Friday, January 23, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Health Care

Q. How do I attain eligibility under the Health Care Plan?
A.Initial Eligibility is 128 hours in one month to receive insurance coverage. A member is eligible the 1st day of the second month after the 128 hours are earned. For example if you worked 128 hours in January you would qualify for Insurance coverage March 1st. PLEASE NOTE - the last Sunday of the month is used for the cut off for reporting purposes.
Q. What if I don’t work enough hours to gain eligibility for the month?
A.To be eligible for insurance coverage under the I.B.E.W. Local 86 Health & Welfare plan you must work 128 hours in one month to qualify. If you work at least 118 hours in one month you can self contribute up to 10 hours to bring your total hours to the 128 requirement. You will be sent a letter if your hours worked meet this criteria. If you are interested in self contributing to make up the hours short you would then contact the Fund Office to find out the required payment. The amount due will be calculated by hours short times the hourly contribution rate of $10.53.
Q. How do I maintain my monthly Health Care coverage?
A. To maintain coverage you must be credited with 117 hours of work for the second prior month or has not been credited with the following number of hours of work:
350 hours of work for the consecutive 3-month period that ended with the second prior month
700 hours of work for the consecutive 6-month period that ended with the second prior month
1050 hours of work for the consecutive 9-month period that ended with the second prior month
1400 hours of work for the consecutive 12-month period that ended with the second prior month
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Pension

Q. How do I become a Participant in the Plan?
A.An employee of a Contributing Employer will become a Participant when he begins employment under the collective bargaining agreement between the Construction Unit of the Union and the Association, or under any other agreement that requires his Employer to make contributions for his benefit under the Plan.
Q. When will I be vested in the Pension Plan?
A. If a Participant’s employment with all Contributing Employers terminates before he reaches his Early or Normal Retirement Date of death, but after he has completed five or more Years of Service, he will be vested and entitled to receive a monthly benefit payable for life based on his service up through the date of his termination of employment. With respect to Plan Years beginning after March 31, 1976, the term Year of Service, is any Plan Year during which an employee completes 1,000 or more Hours of Service. If a Participant fails to complete the number of Hours of Service required for him to be credited with a full Year of Service in any Plan Year, he will receive proportionate credit for each one-tenth of a Year of Service completed during that Plan Year.
Q. When can I take money out of the Pension Plan?
A. A participant may be eligible for benefits as early as 55 years of age; however, certain criteria must be met. Normal Retirement benefits are paid at the age of 65. Please contact the Fund Office for more information regarding Early or Normal retirement.
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Annuity

Q. How do I become a Participant in the Plan?
A.An employee of a Contributing Employer will become a Participant when he begins employment under the collective bargaining agreement between the Construction Unit of the Union and the Association, or under any other agreement that requires his Employer to make contributions for his benefit under the Plan.
Q. What is a Plan Year?
A. The Annuity Plan year runs from April 1 of any year to March 31 of the following year. Please be aware that the last Sunday of the month ends that month, for example, March 30, 2014 is the last Sunday for March and therefore ends the month. March 31, 2014 is considered as April 2014 hours.
Q. Do I need to do anything to enroll in the Plan?
A. Once your first month’s contributions are received, the Annuity Plan will send your contributions to Mercer, the Plan’s service provider. Mercer will then send you a welcome package with information on how to access your account so that you can change your investments at your discretion. You will automatically be enrolled in the Age-Based Fund based on your estimated retirement date.
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MRA

Q. What is EB’s Prepaid Benefits Card?
A.EB’s Prepaid Benefits Card is a special-purpose MasterCard® Card that gives participants an easy, automatic way to pay for qualified health care/benefit expenses. The Card lets participants electronically access the pre-tax amounts set aside in their respective employee benefits accounts such as your Supplemental Medical Plan (MRA).
Q. How does the Prepaid Benefits Card work?
A. It works like a MasterCard® Card, with the value of the participant’s account(s) contribution stored on it. When participants have qualified eligible expenses at a business that accepts MasterCard debit cards, they simply use their Card. The amount of the qualified purchases will be deducted – automatically – from their account and the pre-tax dollars will be electronically transferred to the provider/merchant for immediate payment.
Q. How does the Prepaid Benefits Card change how the participant is reimbursed for expenses?
A. With the Prepaid Benefits Card, participants simply swipe their Card and the funds are automatically deducted from their respective employee benefit account(s) for payment. The Card eliminates most out-of-pocket cash outlays and paperwork, as well as the need to wait for reimbursement checks.
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