Am I losing any other benefits?

[srvhero]

I work full time. Every chance I get I take a day if our center has extra drivers available. I average taking one day a week with no pay. Besides losing a day's pay, am I losing any other benefits. Is it affecting my end retirement date? Thanks to all.

 

[brown67]

I've heard that it can affect your retirement date. Depends on your pension fund. Call your local.

 

[SWORDFISH]

Depends on what area of the US you work in. You have to work a certain amount of hours each month to keep your health benys and a certain amount of hours every year to get the full amount to your pension. If you were in my area you need 2080hrs for your full pension for the year. You also need to work 40hrs each month to stay covered.

 

[TheKid]

Like Swordfish said....it depends on where you work....you need to check with your local. We need 500 hrs. every 6 months to keep health and welfare benefits. Personally I do not take much time off without pay because I like to always have a cushion incase anything would ever happen...hurt off job...leave of absence...etc. I do not know it off the top of my head but there is a # of hours you need each year to earn a year's worth of credit towards pension. My 1st year as a FT driver I was kinda on and off (not uncommon) and I only got 11 months pension credit. Did not seem like much then but it will when I turn 57 and need to work an extra month.

 

[JonFrum]

It depends on what Supplement you are under, and what specific pension and health & welfare plan you are in.

Check contract Article 34 (if appropriate,) and your Supplement's pension and health & welfare articles for the details of how many hours you need, and what hours count, under what conditions. Also check your Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD).

Usually you can take a few days off, but not too many.

Swordfish, are you sure you need 2080 hours to qualify for a full year's Pension Credit. Usually it's 1800 hours or so.

 

[JonFrum]

I have bad news.

Since you are young (TheKid) and from Massachusetts, you and I are in a pension plan that is about the worst in the nation. The trustees have already moved the retirement goalpost further away on several occasions. By the time you reach 57 you will probably have to work an extra decade, not just an extra month.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

2080 is 52 x 40. That does seem a bit high. I only had 2074 hours reported in 2009 but did receive credit for a full years' credit toward my pension.

I know when I was a casual we had to have 36 days in a quarter to get our benefits for the next quarter.

 

[upsgrunt]

2080 is 52 x 40. That does seem a bit high. I only had 2074 hours reported in 2009 but did receive credit for a full years' credit toward my pension.

I know when I was a casual we had to have 36 days in a quarter to get our benefits for the next quarter.

Dave,
Are you sure about the 2074 hours? That's not even averaging 40 hours a week including December.

 

[SWORDFISH]

It depends on what Supplement you are under, and what specific pension and health & welfare plan you are in.

Check contract Article 34 (if appropriate,) and your Supplement's pension and health & welfare articles for the details of how many hours you need, and what hours count, under what conditions. Also check your Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD).

Usually you can take a few days off, but not too many.

Swordfish, are you sure you need 2080 hours to qualify for a full year's Pension Credit. Usually it's 1800 hours or so.

Jon, I just reread it to make sure. Its 2080 but our pension is really good comparitive to other areas. None of us really think 2080 is high. We figure we are there by october every year. Last year I mist 2months and still made it by november.

 

[UPSF Peeon]

2080 is 52 x 40. That does seem a bit high. I only had 2074 hours reported in 2009 but did receive credit for a full years' credit toward my pension.

I know when I was a casual we had to have 36 days in a quarter to get our benefits for the next quarter.

who needs health insurance when your buddy obama is gonna give it to us all for free! he is paying for it himself!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

who needs health insurance when your buddy obama is gonna give it to us all for free! he is paying for it himself!

If you have a hard time interacting with adults perhaps you should stay on facebook or Twitter.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Dave,
Are you sure about the 2074 hours? That's not even averaging 40 hours a week including December.

I just got my annual pension statement and that was the number of hours I was credited with. We are only credited for hours worked so vacations don't count. I went to upsers and checked my 12/31/09 paystub and I had 2316 hours, a difference of 242 hours.

