U.A. Local No. 393 Defined Benefit Pension Plan

U.A. Local No. 393 Defined Benefit Pension Plan

The plan was established to provide retirement security for members of U.A. Local No. 393, the San Jose-based labor union representing plumbers and steamfitters. It operates as a legacy ‘Part A’ defined benefit structure, receiving contributions from signatory contractors represented by the Northern California Mechanical Contractors Association. Administered by third-party firm BeneSys, the plan stands alongside a companion defined contribution ‘Part B’ vehicle and a Health & Welfare trust, forming a tripartite benefits framework for the union’s participants. The fund’s disclosed asset base is split between public markets and an institutional annuity. Holdings include a common stock portfolio, a corporate debt portfolio, and cash equivalents, all domiciled in the United States. A New York Life group annuity contract sits at the core of the liability-driven strategy — rather than managing a bond ladder to match benefit obligations, trustees transfer payment responsibility for a portion of liabilities to a highly rated insurer. The geographic focus mirrors the union’s jurisdiction, centered on the South Bay and broader Northern California region. Governance rests with a joint board of labor and employer trustees. Eric Mussynski serves as chairman and labor trustee; Alex Hall, Executive Vice President of the Northern California Mechanical Contractors Association, serves as employer trustee and co-chairman. Bill Guthrie rounds out the known labor trustee roster. The fund’s organizing sponsor, U.A. Local No. 393 itself, operates from 6299 San Ignacio Avenue in San Jose, where union officials including Business Manager Mussynski and a team of business representatives manage day-to-day member affairs alongside the trust functions. The plan’s architecture is distinguished by its reliance on an insurer-issued annuity contract rather than a pure mark-to-market asset portfolio. For a collectively bargained multiemployer fund — a category that has faced well-documented solvency pressures across the United States — the delegation of longevity risk to New York Life creates a buffer between market cycles and the monthly checks owed to retired pipefitters. It also means the fund’s investment function is less about beating benchmarks and more about ensuring the insurer remains capable of performing on its guarantee.