And take full advantage of the resources already built for you. You’ve earned them—now make them work just as hard as you do.

Now, here’s the thing: staying informed isn’t just a duty—it’s a power move. Think of the newsletters, the FAQs on our site, and those membership and educational meetings not as chores, but as your insider’s guide to making the most of your benefits.

A modest yet noteworthy group of you (196 souls, give or take) didn’t quite accumulate enough hours to keep your health coverage afloat for the fourth quarter of 2025.

And yes, before you sigh and mutter, “Wait—this again?”—the answer is, regrettably, yes.

Are you absolutely certain you won’t face a shortage-of-hours situation for medical coverage in the fourth quarter of 2025?

If the answer is anything less than a confident yes, now would be an excellent time to do something radical—like checking your pay stubs from the second calendar quarter.

Yeah… the Plan’s not covering that.

Not sure what actually counts as an emergency?

Here’s a wild idea: Read the SPD now - before you need it. (Think of it as Googling “parachute” before you’ve jumped.)

Or ask your parents - ideally before you’re panicking, confused, or standing in line at the ER.

Not for nothing—you’ve got options.

We can’t tell you exactly when Mo will grace our offices again. Frankly, we’re not even sure he’ll be around in July at all. And yet, in a curious way, that uncertainty is rather the point, isn’t it?

The window to meet him was open—wide open—for the better part of ten months.

Marriage, birth, divorce, coverage changes—it’s big stuff.

And odds are, it affects your standing with the Benefit Funds.

Will it? Maybe. Maybe not.

But here’s the catch: we won’t know unless you tell us and submit the appropriate documentation.

Tuesday, September 30 @ 4:30 PM
Wednesday, December 31 @ 12:00 PM

Yes, we checked. No, they haven’t changed.

Not sure what they mean?

That’s your cue to crack open the H&B SPD—or check the FAQs, newsletters, and notices you’ve already seen.

Even a little more now can turn into a lot later.

So why look below?
Because not everything simple is obvious—
and this might be the smartest 30 seconds you spend all week.

Looking for money to start a Roth?
Trying to pay off debt?
Here are a few places it might be hiding.

So yes, we’re saying it again. Not because we have to—frankly, we shouldn’t—but because when we don’t, some of you take that silence as a kind of hall pass. Spoiler: it’s not.

There is no hall pass. There’s just us, being irrationally generous with reminders you should already know.

(Or, how your Defined Benefit retirement plan became the envy of the financial world.)

Yes, it’s true.

I.B.E.W. Local 697’s Defined Contribution Plan didn’t just get nominated…It made the finals for Plan Sponsor of the Year.