 

[SWORDFISH]

I just got my annual pension statement and that was the number of hours I was credited with. We are only credited for hours worked so vacations don't count. I went to upsers and checked my 12/31/09 paystub and I had 2316 hours, a difference of 242 hours.

Are you sure you dont get credit for vacations because we do? We have alot of drivers that will finish their last year on vacation which qualifies for the minimum 500 hours they need for the year to count as a year.

 

[srvhero]

I work in the South East. We do get credit for our vacations. Most that I have seen retire do take all their vacation time at the end to expedite the process. I will contact my local, and stop taking non paid leave until I'm sure. The last thing I want to do is prolong my retirement.

 

[JonFrum]

I just got my annual pension statement and that was the number of hours I was credited with. We are only credited for hours worked so vacations don't count. I went to upsers and checked my 12/31/09 paystub and I had 2316 hours, a difference of 242 hours.

Upstate, does this language apply to you??? It's got your name in the title.

Teamsters Upstate/West New York Local Rider
ARTICLE 62 - HEALTH AND WELFARE
Section 11
Payments to the Fund must be paid by the Employer during employee vacations.

Section 12
If a regular employee is absent because of illness or off-the-job injury and notifies the Employer of such absence, the Employer shall continue to make the required contributions for a period of four (4) weeks. If a regular employee is injured on the job, the Employer shall continue to pay the required contributions until such employee returns to work; however, such contributions shall not be paid for a period of more than twelve (12) months. If a casual employee is injured on the job, the Employer will make Health & Welfare contributions until the employee returns to work, not to exceed four (4) weeks. If an employee is granted a leave of absence, the Employer shall collect from said employee prior to the leave of absence being effective, sufficient monies to pay the required contributions into the Health and Hospital Fund during the period of absence.

ARTICLE 63 - PENSION & RETIREMENT FUND
Section 1
Effective August 1, 2008 the Employer agrees to contribute for paid hours to any or all of its employees covered by this agreement, but not to exceed the maximum contributions per week. Such payment is to be made to the New York State Teamsters Pension and Retirement Fund. . .

Section 6
Payments to the fund must be paid by the Employer during the employees vacation periods.

Section 7
If an employee is granted a leave of absence, the Employer shall collect from same employee, prior to the leave of absence being effective, sufficient monies to pay the required contributions into the Pension Fund during the period of absence.

Section 9
If a regular employee is absent because of illness or off-the-job injury and notifies the Employer of such absence, the Employer shall continue to make the required contributions for a period of four (4) weeks. If a regular employee is injured on the job, the Employer shall continue to pay the required contributions until such employee returns to work; however, such contributions shall not be paid for a period of more than four (4) weeks.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Jon, it very well may but how would you explain the nearly 250 hour difference between hours worked and hours credited for pension purposes?

 

[JonFrum]

Does your plan have an 8 hour per day maximum, a 40 hour per week maximum, or a 2,080 hour per year maximum?

Did you take any unpaid voluntary layoff days?

Go home early any time?

Maybe its a clerical error?

You'll have to investigate.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

To be honest, I am not that concerned about it. I have 21 years of pension credit which is right where I should be. I am also safe if they decide to impose a minimum retirement age regardless of years of service as I will be 58 when I get my 30 yrs in. Thanks for doing the research, Jon. Dave.

 

[just interested]

Hi there,

I'm thinking about becoming a UPS'er and I am trying to get benefits info. What's the best way to do this? I'm in Virginia - would be looking at becoming a package delivery driver, although, my application was changed by HR to read BID Air Driver at some point. Is there a difference in the job and it's associated benefits?

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Hi there,

I'm thinking about becoming a UPS'er and I am trying to get benefits info. What's the best way to do this? I'm in Virginia - would be looking at becoming a package delivery driver, although, my application was changed by HR to read BID Air Driver at some point. Is there a difference in the job and it's associated benefits?

Part-time or full-time?