Workers who exclusively work part-time for UPS aren’t eligible for its pension plan administered jointly by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters -- usually known as the UPS/IBT pension plan -- although they may receive a pension from the UPS pension plan. Workers who worked part-time before receiving a full-time job that qualifies them for participation in the UPS/IBT plan may receive partial credit for years worked as a part-time employee, although they give up participation in the UPS plan to do so.

Partial Service Benefit

For every year that an employee worked more than 20 hours but less than 40 per week, he receives a partial service credit in the UPS/IBT pension plan when calculating years of service for retirement eligibility requirements. Pension administrators examine a worker’s total time at UPS, not merely time on any single pension plan, when determining eligibility. A worker with eight years’ credit on the part-time plan and 22 years’ credit in a full-time plan receives pensions based on 30 years of service.

Partial Pensions

A qualifying pensioner who retires after a career with mixed full-time and part-time work receives two pensions upon retirement, one from the part-time fund and another from the UPS/IBT fund. Because these plans are independently administered, pension managers can’t combine payments into a single check. An employee receives pension amounts from each plan proportionate to the amount of time served full-time and part time. For example, the worker with eight years of part-time service and 22 years of full-time service qualifies for pensions based on a 30-year career. Each month he receives a check equivalent to 8/30ths of his full pension from the part-time fund, and 22/30ths of a full pension from the UPS/IBT fund.

Full-Time Pension Amount

A worker who qualifies for regular retirement after 25 years of full-time service receives a monthly pension of $2,500. For each additional year of full-time service, he receives an additional $100 monthly up to a maximum monthly pension of $3,500 after 35 years of full-time service. Social Security or other pensions don’t reduce the UPS/IBT monthly pension amount. A retiree with 22 years of full-time service in a 30-year career receives $2,200 monthly -- 22/30 * $30,000 -- from the pension trust managed by UPS and IBT.

Qualifying Years

An employee must work at least 1,801 hours in calendar year to qualify for a full year of service credit in the UPS/IBT pension program. If a worker serves less than 20 weeks of full-time service in a calendar year, she receives no credit toward pensions. Those with 20 to 39 weeks of service receive a partial credit, determined by dividing the total number of full-time weeks worked by 40. Workers employed at least 40 weeks of the year receive a full credit.