North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters Defined Benefit Pension Funding Improvement Plan. The parties agree that the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters Defined Benefit Pension Fund (“DB Pension Fund”) actuary has certified that the DB Pension Fund is in endangered status, within the meaning of Section 305 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, for the Plan Year beginning January 1, 2013. Based on information provided to them from the Plan Sponsor, the parties hereby adopt the joint labor/management Preferred Schedule from the Funding Improvement Plan executed by the DB Pension Fund’s officers and agree to implement the schedule of contribution increases from said Preferred Schedule no later than the respective effective dates of such contribution increases in the Preferred Schedule. The parties understand that, assuming the Pension Fund’s actuarial assumptions are met, the Preferred Schedule will result in the Plan’s emergence from endangered status within the time frame required under ERISA. The Parties hereby implement the Preferred Schedule of the Initial Funding Improvement Plan, herein referenced, with a DB Pension Fund contribution increase of $0.45 per year on May 5, 2014, $0.45 per year on May 1, 2015, $0.45 per year on May 1, 2016, and will meet and confer regarding the implementation of the Preferred Schedule’s 2017 increase prior to expiration of the Agreement, should the actuary of the Pension Fund deem that such contributions are necessary. The parties understand that the Pension Fund’s actuary may inform the Plan Sponsor that the schedules adopted by the Parties have resulted in the Plan meeting or exceeding the scheduled progress of the Funding Improvement Plan and that the scheduled progress of the Plan is projected to be met with either a lesser schedule of contribution rate increases or lesser reduction in the pension multiplier or both. In such an event, the parties agree to meet and bargain in good faith concerning the substitution of a revised schedule of contribution rate increases provided to them by the Plan Sponsor. The parties understand that the Pension Fund’s actuary may inform the Plan Sponsor that the schedules adopted by the Parties have resulted in the Plan leaving the endangered status as of the most recent zone certification date. In such an event, the parties agree that the schedule of contribution rate increases that have not yet taken effect shall be null and void and agree to meet and bargain in good faith concerning...
