a pension benefit from that "cross border" home pension fund for at least their October 2004 and subsequent work for which contributions are received, and retained, by the "cross border" pension fund on their behalf.

Vesting under the "cross border" home pension fund is done by recognizing both the participant's hours of contributory service in his home pension fund in his home country and his "cross border" home pension fund combined, under that "cross border" plan's rules. If a cross border traveler is vested in his home pension fund and has at least 150 hours of contributions in his "cross border" home pension fund, he will generally be vested in the cross border fund (although he must meet the qualifications for vesting and eligibility in the "cross border" pension fund using hours from both funds).

Following are the Canadian local funds which are signed to the optional pro rata/partial pension agreement with the Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund (PPNPF), which allows the PPNPF to recognize both funds hours on behalf of Canadian travelers. If you are a Canadian traveler who has worked in the United States since October 2004, you should:

• Make sure your home Canadian pension fund is signed to the optional pro rata/partial pension agreement with the PPNPF; and
• Make sure that all of the pension contributions made on your behalf in the United States have been reciprocated from the visited U.S. pension fund to the PPNPF on your behalf.

U.S. Travelers Working in Canada since October 2004 -In this situation the Canadian Pipeline Industry National Pension Trust Fund is your home pension fund in Canada for all pension contributions made on your behalf. Please check with that fund to make sure that:

• Your home U.S. defined benefit pension fund(s) is signed to a pro rata/partial pension agreement with the Canadian Pipeline Industry National Pension Fund; and
• The visited Canadian pension fund has forwarded pension contributions to the Canadian Pipeline Industry National Pension Fund on your behalf.

Prior to October 2004, some pension funds in Canada and the United States had money-follows-the-man reciprocal agreements. Check with your home pension fund and the visited pension fund(s) in the other country to check on the status of any of these pension contributions.

Money-Follows-the-Man Reciprocal Listing - The following listing shows all of the U.A. pension funds in the United States which are signed to the United Association Pension Fund Reciprocal Agreement and which was created in 2003. The effective date noted for these agreements, however, is the first date that the PPNPF and the local fund became reciprocal. These dates usually pre-date the start of the multi-party United Association Pension Fund Reciprocal Agreement

If the local pension fund has been merged with other pension funds, there may be different dates the reciprocal agreements became effective for the former pension funds.

Defined Benefit Fund/Defined Contribution Fund Money-Follows-the-Man Reciprocity- In the spirit of full money-follows-the-man reciprocity, the PPNPF has always entered into money-follows-the-man reciprocal agreements with all other United Association pension funds willing to do so - whether they are defined contribution or defined benefit pension funds.

However, some defined contribution pension plans choose not to enter into a money-follows-the-man reciprocity relationship with defined benefit pension plans. In such a case, and by definition, the PPNPF is not reciprocal with those defined contributions plans that choose not to be reciprocal with it.

Only employer pension contributions are transferred under money-follows-the-man reciprocal agreements. Employee elective contributions, whether made into a 401(k) plan or another defined contribution pension plan, are not transferred to the National Pension Fund. Such employee elective contributions can be transferred from a visited 401(k) fund to a home 401(k) fund if both plans accept employee elective contributions.

A listing of defined contribution pension plans that have chosen not to reciprocate with defined benefit pension plans including the Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Plan is listed below.

Optional Pro Rata/Partial Pension Addendum - Since 1990, the PPNPF has been entering into an optional pro rata/partial pension addendum with any other United Association pension funds that wished to sign such an addendum. This addendum covers situations not covered by money-follows-the-man reciprocity such as:

• Time periods prior to the commencement of money-follows-the-man reciprocity; and
• Situations where a member transfers local union membership (and/or division and trades), and thus home pension fund(s), without becoming vested in one, or more, of the pension funds associated either with the previous local union and/or UA division, trade and skill he belonged to and/or the new local union and/or division, trade or skill to which he belongs.

In general, the pro rata/partial pension addendum is used to cure breaks-in-service and/or make an individual, who has pension credit in two or more funds, vested and/or eligible in the pension fund(s) when he would not otherwise be vested/eligible for a pension benefit without use of this addendum. The pro rata/partial pension addendum (except for the cross border addenda) generally requires that individuals have at least one future service pension credit in each signatory fund. An individual must also not have been receiving a pension benefit from any UA pension fund prior to when the applicable pension fund, from which he would like to receive a pro rata/partial pension benefit, signed this pro rata/partial pension addendum. Each pension fund must look at all hours of retained contributory service made into all signatory funds to determine whether the individual has enough combined hours to make him vested and/or eligible for a benefit from the fund which otherwise would not find him eligible for a pension benefit. An additional requirement is that the individual have at least some pension credit in any UA pension fund within the five years prior to his effective date of benefits.

Optional Pro Rata/Partial Pension Addendum Listings - There are two listings of UA pension funds that are signatory to an optional pro rata/partial pension addendum with the United Association listed on this web site.

The first lists all of the defined benefit pension funds, besides the PPNPF, that are currently signatory to the multi-party UA optional pro rata/partial pension addendum to the United Association Pension Fund Reciprocal Agreement. As indicated, all funds signed to this addendum have to recognize any hours an individual may have in any of the signatory funds.

The second lists those funds that were signed to the bi-party PPNPF optional pro rata/partial pension addenda but have chosen not to sign the multi-party UA optional pro rata/partial pension addendum.

The Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund Optional Pro Rata/Partial Pension Addendum only covers future service pension credit accrued in both plans through September 30, 2003. Also, this addendum only covers hours of contributory service in the PPNPF and the individual fund listed below. Pension credit accrued in either plan after that date does not count towards a pro rata/partial pension benefit.