About Us

The Building Trades United Pension Trust Fund (BTUPTF) is a multi-employer pension fund established in 1959.  For over 50 years, BTUPTF has provided valuable retirement protection for Participants and their families.

The Building Trades United Pension Trust Fund is a multi-employer Taft-Hartley fund established under the Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act of 1947.  This congressional act established that benefit funds such as this one must be administered by a board of trustees composed of equal numbers of union and management trustees.  As Trustees of this Fund, management and labor representatives take on the role and heavy obligations of fiduciaries. In 1974, Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which, at a federal level, establishes fiduciary rules and standards applicable to employee benefit plans.  Taft-Hartley plans are encompassed by ERISA and trustees are subject to ERISA.

The Pension Fund is financed entirely by employer contributions negotiated through the collective bargaining process.  Employee contributions are not allowed.  

The amount of your pension benefit is based on the number of years and the number of hours you work for an employer that contributes to the Plan on your behalf.  Generally, the longer you work for contributing employers, the greater your pension.

The Trustees hire professional investment managers to manage the money invested in the Pension Fund.  They aim for a good rate of return with a minimum amount of risk.  The investments of the Pension Fund are constantly monitored, and adjustments are made as needed.  

Your pension is protected from creditors, and from your own temptation to borrow from your retirement money before reaching retirement age.  No loans or hardship withdrawals are permitted.  This ensures you will have an income when you are too old to work.

Current Plan Highlights:

• BTUPTF has assets in excess of $3 billion.
• BTUPTF pays monthly benefits of more than $19.5 million to approximately 11,800 retirees and survivors.
• BTUPTF has over 750 contributing employers.
• BTUPTF has over 27,400 participants (including active, inactive-vested, and retirees).

Participating Unions:

• Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen Union Local No. 8
• Bridge, Structural & Ornamental, & Reinforcing Iron Workers Union Local No. 8
• North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters
• Heat & Frost Insulators Union Local No. 19
• Laborers’ International Union of North America Local No. 113
• Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons International Union Local No. 599
• Painters & Allied Trades, District Council No. 7
• Plumbers Union Local No. 75
• Roofers Union Local No. 65
• Steamfitters Union Local No. 601
• Tile and Terrazzo Layers Protective Union Local No. 5