Before we jump into this month’s newsletter, we need to ask you a very important question:

Did you have fun?

Yes. We’re serious. During the past 744 hours that comprised the first 8.5% of this calendar year, did you have any fun?

By chance, did you allocate any of those 44,640 minutes to areas in which you want to grow as an individual, to learn new things or to try to earnestly get healthier?

Better yet, did you spend any of those 2,678,400 seconds challenging yourself to better understand the position, opinions, and thoughts of those that may have a different perspective than you?

“Isn’t it Time?”

Time is a funny thing.

As it relates to the Benefit Funds, several things.

Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) were issued to the participants of the Defined Contribution Plan and the Lake County Indiana, NECA – IBEW Health and Benefit Plan. Please make sure that you read them carefully and to keep them along with your Summary Plan Description books and other important documents.

All participants need to notify the Fund Office if they get:

Married,
Divorced,
Have a child,
Adopt a child or take in a foster child,
If they or another family member have other insurance, or,
If there has been a death in the family.

The Board of Trustees believe that this Plan is a “grandfathered health plan” under the Affordable Care Act, which permits us to preserve certain basic health coverage already in effect before the law was passed. As with all grandfathered health plans, our Plan does not have to include certain consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act that apply to other plans (for example, providing preventive health services without any cost sharing). However, grandfathered health plans, like our Plan, must comply with other consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act (for example, the extension of coverage for dependent children to age 26). Contact the Fund Office if you have questions about what it means.