Pension Plan Rehabilitation Accomplished
It takes a team to manage the multiemployer $2 billion+ Pension Plan (the Plan) for thousands of past, current and future Local 104 Sheet Metal Workers. Pension trustees, also known as the Board of Trustees for the Plan, dedicate themselves to ensuring the Plan is secure to provide benefits to plan participants. By law, the Plan is regulated to ensure equal representation on the board between management (SMACNA contractors) and labor (Local 104 appointees). Along with the partnership and counsel of multiple plan professionals representing legal, actuarial, accounting, financial and benefits administration experts, a key tenet of the Plan is to safeguard funding to meet the retirement needs of the industry’s skilled trade workers.
In 2012 a Funding Rehabilitation Plan (FRP) was established by the Board of Trustees to address the underfunding of the Plan per the Pension Protection Act. At the end of 2020, it was apparent that the Plan was still underfunded, and a new FRP would need to be created. A labor-management subcommittee was established to tackle the heavy lifting of finding a collaborative solution, and includes the following:
Sean O’Donoghue
BAY AREA SMACNA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Management Trustee
Jim Conway
CENTRAL VALLEY
Management Trustee
Paul Steckel
VAN-MULDER SHEET METAL, INC. SMACNA BOARD MEMBER
Management Trustee
Bob Tuck
SMACNA BOARD MEMBER ATLAS HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING COMPANY
Management Trustee
Rick Werner
LOCAL 104
Business Manager
Joe Maraccini
Retiree
Sal Rotolo
Business Representative
Matt Richard
Business Representative
“We had a lot of interest in knowing that the trust funds provide sustainable benefits for the health and resiliency of the Plan and our industry,” said Steckel, one of the longest-serving members on the BOT. “It is critical to know that benefits promised are provided into the future.”
His expertise and dedication to the Plan since 2009, along with the contributions of veteran Trustee Bob Tuck on the subcommittee, and BOT members Duane Davies of Nabco, Bob Bramlett of Air Systems and Joe Parisi of Therma are much appreciated. Bay Area SMACNA and affiliated contractors owe them a debt of gratitude for their countless volunteer hours these past several years working with Local 104 trustees to craft a solution to a complex undertaking.
The role of trustee is one that requires knowledge, preparation and flexibility. A few of the many complex criteria that trustees must learn and evaluate to be good stewards of the Plan include knowing relevant state and federal laws, following the impact of the financial ups and downs of 3 | BAY AREA SMACNA First Edition 2022 the market, and researching the actuarial data on demographics and work-hours. It’s no wonder Tuck said it takes a couple of years to become fully educated in the role. Many of the newer trustees from the Plan enroll in multi-employer training programs offered by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans to become more capable fiduciaries of their respective trusts. The same is true for trustees of the Health Care and Supplemental Pension (401(k)Profit Sharing) plans.
With a new Rehabilitation Plan in place and submitted to the Department of Labor, the trustees are confident the Pension Plan is set for a sustainable future to provide benefits to participants. This will enable contractors to attract and retain the skilled sheet metal professionals that give our firms a competitive edge. As Steckel pointed out, complex problems take a long time to solve; however, the team of labor and management trustees, supported by Plan professionals, were collectively able to make a difference.