SUMMARY OF MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS PENSION IMPROVEMENTS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2026
Friday, December 5, 2025
SUMMARY OF MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS
PENSION IMPROVEMENTS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2026
December 2025
Dear Participant:
This notice, referred to as a Summary of Material Modifications (SMM), describes important changes to the benefits provided by the National Automatic Sprinkler Metal Trades (NASMT) Pension Fund. We encourage you to read this notice carefully and to keep it with your Summary Plan Description (SPD) and Plan Document (Plan).i If you have any questions, please contact the Fund Office.
$10 Increase to the Value of Pension Credits Earned for Plan Years
Commencing on and after January 1, 2026
$26.50 to $36.50 for Plan A Participants
$17.75 to $27.75 for Plan B Participants
The Trustees are pleased to announce that the benefit rate per Pension Credit earned for Plan Years commencing on and after January 1, 2026, will increase from $26.50 to $36.50 for Plan A Participants, and from $17.75 to $27.75 for Plan B Participants. This improvement applies on a prospective basis only. It does not apply to Pension Credits earned before January 1, 2026, under any circumstances.ii
13th Check for Pensioners and Beneficiaries Receiving a Pension on December 1, 2025
The Trustees are pleased to announce that they have authorized the payment of a “13th check” to all Pensioners and Beneficiaries receiving a monthly benefit from the Fund on December 1, 2025. Your 13th check is an additional pension payment in the same amount as your monthly benefit as of December 1, 2025. The following bullet points provide additional detail about this improvement.
- To qualify for a 13th check, you must have established a Pension Effective Date on or before December 1, 2025.
- 13th checks are scheduled to be paid by the end of December 2025.
- Pensioners eligible for a 13th check should expect to receive their payment by the end of December 2025 in the same way they presently receive their monthly benefit. For example, if you are receiving your regular pension payments by direct deposit, you will likewise receive your 13th check by direct deposit.
- If you have not received your 13th check by the second week of January 2026, please contact the Fund Office. Otherwise, we ask for your patience as we prepare these additional payments for eligible individuals.
- Federal and State tax withholdings, if authorized for deduction from your regular pension payments, will likewise apply to your 13th check. However, other withholdings (such as your monthly medical premium payable to the NASMT Welfare Fund, if applicable) may not apply. This means that the net amount of your 13th check may be slightly higher than the net amount of your regular pension payments.
- Deceased Pensioners and Beneficiaries.
- Pensioners and Beneficiaries eligible for a 13th check must be living at the time of payment.
- If a Pensioner or Beneficiary is not alive at the time of payment, the 13th check will be paid to the individual’s surviving Beneficiary, if any, who receives a monthly survivor benefit payment during the Plan Year beginning on January 1, 2026.
- In no event will a 13th check be paid to the estate of any Pensioner or Beneficiary.
- If your benefit is suspended, you must leave Disqualifying Employment to receive your payment.
- Pensioners eligible for a 13th check whose benefit is suspended for working in Disqualifying Employment must leave such employment to receive their 13th check.
Conclusion
The Trustees believe that the NASMT Pension Fund plays an important role in your retirement security and are proud to be involved in its continued operation. As always, if you have any questions about this correspondence, or the Fund in general, please feel free to contact the Fund Office.
i This SMM is intended as a non-technical summary of certain changes to the rules of the NASMT Pension Fund, so it does not contain all the details. It modifies the information set forth in the Fund’s SPD that was previously provided to you. In the event of a discrepancy between this SMM and the Plan, the Plan, as interpreted and applied solely by the Trustees pursuant to their exclusive discretionary authority, will prevail. The Trustees reserve the right to modify the Plan and the benefits offered by the NASMT Pension Fund at any time.
ii For clarity, the benefit rates per Pension Credit earned during prior Plan Years remain unchanged and are ineligible for upward adjustment through the improvement summarized in this SMM or any other Plan provision.
