This section only applies to employees who joined the hospital prior to January 1, 2005.
Bloomington Hospital Pension Plan members were notified in 2006 that the plan would be frozen. The Hospital’s 403(b) matching plan then became the primary retirement plan at Bloomington Hospital. Employees already fully vested in the pension plan maintained their accrued benefits as of June 30, 2006. Anyone new to the organization will not receive a Pension Plan benefits. All vested members were mailed statements in 2006 with the defined benefit estimate. There are two categories of employees who are eligible for this benefit:
- Partially frozen pension plan participants: This benefit covers employees who were age 50 by December 31, 2006. These plan participants will continue to accrue additional pension benefits based on their monthly plan compensation. To determine monthly plan compensation, the employee’s five highest consecutive years of earnings are used. However, only plan compensation from 2005 (or if greater, your plan compensation from January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2006) will be used to determine benefit accruals. Participants who are partially-frozen receive an updated statement each year. Access online (login required)
- Frozen pension plan participants: This benefit covers those employees who were not age 50 as of December 31, 2006. These plan participants received a mailed statement in 2006 with their projected monthly benefit value at retirement age. The participant will not accrue any additional benefits; their defined benefit becomes “frozen” at its current amount. Employees who leave Bloomington Hospital will be able to access their pension when they reach retirement age. The Pension Plan will not communicate with members who are frozen. When ready to collect the benefit, plan participants should contact Human Resources. The Human Resources department maintains paper copies of all mailed frozen pension plan statements.
The earliest age to receive retirement benefits is 55, if the employee has 15 or more years of vesting service. Human Resources manages the Pension Plan and will assist employees in understanding the many options available for distribution.