# Pension 1, Pension 2, Annuity Questions...



## Shimy (May 24, 2015)

This is a question for IEBW union workers. 

1. As money is being put into your pensions & annuity on your behalf. (A) is this money mine once I retire? Or (B) does this money go to the older IEBW workers who are drawing a retierment now? And then younger IEBW workers will pay for me once I draw a retierment?


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## bobbarker2 (Jun 30, 2016)

Pension money pays for those now in the plan 
Annuity money contributed is all yours


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Shimy said:


> This is a question for IEBW union workers.
> 
> 1. As money is being put into your pensions & annuity on your behalf. (A) is this money mine once I retire? Or (B) does this money go to the older IEBW workers who are drawing a retierment now? And then younger IEBW workers will pay for me once I draw a retierment?


Your local has a pension fund that the money goes into. I actually just received the newsletter yesterday that gave the numbers for the various funds, I believe the pension fund was something like 400 million. 

That fund is what the working men's money goes into and the retired men's money comes out of.

The annuity money is earmarked for you. You should have the ability to view your account and see how much money you have and how it has grown.


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## Shimy (May 24, 2015)

How many years until you are vested?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Shimy said:


> How many years until you are vested?


Every local has a different agreement. Mine is 5 years. I assume that most are around that.

BTW, it's IBEW. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

I think 5 is most common there are a couple times I've heard 7.


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## Shimy (May 24, 2015)

Is there a minimum amount of years you need to put in before you can start to draw your pensions & annuity? Is there a minimum age you have to be?


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Shimy said:


> Is there a minimum amount of years you need to put in before you can start to draw your pensions & annuity? Is there a minimum age you have to be?


Not really but the tax penalties you pay before retirement age are very stiff the younger you are.


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## Shimy (May 24, 2015)

I am not talking about 401k or Roth IRAs. Where you have to wait until 59.5 years of age. I am talking about your pension 1 and pension 2 and annuity from being a IBEW union member. If you become a JW at age 25. Do you really have to wait until 60 to draw your penions? Is there not a way to draw them after 20 or 25 years of work? I could understand that you would get much less if you started drawing at age 45 with 20 years in vs being 60 with 35 years in. I am just woundering how it works. Thank you all.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Shimy said:


> I am not talking about 401k or Roth IRAs. Where you have to wait until 59.5 years of age. I am talking about your pension 1 and pension 2 and annuity from being a IBEW union member. If you become a JW at age 25. Do you really have to wait until 60 to draw your penions? Is there not a way to draw them after 20 or 25 years of work? I could understand that you would get much less if you started drawing at age 45 with 20 years in vs being 60 with 35 years in. I am just woundering how it works. Thank you all.


Like I said, you have to pay a tax penalty if you take it prior to retirement age. It is INCOME !


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## Shimy (May 24, 2015)

So the IBEW union pensions are not real pension in the sense of the word. Not like in the military where you work from 18 to 38 and then get a fixed retirement pension income from 38 to death? 

The pensions with the IBEW sounds more like a 401k age 59 and a half retirement vehicle. Am I wrong?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

You can tale your annuity money whenever you want, but you will pay full tax plus a penalty.

You have to wait until a certain age or amount of years worked (or a mixture of both) to take your pension. It's up to the local agreement.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

With our pension, the way I understand it, You take a % deduction for every year you draw before age 65 and You can't take it until you go on social security, age 62.
You also have a choice to follow you or your spouses age to be paid until death.
If you just choose you, you get paid more but when you die, so does the pension payments.
Also, if you marry someone younger,you take a % hit on each year younger they are.
So for me, a full pension would be age 65 but, I can't draw full social security until age 67 so, it gets complicated.
Unless you die before you retire, then, they pay 10k or so to bury you and that's it.
So, for us, it's more like out in 40 years. Some have out in 30 years.

This is one of them:

https://www.nebf.com/nebf/participant/early_retirement_benefit/


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## Shimy (May 24, 2015)

Thank you for the link. I believe I am also a 67 age group for full social secrity. If we take it at 65. Do we get the pensions on top of the social secrity? Or will the pensions be redused for the amount you are getting form SS?


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

Your local union hall should be able to answer your questions specific to that local.

As to how the money flows, it's my understanding that only units of government in the USA are allowed to cook the pension books and molest that money any way they see fit; in non-public pensions, that money has to be strictly held such that today's contributions are growing in safe investments while current retirees are receiving the proceeds from the money they put in over time and the earnings made on those monies.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Shimy said:


> Thank you for the link. I believe I am also a 67 age group for full social secrity. If we take it at 65. Do we get the pensions on top of the social secrity? Or will the pensions be redused for the amount you are getting form SS?


No one here can give you an accurate answer, just assumptions. A quick call to your local or funds office will give you all the info you need.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

Food for thought. Our pensions are not a guarantee. Google the kline-miller pension reform act of 2014. This act makes it possible to significantly cut payouts of even current retirees if there is question about future solvency of multi employer pensions.

Too many details to list here right now.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

One call to your plan administrator could have eliminated all the questions and repeated answers. Doesn't your hall give classes about your retirement funds and asset allocation ?


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