PENSION REPORT – September, 2021

After receiving many calls from laid off members (of the defined pension benefit) about their pension credits being affected due to ongoing layoffs, I made several calls to the General Motors Benefits Center for clarification on this matter. The Benefit Center Representatives have stated the following:   “This only applies to defined benefit pension employees. Employees require 1700 hours of credited service to equal one (1) full year of credited pension service. Employees have a five (5) year bank of time to draw from while on layoff or approved sick leave. Each year has 1530 hours available to be drawn from, providing the employee has worked a minimum of 170 hours in the first year of layoffs. If the employee continues to be on layoff beyond the first year and has 10 or more years seniority, they can receive up to 1700 additional hours towards their credited service time, not to exceed 1.9 years credited service.”

This information can also be found in our Supplemental Agreement PENSION PLAN, Page 39, Section 2

• An employee with seniority who is absent from work during any calendar year after 1970 because of layoff or while on a Company approved sick leave, shall be credited with 40 hours for each complete calendar week of such absence during such year in addition to any other hours credited provided that such employee shall have received pay from the Company during that year for at least 170 hours, and provided further, that if such layoff or sick leave continues after that year, the employee shall be credited with 40 hours for each complete calendar week of absence after that year, not to exceed 1530 hours of credit for all such absence related to receipt of such pay from the Company in the first year. An employee who returns to work on or after October 1, 1979 and receives pay for a period of less than 170 hours and who thereafter returns to such layoff or sick leave, shall not be disqualified, solely because of the receipt of such pay, from receiving any such credit for which the employee otherwise would be eligible hereunder. For the purposes of this subsection only, an employee who is laid off subsequent to October 1, 1979 and whose first day of absence due to such layoff is the first regularly scheduled work day in the January next following the employee’s last day worked shall be deemed to have been laid off on December 31 of the year in which he last worked. A part-time employee shall be credited for any week of such absence in the same percentage relationship as such employee’s regular part-time schedule is to 40 hours. An employee who (i) is at work on or after October 1, 1984; (ii) has 10 or more years of seniority at time of layoff commencing on or after October 1, 1984; (iii) while on such layoff has received the maximum of 1530 hours of credit for periods of absence due to layoff or Company approved sick leave in accordance with the preceding paragraph of this Section 2(b)(1); and (iv) continues thereafter to be absent due to such layoff shall be credited with 40 hours for each complete calendar week of absence due to such layoff up to a maximum of 1700 hours of credit.

 

Issued by,

Ken MacLean – GM  Pension Rep.
In-plant: 905-641-6443
Cell: 905-246-0384
E Mail: kenneth.maclean@gm.com