The Plan provides a disability benefit for participants who become totally and permanently disabled before their normal retirement date while they are in covered employment. To qualify, you must:

• Be at least 50 years old,
• Have competed at least 15 years of credited service,
• Be continuously receiving Social Security disability benefits, and
• Apply for the disability benefit within 30 months of the date you become totally and permanently disabled as defined by the Social Security Administration.

Your disability benefit is determined in the same way as your normal pension benefit, based on your earnings and years of credited service at the time you become disabled.

If you qualify for this benefit, it begins on the first day of the month after the date when you meet the criteria listed above and have resigned or terminated from covered employment. The benefit continues as long as you remain totally and permanently disabled. When you reach your normal retirement date, the disability benefit stops, and you begin receiving a normal pension benefit.

If you were receiving a disability pension and are no longer considered totally and permanently disabled, or if you refuse to provide proof of your disability, your disability benefit will cease.