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Re: The Geneva Steel Union Employee Defined Benefit 

Plan, Case # 196606 

The Appeals Board reviewed your appeal of PBGC's September 24,2003 determination - - 

rhat you are not entitled to a disability (Permgent Incapacity) benefit under the Geneva Plan. As 

explained below, the Board changed PBGC's determination by fnniii that you had comleted 15 

years of-Credited Service whentthe Plan terminated on ~ovember 26,2002, and thus; you areeligible for a Permanent incapacity Retirement from the Plan. 

PBGC determined that you are not entitled to a disability benefit because you had only 

14.75 years of service as of your disability date of August. 2002, and the Plan required 15 full 

years of service. PBGC also included with its determination a Benefit Estimation statement that 

gave an estimate of your benefit amount under the Plan's Deferred Vested Retirement provisions. 

- Your October 22,2003 appeal said that, while you did not have the full 15 years of service 

as of August, 2002, you have in fact completed a full 15 years. -You also asked that PBGC 

determine your entitlement to a disability benefit as of January. 2003.. 

The Geneva Plan terminated, effective November 26. 2002, without sufficient assets to 

provide all plan benefits and PBGC subsequently became trustee. The terms of the Plan, the 

provisions of the Employee Retirement 1nc&e Security Act and PBGC regulations and policies 

delenuhe the benefits PBGC can guarantee. Please nore rhat your service for pension purposes 

ended when the Plan terminated. 

PBGC's regulations require that, for adisability benefit to be guaranteed, a participant 

must satisfy the conditions of the plan necessary to establish the right to receive the Wit on or 

before the earlier of the date the participant's &nployment ended& the date the plan terminated 

(see 29 Code of Federal Regulations 5 W2.3 and 5 4022.4(a)(3)). 
Plan section 5(a) provides that a participant may elect a Pennanent &pacCity ~etiremkm 

Pension if the participant has completed 15 or more Years of Credited Service, ceases to be an 

3 .. Employee because of Permanent Incapacity and remains Permanently Incapacitated for at least 5 

8 months. Under section 19(aa), Permanent Incapacity means the condition of a Participant who has .. 

N been totally disabled by bodily injury or disease so as to be prevented thereby from engaging in 

N any employment of the type covered by the collective bargaining agreement in effect from time 

k! to time between the United Steelworkers of America and the Company, and, as cenified by a 

qualified physician selected by the Company, the incapacity is expected to be permanent and 

continuous during the remainder of the Participant's lifetime. " 

A. Service 

Under Plan section 19(x)(i), a Period of Se~ce "comme~lces on the first date the Employee 

performs duties for an Affiliated Group member . . . and ends on the date the Employee quits, 

dies, is discharged or retires. An Employee shall not be considered to have quit . . . (A) [wJhen 

the Employee is absent due to lay-off, disability, sickness or approved leaves of absence for up 

to 24 months." Section 19(v)(A) provides that "[all1 Periods of Service . . . shall be aggregated 

on the basis of whole months whether.or not such Periods of Service are consecutive, -: (A) 1 Months. If an Employee's Period of Service includes a fraction of one month, one 

additional month of Service shall be credited if the number of such days is 16 or more." 

B. Credited Service 

Section l?(w)(i) of the Plan provides .that a Participant's Period of Credited Service shall 

include the Participant's Period of Service completed while he is covered by the terms of the 

collective bargaining agreement in effect from time to time between the United Steelworkers of 

America and the Company . . .." However. "a Participant's Period of Credited Service shall not 

include . . . for purposes of determining Years of Credited Service for eligibilify to receive a . . . Pennanent Incapacity Retirement . . . the additional month credited . . . in which a Participant's 

Period of Service includes a fraction of one month. " [Emphasis supplied.] A Year of Credited 

I Service (section 19@p)) is equal to "a 12-month Period of Credited Service;" a Year of Service 

(section 19(qq)) is equal to "a 12-month Period of Service." 

The files PBGC's auditors obtained from the former Plan Administrator show that (1) you 

were hired on November 9,1987, (2) you.were laid off on November 11,2001, (3) you continued 

to earn Credited Service until the Plan termination date under Plan section 19(x)(i) and (4) the 

Social Security Administration found you disabled under their rules on August 25,2002. The 

Appeals Board found that you met the Plan's defdtion of Permanent Incapacity before the Plan's 

November 26, 2002 termination date. 
i As described above, the Plan calculates Years of Credited Service for purposes of % 

a determining eligibiliry for a Pennanent Incapacity Retirement in whole months by aggregating 

2 Periods of Credited Service. Under the Plan's terms, your 12-month Period of Credited Service .. is from November 9th to November 8th of the following year. The Board found that, based on 

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N your aggregated Periods of Credited Service from November 9, 1987 to November 26,2002, you 

N had 15.0 Years of Credited Service. 

S 

DecisiM 

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Having applied the law, the provisions of the Plan, and PBGC regulations and policies to 

the facts in this case, the Appeals Board changed PBGC's determination by &ding that you have 

15.0 Years of Credited Service and are, therefore, entitled to a Permanent Incapacity Retirement. 

We will forward a copy of -this letter to PBGC's Insurance Operations Department, the 

organization responsible for calculating benefits. They will send you a new determination of your 

Permanent Incapacity benefit amount, with a new 45day appeal right for issues not decided in this 

letter. If you need other infonnation from PBGC, please call the Customer Contact Center at 

1-800-400-7242 and ask to speak to PBGC's authorized representative for your plan. 

Sincerely, - 

Linda M. Mini 

Member, peak Board