Employer FAQs

Contribution rates range from $0.10 to $28.50 per hour.

The current average contribution rate is $1.95 per hour.

For help in determining how best to negotiate contribution rate increases, contact your IAM representative.

Yes. If you pass away, your spouse or your beneficiary(ies) may be eligible for death benefits under the terms of the plan. Also, If you become totally and permanently disabled before normal retirement age, you may be entitled to a Disability Pension.

The plan offers a 50%, 75% or 100% spouse pension, lifetime pensions with 60 or 120 certain payments, Social Security option and a partial lump sum option with 60 or 120 certain payments. Benefits are payable for the participant's lifetime. The plan also provides a mandatory cash out payment if the actuarial equivalent benefit is less than $5,000, or a voluntary cash out payment if the actuarial equivalent benefit is less than $10,000. 

The 60 certain payments option provides equal monthly payments for your lifetime.  If you die before receiving 60 payments, your beneficiary will receive the balance of the 60 payments.

The IAM National Pension Fund is a multi-employer non-contributory Trust Fund. Only employer contributions made in accordance with the IAM Collective Bargaining Agreement or Special Class Participation Agreement with the Trustees may be accepted by the Fund. All employer contributions and Fund assets, from whatever source, are pooled and used to pay pension benefits.

No money is credited to an individual account, as the National Pension Plan of the IAM National Pension Fund is a defined benefit plan. It is designed to provide a monthly income at retirement. There is no benefit paid until a Covered Employee retires and applies for pension.

You may only designate people as beneficiaries. If none of your beneficiaries are alive at your death, any benefit payable may be made to your estate.

Some advantages of the National Pension Plan are that benefits are guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) and are payable for your lifetime. Contributions are made by your employer, not you, and the Fund assumes the full risk for providing benefits. In addition, given the same assumptions in terms of contributions and earnings, the National Pension Plan may provide higher benefits.

401(k) plans are popular with employers because they shift the expense and investment risk to employees. They are popular with employees because 1) payroll deductions are made on a before-tax basis (which allows employees to defer paying taxes on the portion they contribute to the plan); 2) they often offer a choice of investment options and 3) account balances are generally accessible either through loans, hardship withdrawals or in-service withdrawals, or at the time an employee leaves the employer.

Yes. The IAM National Pension Fund also offers the IAM National 401(k) Plan to participants who have negotiated the National Pension Plan into their collective bargaining agreement. Also, if your employer offers a defined benefit plan to collectively bargained employees, you can participate in the IAM National 401(k) Plan.

Yes. However, you should consult with a tax advisor, as some tax benefits of an IRA are limited if you're also in a pension plan.

For four good reasons:

1. Contributions are made by the employer and not the employee
2. Since the benefits are guaranteed by the PBGC, there is limited risk to you when you participate in the plan
3. The benefits are solely for retirement and cannot be used for any other purpose
4. Benefit amounts are known and are paid for your lifetime.

The Fund's assets are managed by professional investment managers who follow the investment objectives set by the Fund's investment committee.

The joint Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the Fund's operations and performance. The Executive Director oversees its day-to-day operations.

The Fund is a not-for-profit organization. All investment earnings are used to provide benefits to pensioners and beneficiaries, and to cover the cost of running the Fund.

Yes. Unlike many single-employer or company pension plans, the National Pension Plan is well funded and financially sound. 

There are only a few states that do not have contributing employers.

If you change jobs and go to work for an employer who also contributes to the National Pension Plan without incurring a permanent break-in-service, your years of vesting and credited service follow you to your new job and you can continue to accrue benefits.

Many employers prefer to keep control of their company's pension plan so they can opt to fund the plans on a year-by-year basis. Obviously, during strong investment periods it may not be necessary to contribute to your plan. But, this short-term flexibility can lead to greater pension costs for your company over the long haul. Your contributions to the National Pension Plan are fixed and predictable over the life of the contract, protecting you from the potential volatility of year-by-year funding. Making steady contributions to the Fund is likely to represent better value—for you and your employees. You can focus on your business, comfortable in the knowledge that we are handling your pension-related matters—and handling them well.

We are always glad to address employers' concerns about the Fund. We welcome the chance to respond to questions from the professionals who serve you. We want to make sure there are no misconceptions about our plan. We have a track record of providing solid benefits, often better than those a single-employer plan can provide. When you compare our costs and benefits, you will see that the National Pension Plan is a good proposition.

Two reasons to switch to the National Pension Plan are that we offer secure lifetime retirement benefits and we administer the plan for you. Employers who adopt the National Pension Plan after terminating their own plans or by merging their plans into the National Pension Plan will find we can save them time and money. For example, if you have the IAM National Pension Fund as your sole pension provider, you don't have to worry about regulatory compliance. You can focus on your business, comfortable in the knowledge that we are handling your pension-related matters—and handling them well.

The Fund exists to provide pension benefits to IAM members, but the Fund is legally independent from the union. It is a separate entity managed by an active Board of Trustees composed of members of both labor and management. Employers have an equally strong vote in the Fund’s management.

Our trustees set policy and investment strategy. That strategy is based on thorough research and analysis and expert advice from some of the most trusted names on Wall Street and nationwide. The IAM National Pension Fund has a sound investment approach and a  record of more than 50 years of unblemished integrity.

We recognize the value of a 401(k) plan as a supplement to a defined benefit pension plan like the National Pension Plan. Our own IAM National 401(k) Plan is evidence of that. But, unlike a 401(k) plan, the secure benefits provided by the National Pension Plan can't be used for any purpose other than retirement. With the National Pension Plan, the money is there for retirement, no matter what, for life.

401(k) balances are exposed to market fluctuations, as recent years have made painfully clear. Workers may borrow from 401(k) accounts or cash them out when they change jobs. In fact, a large percentage of 401(k) plans have loans outstanding, and huge numbers of 401(k) participants cash out when they change jobs. For workers, a secure defined benefit like ours can take the worry out of long-term financial planning.

An employee's vested benefits belong to the employee—that's what vesting means. When a company becomes a contributing employer to the IAM National Pension Fund, its employees' status as participants in the National Pension Plan has no impact on vested benefits in the company's own plan. And, vesting service in the company plan counts in the National Pension Plan for vesting and some eligibility purposes.