Effective March 1, 2008, the Trustees amend the Summary Plan Description of November 1, 2006 to revise the Retiree Eligibility Rules that became effective September 1, 2003..
The amendment effective September 1, 2003, was intended to ensure that participants whose GCC/IBT 6-505M employers withdrew from the Welfare Plan would not lose their eligibility for retiree coverage even if COBRA or no replacement welfare plan was available to the employee for a limited period of time. The September 1, 2003 amendment was not intended to allow a participant to continue on COBRA after becoming eligible for retiree coverage and when COBRA ended switching to retiree coverage. Effective March 1, 2008, this amendment revises the retiree eligibility rules to reflect the intent of the Trustees.
AMENDMENT
Section 1.1.10.A of the November 1, 2006, Welfare Plan Summary Plan Description will be amended by the addition of paragraph 1.1.10.A.3 as set out in bold below:
Section 1.1.10 Continuation Coverage for Retirees
A. Definition of “Retired Participant”
A “Retired Participant” is an individual who satisfies the requirements of both (1) and (2) below.
1. The individual satisfies one of the following three tests, 1(a) through 1(c):
a. Is both (i) an Employee who is over age 55 (or is over age 50 and is entitled to Social Security Disability Benefits or long-term disability benefits under the GCC/IBT Supplemental Retirement and Disability Fund) at the time of termination of active coverage under the Welfare Plan or under a group medical plan provided for in a collective bargaining agreement with GCC/IBT Local 6-505M, and (ii) is receiving or is eligible to receive early or normal retirement benefits under a retirement plan provided for in a collective bargaining agreement with GCC/IBT Local 6-505M.
b. Is the surviving spouse or surviving eligible Dependent child of an Employee who satisfied 1(a) above at the time of death.
c. Is the surviving spouse or surviving eligible Dependent child of an active Employee who at the time of death was an active Participant under the Welfare Plan or under a group medical plan provided for in a collective bargaining agreement with GCC/IBT Local 6-505M. In addition, either the Employee or the spouse was over age 55 at the time of the Employee’s death.
2. In the case of an individual who is an Employee, a surviving spouse, or a surviving eligible Dependent child, the Employee satisfied one of the following two tests, 2(a) or 2(b):
a. The Employee had 60 total, non-continuous months of coverage under the Welfare Plan and at least 12 months of continuous coverage under the Welfare Plan immediately prior to retirement. The 12-month requirement must be satisfied by participation as an active Participant. COBRA coverage may not be used to satisfy this test; or
b. The Employee satisfied each of the following three conditions:
i. The Employee had been covered under the Welfare Plan (including the Welfare Plan’s three predecessor group medical Plans) for at least 120 total, non-consecutive months of coverage; and
ii. The Employee had been covered under the Welfare Plan (including the Welfare Plan’s three predecessor group medical Plans) and/or under a group medical plan provided for in a collective bargaining agreement with GCC/IBT Local 6-505M as an active Participant for 12 of the 36 months immediately preceding retirement; and
iii. The Employee had been covered under the Welfare Plan or under a group medical plan provided for in a collective bargaining agreement with GCC/IBT Local 6-505M either as an active Participant or as a COBRA participant at the time of his cessation of employment in the graphic arts industry. In the case of an employee on COBRA or eligible to elect COBRA, if such an employee cannot maintain COBRA continuation coverage because his employer has ceased to maintain any group medical plan, then such employee may satisfy this condition (iii) by enrolling for retiree medical within the period that he would have been eligible for COBRA continuation coverage not to exceed six months after COBRA continuation coverage ceased due to the employer’s termination of all group medical plans.
