At a time when wages, healthcare costs, and retirement plans have reached crisis proportions nationwide, IBEW members and their employers have come together to form a safety net in order to weather this economic storm. Through paycheck contributions made directly into their retirement system by these workers, these workers have created a future-proof retirement system and secured themselves for life after work.
After World War II, IBEW pension plans – the NEBF for inside wiremen and NEAP for outside wiremen – were established. By 2008, this trio of financial security provided by these pension plans enabled retiring workers to live comfortably off of their earnings alone.
Each Plan uses its own specific formula for determining benefits at retirement. To protect their financial integrity, certified actuaries regularly assesses each Fund’s funding status; reports detailing these assessments are published here on our website in the Pension Documents section.
Plan A is also known as the Defined Benefit Pension Plan and it provides monthly payments based on years of service credited at $32 per year credited (300 hours or more each plan year). At retirement time, how much you receive as pension depends upon how many “Benefit Units” were earned along with your age and average annual earnings with respect to current interest rates.
To understand all of the features of your Plan, please review the 2018 Summary Plan Description (SPD). An up-to-date Data Claim Statement can also be printed from this website and returned by either fax or postal mail to NECA-IBEW.
Preferred Provider Organizations are networks of physicians and hospitals who have contracted together to offer discounts to Plan participants at reduced costs. BlueCross BlueShield currently serves as the PPO for the NECA-IBEW Welfare Trust Fund.
As soon as you retire, you will become eligible to enroll in the NECA-IBEW Retiree Health Plan. Once five years have elapsed since vesting began and benefits accrued from Plan accounts are nonforfeitable, you will become eligible to enroll.
Every year, a certified actuary audits your Plan assets to determine whether there are sufficient resources to meet legal funding standards. You can see the results of this audit in Documents & Forms on this website.
Get help navigating the complicated world of investing by consulting with a professional investment advisor. A NECA-IBEW financial counselor can offer answers and education on your investments as well as help create an action plan to meet your investment goals. Visit your local NECA-IBEW office and locate one near you.