Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan 

Checklist Item #23 

Does the application include a copy of the proposed ballot excluding the information regarding the 

statement in opposition, the individualized estimates, and the voting procedures? See Section 6.01. 

A copy of the Proposed Ballot excluding the statement in opposition, the individualized estimates, and the 

voting procedures is attached as Document 23.1. 

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Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan 

Document 23.1 

BALLOT FOR APPROVAL OF THE PENSION RECOVERY PLAN 

Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan 

The "Pension Recovery Plan" for the Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters was 

submitted on March , 2017 by the Board of Trustees in accordance with the Multiemployer Pension 

Recovery Plan of 2014 ("MPRA") and its regulations. 

On [Insert Date], the Pension Recovery Plan was approved by the United States Secretary of 

Treasury, in consultation with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the United States 

Department of Labor. 

The next step is for all eligible voting participants to approve or reject the proposed Pension 

Recovery Plan. The proposed suspension of benefits set forth in our Pension Recovery Plan will be 

effective for benefits paid after December 31, 2017 unless a majority of all eligible voters reject the 

Pension Recovery Plan; therefore, an individual's failure to cast a vote has the same effect as a vote to 

approve the Pension Recovery Plan. This Ballot is required by Federal law to provide information and 

assistance to you in exercising your right to vote. 

The Board of Trustees Recommends the Approval of the Pension Recovery Plan 

The Board of Trustees strongly recommends the approval of the Pension Recovery Plan. The 

Pension Recovery Plan is designed to prevent the Plan from becoming insolvent and preserve your 

pension benefits as completely as possible. You have worked hard for your pension benefit. The intent of 

the Pension Recovery Plan is to avoid insolvency, stop the Plan's funding decline, and allow the Plan to 

continue to provide benefits going forward. 

Description of the Pension Recovery Plan 

You have already received an individual estimate illustrating the Pension Recovery Plan's impact 

on your monthly benefit amount. 

The basic policy of the Pension Recovery Plan is that every person's monthly retirement benefit 

paid after December 31, 2017 would be recalculated as if the same reductions applicable under the current 

Plan provisions were applied based on their age at retirement. 

The reduction of your monthly benefit is determined in 2 steps: 

1 - If you retired prior to January 1, 2013 and had not reached age 62, the Pension Recovery 

Plan will apply the early retirement reduction factors that would have been applicable to your age at 

retirement had you retired subject to the same Plan provisions that apply to monthly benefits that 

commence on or after January 1, 2013. 

If you retired at age 62 or later, or retired on or after January 1, 2013, the first step of the 

reduction would not have any impact on your monthly benefit. You have already had this reduction 

applied to your monthly benefit. 

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2 - A 17% reduction will be applied to all monthly benefits currently being paid and all 

Accrued Benefits not yet in pay status. 

If you are a Beneficiary receiving a monthly benefit, your monthly benefit will be adjusted based 

on your Participant's recalculated benefit as described in steps 1 and 2 above. 

This is a one-time recalculation and will not impact accrued benefits earned on or after January 1, 

2018. The recalculation will be applied to all Participants, Beneficiaries and Alternate Payees. The 

Pension Recovery Plan, if approved, will not reduce or take into account amounts already paid to 

individuals through December 31, 2017. 

Individuals who commenced their benefit pursuant to a Disability Pension under the Plan will not 

have their monthly benefit reduced. Individuals who have attained age 80 by December 31, 2017 will not 

have their monthly benefit reduced. Individuals who have attained age 75, but have not attained age 80, 

by December 31, 2017, will be subject to smaller reductions than they would have otherwise. 

The Trustees have spent the last year evaluating possible alternatives in an attempt to create an 

equitable plan that satisfies the requirements of MPRA. Some of the factors set forth in MPRA that the 

Board of Trustees considered while attempting to craft an equitable allocation of the benefit reductions 

included: 

1— The age and life expectancy of the participant and beneficiary; 

2 — The amount of benefits; 

3 — The type of benefit, such as early retirement benefits; 

4 — The extent to which a participant or beneficiary is receiving a subsidized benefit; 

5 - The history of benefit increases and reductions for participants and beneficiaries; 

6 - The differences between active and retiree benefits; and 

7 — The extent to which active participants are reasonably likely to withdrawal support for the 

plan. 

If the Pension Recovery Plan is approved, the proposed suspension of benefits will remain in 

effect indefinitely. 

The Insolvency of the Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan 

Without the approval of the Pension Recovery Plan, our Plan is scheduled to go insolvent within 

the next 16 years (2033), and possibly sooner. The insolvency of the Plan would result in the reduction of 

benefits to the benefit guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC"). The PBGC is 

a Federal agency that acts as an insurance company for pensions and guarantees a minimum benefit to 

participants and beneficiaries. Federal law requires that our Pension Recovery Plan provide a benefit at 

least as much as 110% of the guaranteed benefit from the PBGC; thus, all Participants, Beneficiaries and 

Alternate Payees' monthly benefit would be higher if the Pension Recovery Plan is approved than if the 

Plan is turned over to the PBGC. If the Pension Recovery Plan is rejected, the Plan will eventually 

become insolvent. As a result, all Participants, Beneficiaries and Alternate Payees would be reduced to 

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the guaranteed amount by the PBGC. Individuals who retired on a Disability Pension and individuals who 

attained age 80 would be included in the reduction to the PBGC guaranteed benefit. 

The Plan's actuary has certified that the approval and implementation of the Pension Recovery 

Plan will avoid insolvency and allow the Plan to continue to pay the reduced benefits and future accrued 

benefits indefinitely. The actuary's projection is based on conservative estimates of future hours worked 

for which contributions are due and the future investment returns of the Plan, and, is therefore subject to 

some uncertainty. 

The Insolvency of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is expected to become insolvent in 2025, several years 

before the insolvency of our Plan. The insolvency of the PBGC would mean that the PBGC would not 

have enough money to provide the guaranteed benefit and your monthly benefit provided through the 

PBGC would be reduced to almost nothing. The Pension Recovery Plan is structured to avoid the Plan's 

insolvency and the involvement of the PBGC, and ensure the continuation of your monthly benefit 

payments indefinitely. 

The Board of Trustees recommends you support and to approve the Pension Recovery Plan. 

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