The Collective Bargaining Agreement between your Employer and the Union requires that contributions are made to the Trust for each month that you work (or each two months if your Employer contributes bi-monthly).  These contributions must be made by the 20th of the month following the month in which you perform the work (or following the two-month period in which you perform the work, if your Employer contributes bi-monthly).

All contributions are directly credited to your Individual Reserve Account.

To determine your eligibility effective date or determine the dollars accumulated in your reserve account, please contact the Trust Office.

To become eligible and to maintain coverage, you must accumulate a sufficient balance (in dollars) in your reserve account in any qualifying month to meet the required charge for coverage in the corresponding coverage month, as shown below.

Eligibility if employer makes monthly contributions:

Month of Work...	Provides Coverage For The Corresponding Month Of...
May	July
June	August
July	September
August	October
September	November
October	December
November	January
December	February
January	March
February	April
March	May
April	June

Eligibility if employer makes bi-monthly contributions:

If your Individual Reserve Account is not sufficient to pay your monthly plan cost you can make a Self-Payment to continue eligibility. Funds from your Supplemental Plan will be used to provide extended eligibility after your Individual Reserve Account is exhausted, unless you instruct the Trust Office otherwise.

There are two types of Self-Payments:

1. A FULL Self-Payment is the entire Plan cost required for the Plan you have selected. This payment is a COBRA payment. The COBRA rules are outlined in the PPO Plan benefit book.
   
   
2. A PARTIAL Self-Payment is equal to the difference between the amount in your Individual Reserve Account and the required cost of the Plan for one month.

The basic rules that apply to both types of Self-Payments are:

1. There must be no lapse in coverage.
   
2. If your Individual Reserve Account is not sufficient to pay one month’s cost of the Plan, your Supplemental Account is exhausted, and you do not make a Self-Payment to continue coverage, you will NOT be eligible to make future Self-Payments until your Individual Reserve Account has sufficient Employer contributions in it to pay for one month’s cost of the Plan. You may not regain eligibility by Self-Payment after a lapse in coverage.
   
3. You must make the required Partial Self-Payment by the 10th day of the month for which you are Self-Paying the Plan cost.

Maximum number of partial Self-Payments
There is no limit on the number of Partial Self-Payments you can make.

Benefits available when Self-Paying
When making COBRA Full Self-Payment, no time loss or life insurance benefits are payable and you are ineligible for disability waivers. These months would not count for purposes of computing disability waivers.

As long as you maintain a reserve and comply with the rules listed above, your benefits will be continued. 

If you fail to meet the requirements, but then return to work and accumulate the required amount, your benefits will be automatically reinstated as of the first day of the coverage month corresponding to the qualifying month as previously described.

If you (the employee) are disabled and cannot work, your Individual Reserve Account may be frozen and your coverage may be continued if you meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. You must be wholly and continuously disabled, so as to be prevented from performing the functions pertaining to your employment, and must be under the care of a legally qualified physician.
   
   
2. Your disability must continue for at least 30 days.
   
   
3. You must be covered by the regular eligibility rules of the Plan at the time that the disability commenced.
   
   
4. Coverage must be continuous, from the date of disability, even if a partial or full Self-Payment is required.
   
   
5. You must apply for this benefit by completing the necessary Disability Waiver form.

You will be granted a waiver of self-payment effective as of the first of the month following the 30 days of disability. After all Disability Waivers have been exhausted, any reserves left in your Individual Reserve Account and/or Supplemental Account will be used to provide eligibility. After these funds have been exhausted, you may be eligible for additional coverage under COBRA.

Maximum Length of Disability Waivers
When you (the employee) enter the Plan, and gain your first month of eligibility, you shall earn 6 months of Disability Waivers. Each January 1st thereafter, if you have 9 months of eligibility out of the previous 12 months, you shall earn one additional month of disability. An employee can be granted a maximum of 12 months of disability waivers during his or her lifetime.