The IBEW is growing, sisters and brothers, and more members means more power. Those increasing numbers allow us to negotiate harder for not only workplace protections, industry-leading wages and respect on the job, but also for access to quality health care and secure retirements.

Two years ago, we won the first raise to the National Electrical Benefit Fund pension in two decades. And we established the National Electrical Individual Benefit, the first new IBEW pension in nearly 80 years.

The NEIB stands among the IBEW’s most significant benefit changes in decades, providing more members an opportunity to make an even larger investment in their retirement.

Created by the NEBF’s trustees in partnership with NECA, the NEIB is an employer-funded defined-benefit pension that can be negotiated as a bargaining agreement add-on to the NEBF. While the NEBF and NEIB follow the same vesting schedule, one thing that makes the NEIB special is that its credit calculations are based exclusively on hours worked — versus the NEBF, where everybody receives the same credit based on years of service.

The NEIB is also different because it’s funded by employer contributions of at least 50 cents per hour worked and provides participants with an additional monthly benefit equal to 1.5% of NEIB contributions made on their behalf.

But participation in the NEIB must be negotiated with the employer; it is not automatic. Often, this will be the local NECA chapter for our construction members, but any IBEW employer from broadcasting to utility is eligible to negotiate the benefit and participate.

Payments from the NEIB last throughout a member’s retirement years, and they can be extended to a spouse via enrollment in the Joint and Survivor Annuity Benefit.

The NEIB is in good hands under the stewardship of Executive Director Darrin Golden, an IBEW brother from Rockford, Ill., Local 364, who also manages the NEBF, the National Electrical Annuity Plan, the Family Medical Care Plan and the National Electric 401(k) Plan.

Darrin often uses the analogy of a three-legged retirement stool that’s supported by a local’s pension, an NEBF pension and Social Security. The NEIB can be bolted to the stool’s NEBF leg to offer additional retirement stability.

Your union’s leaders never stop looking for ways to improve members’ lives and benefits. We’re proud of the NEIB, and we want more of our members to take advantage of it. So, I encourage locals to get talking about it now with their NECA chapters or employers. If you need help, get in touch with my office or Darrin and his team at nebf.com.