"To set each year's benefit accrual rate, staff and actuaries of the Sheet Metal Workers plan will use the average investment return of the preceding three years, once the actuarial valuation is made. If the three-year return average is 8.5% or better, most accruals don't change. Returns between 6.5% and 8.4% would trigger an accrual rate of 0.75% of contributions, anything below that would be 0.5%, and three years of zero or negative returns would mean no accruals. For 2014, based on preliminary investment returns, fund officials are predicting a return of 8.22%, which would mean an accrual rate of 0.75%."  MORE >>