Eligible Participants

To be eligible for benefits, you must satisfy the eligibility requirements described below.

Initial Eligibility

For initial eligibility, you must satisfy “Rule 1” as described below.

Rule 1

You must work a minimum of 275 hours (for which employer contributions were received by this plan) in a three-month period, with at least one of those hours worked in the first month of the three-month period. The fourth month is the “lag month.” This is the time required for your employer to send updated contribution records to the plan and the time required for the plan to process those records. You are then eligible for a three-month period beginning with the fifth month.

Continuous Eligibility

For continuous eligibility, you must continue to work a minimum of 275 hours (for which employer contributions were received by this plan) in each three-month period (Rule 1) or satisfy “Rule 2” as described below.

Rule 2

If you work a minimum of 1,250 hours (for which employer contributions were received by this plan) in a 12-month period, you are eligible for a three-month period, beginning with the 14th month.

Rules 1 and 2 are known as the “cast back eligibility formula.”