Northwest Carpenters Retirement Plan

Reciprocity and Money Follows the Carpenter 

Money Follows the Carpenter

Money follows the carpenter allows you to have hours and contributions transferred to your home trust when you temporarily work in the jurisdiction of a reciprocal trust, provided both trusts are signatory to the International Master Reciprocal Agreement. Under the Master Reciprocal Agreement, if you are a member of a local union, your home trust is the trust in which your local union participates by virtue of it collective bargaining agreements with employers. If you are not a member of a local union or you primarily work within the jurisdiction of a local union other than where you are a member, your home trust is generally the trust that received contributions for the most work you performed in the five prior calendar years. You may also submit a written request to your home trust and the reciprocal trust to change your home trust, but it will be subject to approval of both trusts.

If you work in another jurisdiction, a request to transfer contributions must be filed with your home trust within 60 days from the onset of employment in the jurisdiction of the reciprocal trust. While the home trust and the reciprocal trust may have different rules on retroactive transfers, a retroactive transfer is not allowed for hours and contributions received more than 12 months prior to the onset of employment under the reciprocal plan.

To take advantage of money follows the carpenter, please contact Participant Services at Carpenters Trusts each time you work under a reciprocal plan. Carpenters Trusts will provide you with an Authorization to Transfer Fringe Benefit Contributions form. This form must be completed and returned to Carpenters Trusts and the reciprocal plan as soon as possible but no later than 60 days from the onset of employment in the other jurisdiction. Money follows the carpenter is subject to the provisions of the International Reciprocal Agreement. For more information please contact Northwest Carpenters Trusts.

• For additional information about money follows the carpenter, please see Article 5.3.

Reciprocal Plan Service

Reciprocal plan service helps you avoid a break in service when your work is divided between two or more plans when your contributions were not transferred to this plan through money follows the carpenter (please see "Money Follows the Carpenter" above). Credited service earned under a reciprocal plan is known as reciprocal service. Reciprocal service can also be used to help satisfy ten-year vesting as well as the eligibility requirements for certain retirement and pre-retirement death benefits. Reciprocal service cannot be used to help satisfy three- and five-year vesting or rule of 80 early retirement. While reciprocal service may help you avoid a break in service or earn credit toward ten-year vesting, no contributions are made to this plan. Reciprocal plans vest and determine benefit amounts according to their own plan rules. This plan has reciprocal agreements with other retirement plans nationwide.

• For additional information about reciprocal service, please see Article 5.

Last Updated: 04/20/2023