Applying for a pension consists of three simple steps:
- You notify the Fund Office, in writing, that you wish to apply for a pension and provide some very basic information (e.g., your planned retirement date, marital status),
- We must then send you a Federally required “Important Information About Your Pension” document (before you fill out a pension application), along with a pension application,
- You send us the completed application, we then research your work history, calculate your pension benefit and notify you of the results.
How can I get started?
You begin the pension application process by providing written notice to the Fund Office of your desire to begin collecting your pension and including the following information:
a) Your name and marital status
b) Your birth date (month, date and year)
c) Spouse’s or beneficiary’s name, relationship (spouse or non), and birth date
d) Your desired pension start date
You can provide this information to the Fund Office via an e-mail to pension@equityleague.org, a fax to (212) 869-1824, or a letter to the address shown below – we must have a written request (you can complete a one page form on which you can enter the above information if you prefer).
What will you get back from us once you’ve sent the above information?
Because certain elections you will make during the pension application process substantially affect the amount of your pension and are irreversible once your pension begins, we want to make sure you understand how both the date you begin receiving your pension, and the kind of beneficiary benefit you elect, can significantly affect the amount of your pension. In order to help assure that you fully understand these issues, Federal law requires that we provide you with a formal document called “Important Information About Your Pension”, before we accept your pension application – in fact, if your pension application is dated before you receive the Important Information document, we’ll be forced to reject it.
When we send you that “Important Information” document, we’ll include an actual pension application, which you can then fill out, indicating the desired type and start date of the pension you are requesting, as well as the kind of beneficiary benefit (if any) you wish to have. You then return the application and any attachments to us.
Pension Application Materials
Your pension application materials consist of four documents:
- A six page pension application,
- A direct deposit “Authorization Agreement For Electronic Deposits” form,
- An IRS W-4P withholding form, and,
- A Spousal Consent form (only required if you are married and are not electing a spouse’s pension).
Submitting Your Complete Pension Application Package
Once you have completed your pension application package, it must be returned (with all necessary documents) to:
Equity-League Pension Trust Fund
Attn: Benefit Services Department
165 W 46 St, Suite 812
New York, NY 10036
What will you get back from us to complete the process?
Once we receive pension application and any required attachments, we thoroughly research your work history, and, on the basis of the elections you made in your application, we calculate your pension benefit and notify you of the outcome. This research and calculation (which often includes a manual search through old records) can take up to 90 days. Therefore, we urge you to begin the pension application process at least 90 days (but not more than 180 days) before the date you wish to begin your pension (if you are applying for a terminal illness benefit we will respond as soon as possible, but always within 45 days).