Look for Annual Statement in the Mail

The International Pension Fund (IPF) is in the process of mailing its 2004 Annual Statements to all participants. Your statement shows your beneficiary information, the hours reported by employers on your behalf in the last year, and past service and future service credit updates. This is important information, so it’s important to check it carefully. As you review your statement, please keep the following in mind:

Social Security/Insurance Number

›  For security purposes, the first five numbers of the Social Security (Insurance) number are being suppressed in the statement.

Beneficiary Information

›  Your statement only shows beneficiary designations received by the Fund office. Designations made for the International Union or a Local Plan will not appear. Therefore, any beneficiary changes must be made on an IPF enrollment card or IPF change of beneficiary card. Participants whose statements do not show a beneficiary will receive a form to designate a beneficiary and a self addressed, stamped envelope with their annual statement.

Hours

›  In 2004, the Fund office processed more than 906,000 report transactions from over 12,500 contributing employers. To verify any discrepancy in hours or possible delinquency, you must provide documentation for any missing hours. A copy of your statement should be accompanied by check stub copies, or Local or employer records. Only hours reported or adjusted in 2004 will appear on the statement. If hours worked prior to 2004 appear on the statement, the hours were either reported late or originally under an incorrect Social Security (Insurance) number.

Past Service Credit

›  Your statement shows your beneficiary information along with the hours reported by employers on your behalf in the last year, as well as updates of past service and future service credit. This is important information, so it’s important to review it carefully. Past service credit estimates shown on the annual statement reflect many factors including the member’s initiation date on the statement, the date of the member’s and Local’s IPF participation, the participant’s home Local (the Local in which the majority of a participant’s employment in IPF has occurred), and any apparent breaks in service that can cancel service credit. In an ongoing effort to improve the accuracy of the estimated past service credit, some participants may notice a slight change in the past service credit on this year’s statement. If a participant changed Locals during the year, this may impact the calculation of past service estimates due to the differing IPF participation dates of Local Unions. Past service estimates can be verified as part of a pension status report. A request for this report should be made in writing. A final determination of a participant’s eligibility for past service can only be made at retirement.

Future Service Credit

›  Future service calculations reflect the schedule upon which such credit is granted based on the number of hours worked per year. Participants may request the total hours reported to the Fund on their behalf and may verify any missing hours or periods of disability that are not reflected in IPF’s records. Periods of disability cannot be credited as past or future service, but may provide a disability exemption for an apparent break in service.

Reciprocity

›  In the year 2002, IPF started sending and receiving Reciprocal contributions under the new International Reciprocal Agreements. Any such adjustments appear under the employer account number 297706.

Please be aware that statements which do not indicate a current participant address will be mailed to the Local Union. If you find a discrepancy in your statement, please contact the Fund Office in writing at the following address:

David F. Stupar
Executive Director, IPF
1776 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 750
Washington, D.C. 20006
dstupar@ipfihf.org