Earning Pension Service Credit
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PRIOR SERVICE

Once an employer is required to make contributions to the Pension Fund for your hours worked, you earn what is called Future Service. If you worked for an employer before Pension contributions were required, you can earn what is called Prior Service.

You earn Prior Service for your full or partial years of continuous Covered Employment before the date an employer began participating in the Pension Fund. To qualify for Prior Service, however, you must earn Future Service with at least one employer. Not everyone will have Prior Service-if Pension contributions were required from all of your employers for all of your Covered Employment, you will have only Future Service. You earn a year of Eligibility Service for each year that you earn any Prior Service.

Waiting periods should not be confused with Prior Service because they are not treated the same way for service credit purposes. Contact the Pension Department at the Benefits Fund Office if you want further information on waiting periods.

For more information on earning service, see the Earning Pension Service Credit page of this Web site.

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Prior Service Table

Years of Prior Service are based on the number of full-time days you worked during each year. If you were employed on less than a full-time basis during a year, your Prior Service is based on the number of equivalent full-time days that you were employed during the year.

Days Employed During a Calendar Year	Credited Service Earned	Eligibility Service Earned
0 through 64	0 year	0 year
65 through 224	1/3 year	1 year
225 or more	1 year	1 year

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Prior Service Restrictions

• If you were previously covered under the Retail Clerks Central Division Pension Plan and became covered under this Plan when the two plans merged, your Eligibility Service prior to the 1977 calendar year is equal to your Eligibility Service as of December 31, 1976 under the Central Division Plan.
• If you and your employer both begin participating in the Plan on or after June 1, 1977, your Prior Service will be limited to a maximum of 10 years.
• If you worked for Hi-Low Foods prior to August 1, 1975, certain restrictions apply to Prior Service and you should contact the Pension Department at the Benefits Fund Office.

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