Newsletter

If you are a participant of the Defined Contribution Plan of the I.B.E.W. Local 697 AND have a current outstanding loan (meaning your loan has not been deemed) AND have yet to complete and return to the Fund Office, your authorization form that was provided within the Fund’s mailing to you of May 9th, 2024, do so now.

All shortage of hours payments for participants that did not amass sufficient enough hours of work within the first calendar quarter of 2024 (January, February, and March) necessary to maintain continuation of coverage for themselves and any eligible dependent in the third calendar quarter of 2024 (July, August, and September), are reminded that their shortage of hours payment is due, no later than 4:30 P.M. CST on Friday, June 28th, 2024.

All participants are also reminded that in addition to the shortage of hours’ notice that is mailed out to them, participants who find themselves in this situation are also issued an explanation of benefits showing the shortage of hours.

Did you know that:

Seventy percent (70%) of opioid abusers get pain pills from family or friends.
Seventy percent (70%) of teenagers can get prescription drugs from their parent’s medicine cabinets.
Seventy percent (70%) of after surgery pain pills are never used?
Wastewater treatment plants and septic systems are not designed to deal with pharmaceutical waste.

If the month of May were an album, I think it would be “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis. Yes, I know. Upon reading that your first reaction was, “I love that album.”

Of course you do! Which makes you cool A.F.

What? That was not your first reaction? Really? That’s kind of sad.

Hey, let’s start out this month with a question. Do you think it’s smart to rely on another person’s interpretation and understanding of a particular Benefit, or are you better served spending a little time reading up on it from the source?

I ask that because there seems to be an alarming and growing inclination to learn about Fund benefits through word of mouth.

That begins the transition of the IBEW Local No. 697 Defined Contribution Plan from Vanguard over to Empower.

What’s Not Changing

Rest assured, and as stated previously,

The staple of the Plan, meaning the investment line-up, remains the same.

Don’t use your HRA debit card improperly!

To you, the loyal readers of this newsletter, we’re grateful for your ongoing support and hope you not only enjoy this month’s edition but gain value from reading it.

More importantly, we thank you. Your generosity of insight, ideas and time continues to be critical in not only setting the future direction of the various Benefit Plans but also to protecting and preserving them.

Signs of spring are all around us. But no finer a sign of Springs arrival exists than that of UCONN making it to the NCAA final four – AGAIN! GO HUSKIES!

In this edition, we:

Share the findings of a new study we thought fascinating about gut microbiomes.

A new study in the 2024 Cell Host & Microbe Journal shows that the human gut microbiome has an interesting role in maintaining homeostasis. (By the way, homeostasis is just a fancy medical term for being in a state of being healthy and balanced.) Anyway, the microbiome is where some of the body’s good bacteria live.