February 12, 2002

TO ALL "A" MEMBERS OF THE IBEW:

As you are probably aware, during the week of September 10 through 14, 2001, the delegates to the 36^th Convention of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ("IBEW") met in San Francisco, California, and amended the Constitution of the IBEW (this letter focuses on the amendments made to Article XI of the Constitution). The amendments that were passed at the Convention provide participants and beneficiaries of the IBEW Pension Benefit Fund ("PBF" or "Plan") with a variety of increased benefits. In addition to the amendments made at the Convention, Claims and Appeals Procedure regulations, drafted by the Department of Labor, also affect some procedures of the PBF. These new regulations became effective January 1, 2002. The purpose of this letter is to highlight the Plan amendments that resulted from the Convention, inform members of the revised Claims and Appeals procedures, and provide an introduction to the changes members will find in the Summary Plan Description. The amendments to the Plan are as follows:

"A" members who are placed on the pension roll after December 31, 2001, and who were "A" members before 1992, will receive a benefit increase from $2.00 to $3.50 per month for each full year of such membership, for all years before 1992. This increase will benefit all eligible participants, whether they receive a "Normal Pension," an "Optional Early Retirement Pension," a "Disability Pension," or a "Vested Pension."

For married participants, a Plan amendment provides a modification to the Optional Spousal Benefit ("OSB"). (The OSB provides that if elected, the participant will receive a reduced pension as long as he lives, with a provision that after his death, one-half of such reduced pension shall continue to be paid to the spouse thereafter as long as such spouse survives him). In the past, the election became void only if the member’s spouse died during the six-month period following the date the member was placed on pension. Effective January 1, 2002, the OSB provides that after the member is placed on pension, if the member and the member’s spouse are subsequently divorced or if the member’s spouse dies before the member, the member’s benefit will "pop-up" to the amount the member would have received had he never elected the OSB, on the last day of the next month following the date of divorce or the death of the spouse.

Another benefit increase that participants received was in the area of death benefits. If a non-retired "A" member dies or died from natural causes after September 9, 2001, the member’s beneficiary will receive $6,250.00, or $12,500.00 if the member dies or died from accidental means. The death benefit for retired participants will be reduced by the amount of pension benefits received from the PBF, with the reduced death benefit to be no lower than $3,000.00.

Finally, members and beneficiaries should take a few moments to review the new Claims and Appeals procedures that are found in the Summary Plan Description. The amended procedures now distinguish disability claim procedures from all other types of benefit claims procedures. You will find that the time within which you are to file and/or appeal a claim, as well as the time allotted for the PBF to respond to your claim may have been revised.

Every PBF participant will be receiving in the mail a complete package of information about the changes in the fund, including a full Summary Plan Description. You can also view this information by visiting the IBEW’s web site (www.ibew.org). As always, the International Office is available to assist with further questions regarding your specific benefits. Please address any inquiries to the Pension and Death Claims Department, IBEW, 1125 15^th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005, or e-mail the department at Pension@ibew.org.

Fraternally,
Jeremiah J. O’Connor

International Secretary-Treasurer
and Trustee