Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund Trust Document

The Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund (NPF) is a defined benefit pension fund.  As a defined benefit plan, all NPF assets are held in trust for the benefit of all participants.  This Trust Document sets out the terms and conditions for eligibility for benefits and the complex calculation of benefits.  The NPF issues many notices and reports, however, it operates principally under this plan document.  Every year, the NPF issues a summary of material modifications which explains changes made to the plan document and plan provisions in previous years.

The NPF is managed and administered by a joint labor/management Board of Trustees, which consists of eight Trustees.  Four Trustees are appointed by SMART, and four Trustees are appointed by SMACNA.  The Board of Trustees is the NPS’s “Administrator” as defined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).  The NPF receives its funding from contributions made by the Employers, who maintain the NPF pursuant to Collective Bargaining Agreements or similar agreements. 

These contributions come from the wage package negotiated between SMART local unions and SMACNA.  The contributions are held in trust by the Board of Trustees along with any investment earnings, which comprise the NPF’s assets.  The assets of the trust are invested by the investment managers appointed by the Trustees, and the trust’s assets are used to pay all NPF benefits and administrative expenses.

Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund Trust Document