WORKING FOR YOUR FUTURE.
IBEW 288 Careers
Retirement
Not only do we value work life, but we also value our post work life as well. As an IBEW member working for an IBEW contractor, you will build no less than two employer paid retirement plans. Retirement Plan #1 is the IBEW Local 288 Retirement and 401(K) Plan. Retirement Plan #2 is the National Electrical Benefit Fund. Both retirement plans are paid 100% by the employer, giving you peace of mind that you are building a nest egg. This allows you to retire on your terms, allowing you to enjoy the things in life that you always dreamed of. Such as enjoying grandkids, travel, fishing, golfing, and whatever you enjoy.
How Do the Two Employer Paid Retirements Work
IBEW Local 288
Retirement & 401(k) Plan
This is a Defined Contribution Pension with a 401(k) option, paid 100% by the employer on your behalf. On top of the employer’s contribution, the 401(k) option gives you the choice to contribute money directly from your weekly paycheck.
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A defined contribution pension plan is a retirement plan where the employer contributes funds, per the collective bargaining agreement. Currently under the Waterloo Contract, the employer is paying $6.30 per hour for journeyman electricians. On a forty-hour week this is $252 per week, a two-thousand-hour year equals $12,600 per year contributed on your behalf.
The IBEW Local 288 Retirement & 401(k) Plan is run at the local level by six Trustees: three from IBEW Local 288 and three trustees representing the employers, with the help of retirement professionals. Principal Financial administers the funds and record keeping. As part of the plan, you have access to our own retirement consultant to assist you directly in reaching your personal retirement goals. All at no cost to you! There won’t be pressure to sell you other services since the retirement consultant works directly for the IBEW Local 288 Retirement & 401(k) Plan.
National Electrical
Benefit Fund (NEBF)
NEBF is a Defined Benefit pension fund paid 100% by the employer on your behalf.
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A Defined Benefit Pension Plan is a retirement plan sponsored by an employer. In this plan, the employer promises to pay a specified pension payment upon working credits earned for the rest of the pensioner’s lifetime. Also included are survivor benefits for a surviving spouse upon death of the participant.
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NEBF is a three percent gross wage contribution paid 100% by the employers. The current benefit is $33.00 per year of service, paid per month for the rest of your life. If you work thirty years for a contributing employer at the current benefit level, that would be a benefit of $990 per month or $11,880 per year. Remember these figures are at the current benefit amount which very well may increase before your expected retirement date. Not a bad deal since this was fully employer funded.
What If I Change Employers or Work in Other Local Unions
Your contributions are always directed back to your personal accounts with the IBEW Local 288 Retirement & 401(k) Plan. If you work in a different Local Union your money is sent back to your account through a national reciprocity system.