Eligibility
ELIGIBILITY PROVISIONS
Initial eligibility shall be achieved when a total of at least $1500 of employer contributions have been reported and paid during two or less twelve (12) consecutive month qualifying periods.
Qualification and Eligibility Periods are as follows:
Worked performed October 1 through Septemeber 30 determines eligibility for benefits for January 1 through December 31 of the following year.
The minimum amount of Employer contributions necessary for a musician to qualify in the twelve (12)-month period (October 1st through September 30th) will be $1500. If there are insufficient Employer contributions in the current qualifying period, there will be a look-back period of twelve (12) months. If there are any unused contributions in the twelve (12) month look-back period (the previous October 1st through September 30th) a maximum of $600 will be carried forward to the current period to achieve eligibility. Unused Employer contributions are the excess of the amount needed to qualify up to a maximum of $600, or up to $600 if you did not qualify. In no circumstance will contributions be carried forward more than one period.
ELIGIBILITY: Combining Credits of Husband and Wife
Husband and wife musicians, who fail to achieve eligibility and who perform under one or more Agreements calling for contributions to the Fund, may elect to have their contributions combined within the Qualifying Period for the purpose of achieving eligibility; whoever has the higher contributions will be the eligible member. It is the responsibility of the musicians to notify the Administrative office in writing of their desire to combine contributions.
FAILING TO TIMELY REPORT ENGAGEMENTS COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF ELIGIBILITY
It is each Employee's responsibility to notify the Fund of engagements performed. Contributions not received at the close of the qualifying period are not "timely", may not be applied to the prior qualifying period and therefore, affect your eligibility in the Plan. To ensure timely collection and allocation of all contributions and to avoid disruption in or loss of coverage, the Employee must comply with the following procedure:
1) Immediately report engagements to Local 47 or the Fund by completing a Member Self Reporting Form (Member Self-Reporting forms are available at the Local 47 office or the Trust Fund office) and
2) Request, from the Trust Administrator's Office, at the close of the period (October 31) a list of employer contributions for that period; and
3) Review the list of employer contributions for accuracy; and
4) Notify the Fund on or before November 20th with additional information concerning unreported contributions. This information should, at a minimum, include the (i) dates of the employment for which the employee claims the Fund should have received contributions; (ii) the name of the employer(s), and; (iii) the amounts which the employee claims the Fund should have received on his/her behalf.
5) Provide the Fund with any additional information to aid in collection.
If you fail to follow the above procedure your eligibility for coverage may be lost or otherwise adversely affected. This could occur since contributions collected after the start of the enrollment period will usually be applied to the next qualifying period.
Example 1. An engagement was performed on July 1, 2011, the employee DID NOT file the Engagement Reporting Form; the contributions were received at the Fund Administrator's Office on March 2, 2012, months past the due date.
Result: The contribution will be applied as of the date it was received, March 2, 2012 to determine the employee's eligibility for the next period (January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013).
Example 2. An engagement was performed on July 1, 2011, the employee DID file the Engagement Reporting Form and provided any additional information requested by the Fund; the contributions were received at the Fund Administrator's Office on January 2, 2012, months past the due date. If counted the contributions places the member at or over the level for the relevant eligibility period.
Result: The contribution will be applied, as of the date it was earned (July 1, 2011), the employee will be eligible January 2012.