Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan 

Checklist Item #2 

Does the application include a description of the proposed benefit suspension — calculated as if no other 

limitations apply — that includes: 

■ the suspension's effective date (and its expiration date, if applicable); 

• whether the suspension provides for different treatment of participants and beneficiaries; 

• a description of the different categories or groups of individuals affected; and 

• how the suspension affects these individuals differently? 

See Section 2.02. 

Attached as Document 2.1 is a description of the proposed benefit suspension. 

SWORCCPP-000002
Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan 

Document 2.1 

The Board of Trustees of the Southwest Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Plan proposes the 

following reduction in benefits effective on December 31, 2017. The reduction in benefits shall remain in 

effect indefinitely. 

The proposed reduction in benefits shall be accomplished by the amendment of the Plan to recalculate all 

accrued benefits and all monthly benefits in pay status for all Participants, Beneficiaries and Alternate 

Payees with a separate interest pension benefit and to be effective for benefit payments on or after 

December 31, 2017. 

The one-time recalculation set forth below is based on the basic premise that all accrued benefits and 

monthly benefits in pay status shall be subject to the same early retirement reduction factors that have 

been or will be applied pursuant to the Plan's provisions to benefits with an annuity starting date on or 

after January 1, 2013, and then all accrued benefits and monthly benefits in pay status shall be further 

subject to an additional flat percentage reduction. 

The recalculation shall be applied to all Participants, Beneficiaries and Alternate Payees without regard to 

different categories or groups of individuals and shall not distinguish between individuals based on years 

of service, benefit credit or accrual rate, employer, or the amount of benefits received through the 

effective date of the reduction of benefits, December 31, 2017. 

The first step of the recalculation shall be applied to the monthly benefit of each Participant who retired 

with an annuity starting date prior to January 1, 2013. The Participant's monthly benefit shall be recalculated to apply the early retirement reduction factors that would have been applicable to the 

Participant's age at retirement had the Participant retired subject to the same Plan provisions that apply to 

monthly benefits with an annuity starting date on or after January 1, 2013. Similarly, Beneficiaries 

presently receiving monthly benefits shall have their benefits recalculated to apply the early retirement 

reduction factors that would have been applicable on or after January 1, 2013 to the accrued benefit of the 

Participant on whom the Beneficiary's benefit is based. Lastly, the monthly benefit of Alternate Payees 

with a separate interest pension benefit that commenced prior to January 1, 2013 shall be re-calculated to 

apply the early retirement reduction factors that would have been applicable to the Alternate Payee's age 

at the commencement of the Alternate Payee's monthly benefit had the Alternate Payee commenced his or 

her monthly benefits subject to the same Plan provisions that applied to benefits with an annuity starting 

date on or after January 1, 2013 

Thus, following the application of this first step, effectively, all Participants, Beneficiaries and Alternate 

Payees with a separate interest pension benefit shall have been subject to the application of a uniform set 

of early retirement reduction factors, if applicable due to the commencement of benefits prior to 

attainment of Normal Retirement Age (age 62). Pursuant to the Plan's provisions, as amended, those 

Participants, Beneficiaries and Alternate Payees with a separate interest pension benefit with an annuity 

starting date on or after January 1, 2013 were and are already subject to those same early retirement 

reduction factors, if applicable due to the commencement of benefits prior to attainment of Normal 

Retirement Age. 

The second step of the recalculation shall be a seventeen percent (17%) reduction of the monthly benefit 

of every Participant, Beneficiary and Alternate Payee with a separate interest pension benefit. 

With respect to Alternate Payee's with a shared interest pension benefit, the proposed reduction of 

benefits would impact the Alternate Payee differently depending on whether the Alternate Payee's 

Document #2 - 1 - 

SWORCCPP-000003
assigned benefit was expressed in the form of a percentage of the Participant's monthly benefit or a 

specified dollar amount. Simply, the Alternate Payee with a shared interest assigned benefit in the form of 

a percentage of the Participant's monthly benefit will continue to receive their assigned percentage of the 

Participant's recalculated monthly benefit. 

An Alternate Payee with an assigned benefit in the form of a specified dollar amount shall continue to 

receive the specified dollar amount regardless of the reduction of the Participant's monthly benefit, unless 

the reduced benefit is insufficient to satisfy the Alternate Payee's assigned benefit. If the Participant's 

recalculated reduced benefit is insufficient to satisfy the Alternate Payee's assigned benefit, then the 

Alternate Payee shall receive all of the Participant's recalculated reduced benefit. 

The recalculation shall not be applied to accrued benefits earned on or after December 31, 2017. 

The recalculation of all accrued benefits and all monthly benefits shall be limited by Section 

432(e)(9)(D)(i),(ii), and (iii), as described in the response to Checklist Item #9. 

Document #2 - 2 - 

SWORCCPP-000004