C. Disability Benefits

1. Eligibility. The Disability Pension is designed to provide a lifetime benefit for those active covered electricians who become totally and permanently disabled and have otherwise established eligibility for benefits under the Plan and remain disabled. The benefit is available at any age under age 65, provided the other requirements for eligibility are met as set forth below.
   
   You are eligible for a Disability Pension if you have:
   1. been determined to be totally and permanently disabled, as defined in paragraph 2 below, prior to age 65
   2. ten or more years of Pension Credit without a Permanent Break in Service; and
   3. earned at least 300 hours of Pension Credit within the 36-month period immediately prior to your application for a Disability Pension.


2. Definition of Total and Permanent Disability. A total and permanent disability is a mental or physical impairment that can be expected to be of an indefinite or long continued duration which precludes you from employment for wages or profit or other remuneration in any substantial gainful activity.
   
   If you are determined to be totally and permanently disabled and you submit a copy of your Social Security disability award within 60 days of receipt of such award, your disability benefit will be granted retroactively but in no event earlier than the first day of the sixth month of your permanent and total disability.
   
   If you apply for a Disability Pension, you must present proof satisfactory to the Board of Trustees of your disability. The Board of Trustees has the sole discretion to decide whether the proof is satisfactory and its decision is final in the event of a dispute.
   
   If you are applying for a Disability Pension, you should submit medical reports from your attending physicians. The Board may, but is not required to, accept a determination by the Social Security Administration that you are disabled. If the Board is not satisfied with the documents you submit, it may require that you submit further information or undergo a medical examination by a medical provider of the Plan's choosing.


Effective September 12, 2007, the Plan will rely exclusively on the Social Security Administration's determination of disability for purposes of determining eligibility for a disability pension under the Plan."



3. Commencement of Disability Benefits. You are not entitled to a disability benefit until you have been disabled a minimum of six months. Your disability benefits will begin on the first day of the month following the filing of an application for disability benefits or on the first day of the sixth month of disability, whichever is later.
   
   
   ALERT -- FILE EARLY DISABILITY APPLICATION
   You are urged to file a claim for a disability benefit with the Plan Office at the same time that you apply for your Social Security disability benefit to ensure that Plan benefits become payable as early as possible.


4. Duration or Termination of Disability Benefits. Your monthly disability benefits will continue until the earliest to occur of:
   1. your recovery from your disability, whether or not you return to work;
   2. you fail to cooperate with Plan requests for information or documentation of your disability; or
   3. your death.
   Once you attain Normal Retirement Age, your monthly benefits are continued regardless of your disability status.
   
   The Board of Trustees may from time to time require that you submit proof of your continued total and permanent disability and may require that you submit to an independent medical examination by a physician or physicians designated by the Board to determine your continued eligibility to receive disability benefits.
   
   
   Effective September 12, 2007, your disability benefits will terminate when your eligibility for continued Social Security permanent disability benefits terminates.


5. Amount of Disability Benefit. Your monthly disability benefit is computed the same way that a regular Pension benefit is calculated. The normal benefit form for the Disability Pension is a Joint and 50% Survivor Annuity, as described in Section 10.B.1.


6. Special Reduction Factors. The Plan provides special reduction factors for Participants retiring on a Disability Pension with a Joint and Survivor Annuity as determined by the actuary. These reduction factors are available upon written request of the Plan Office. The reduction factors are higher than the reduction factors used for non-disability benefits and thus may result in a lower initial benefit to a recipient of a Disability Benefit. In some situations, Participants who also qualify for an Early Retirement Pension and who choose the Joint and Survivor Annuity will receive a higher monthly benefit if they retired on an Early Retirement Pension. The Plan Office will provide a comparison at the time you file your application.


7. Recovery from Disability. If you retire on a Disability Pension and then recover and return to Covered Employment and resume earning Pension Credit, your monthly pension on any later retirement will be based upon the provisions of the Plan in effect at the time you retired on Disability Pension for all years and fractions of a year of Pension Credit accumulated at the time you retired on Disability Pension. Only the Pension Credit you earn after your return to Covered Employment will be based on the Plan in effect at the time you subsequently retire.


8. Reporting Obligation. If you are granted a Disability Pension and you subsequently recover or return to employment in the Electrical Industry, you must notify the Board of Trustees of such employment or recovery within fifteen days. If you fail to do so, you will not be eligible to again apply for a Disability Pension until six months after the last day of such employment and you will be required to repay any pension amounts that were paid since your recovery or for any month during which you worked in the Electrical Industry whichever is the longer period. The Trust may recover by legal action or by reduction from any benefits to which you or any beneficiary may subsequently be entitled.


9. Periodic Verification of Disability. The Board has the discretion to verify your disability at any time.