The Hour Bank

How the Plan Works

Your Health and Dental plan is based on an hour bank system. Employers contribute for each hour of paid work under the collective agreement. These hours are accumulated in a members’ hour bank to provide coverage once the eligibility requirements have been met. Members can maintain coverage by self-payment if their hour bank drops below the required number of hours to provide monthly coverage. You are not eligible for benefits if you are a permittee, have honourably withdrawn, resigned, or been expelled from the union.

To Establish Coverage (new members or lapsed coverage)

Members are automatically in coverage once they have 280 paid hours reported by employers in twelve consecutive months. Coverage begins on the first day of the second month following a member reaching the required hours (to allow for processing).

Example: 280 hours were reported in Jan (160 hours) and Feb (120 hours) = 280 hours as of February so coverage begins in April.

Hour Bank

Once you have established coverage in the Health Plan, all the paid hours your employer reports for you accumulate in your hour bank. Each month, 140 hours are deducted for your coverage. You may check the status of your hour bank with J&D Benefits or by contacting the union office. A maximum of 1680 hours may be accrued (to provide coverage when you are not working).

Self-Payments (to maintain coverage when short hours)

$1.95 per hour payment (includes RST) is required for any shortage of hours for you to maintain full coverage. This rate will be reviewed by the Trust.

You may self-pay for up to 12 consecutive months. When 40 or more employer hours are remitted on your behalf, your self-pay count is reset to zero

Checking your hour bank status?

You can check the status of your hour bank by calling J&D Benefits directly. You can also view your hour bank status online through the J&D Benefits Member Login.

Visit www.jdbenefits.com to log in.  You’ll need the following information:

• Plan sponsor: iatse873

• Identification number: enter your Canada Life ID number. (this is on your prescription drug card and on your IATSE Local 873-member profile)

If you need to Self-pay?

If you receive a shortage notice (to let you know that your hour bank has fallen below the required 140 hours to keep you covered)

You have the following options to top up your hour bank with self-pay:

1. Mail a cheque to J&D Benefits.  Don’t send cash in the mail. Cheques should be payable to J&D Benefits Inc.
2.  Pay by credit card online or by calling J&D Benefits. To pay online, visit www.jdbenefits.com, and enter the required login credentials. See log in details above.  Click on the self-pay tab and follow the prompts to enter your credit card information.

Covering your Family

As a member of the plan, your family is also covered for health, dental, travel, and accident insurance. However, family members are not covered for short-term disability or life insurance (unless you have previously purchased optional life for your spouse during the plan re-enrollment) —otherwise, these benefits are for you alone.

The following family members qualify for coverage while you are a member of the plan:

Your spouse to whom you are legally married and currently living with, or
A partner who is publicly presented as your spouse, with whom you are currently living, and who has been living with you in a conjugal relationship for at least the past 12 months.
Your own or your spouse’s natural, adopted, stepchildren, and any legal wards you may be responsible for (Copy of court documents are required in some cases) who are unmarried and is:
under age 21 and dependent on you for support (including the natural child of an unmarried minor dependent who lives with you and for whom you or your spouse is legally appointed guardian), or
Any child under age 25 who are a registered student in full-time attendance at a university or similar institution of learning, or
A child age 21 years or older who is incapable of self-sustaining employment by reason of mental or physical disability, and who were covered under this Plan on the day immediately preceding their 21st birthday and continuously thereafter. To continue coverage for a disabled child, complete the Application for Overage Dependent form and have it approved by Life before the child turns 19.

Benefit coverage for surviving dependents

For the first two years after the death of a member, the surviving eligible spouse and children continue to receive benefit coverage free of charge. When this period ends, the surviving eligible spouse can continue coverage on a self-pay basis. For more information, contact J & D Benefits.

Post-secondary school, full-time students

Students aged 21 to 24 qualify for coverage if studying full-time at a university or other post-secondary institution. To ensure your dependent student is covered or continues to be covered, you will need to supply J&D Benefits Inc. with one of the following:

A letter from the school on official school letterhead, a copy of their school schedule, or student card, Declaration of Attendance at School or University.