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Do I have to register for Fair PharmaCare?
Yes – and your registration number provided to the plan administrator. You can register for Fair PharmaCare by phone at 1-800-663-7100 or online at www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharme/. There is no charge for registering and no premium to pay. PharmaCare provides financial assistance for prescription drugs based on net income, paying 70% of your familys eligible costs for the rest of the year once you reach your established deductible (e.g. all families with an income between $31,667 and $35,000 are assigned a family deductible of $1,000.)
If you do not register for Fair PharmaCare and file your registration number with the plan administrator, the reimbursement maximum, under the Boilermakers Lodge 359 Health & Welfare Plan, for eligible prescription drug claims is limited to $500.00 per family, per calendar year. Please note that if you do not register, Fair PharmaCare will automatically apply a $10,000 deductible to you. See the Fair PhamaCare website for more information: www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharme/
Can I drop my claims off in person and receive a reimbursement cheque?
The claim processing for your dental and extended health plans is provided by the Plan Administrator – Bilsland Griffith Benefit Administrators. While over the counter claims payment is not part of this service, cheque pick up can be arranged once a week on Tuesdays only. If you have your completed claim to the Administrator no later than noon on Monday, you can make arrangements to pick up your cheque for that claim on Tuesday afternoon. If you are not picking up a cheque, Bilsland Griffith will have your reimbursement cheque in the mail usually within 3 business days.
Please remit claims to:
Boilermakers Lodge 359 Health & Welfare Plan
c/o Bilsland Griffith Benefit Administrators
#1000 – 4445 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby BC V5C 0E4
Tel: 1-877-926-4537
Fax: 604-433-8894
How do I file a Weekly Indemnity claim?
Please contact Bilsland Griffith Benefit Administrators at:
Boilermakers Lodge 359 Health & Welfare Plan
c/o Bilsland Griffith Benefit Administrators
#1000 – 4445 Lougheed Hwy.
Burnaby, BC V5C 0E4
Phone: 1-877-926-453 7
Once your eligibility has been confirmed, BG will forward to you an application for Weekly Indemnity benefits. The completed application is to be sent directly to Manulife for a decision. Manulife is very experienced and will provide professional, thorough and consistent service to the Boilermaker members. Manulife also handles the Plan’s Long Term Disability claims – in the event that your weekly indemnity claims turns into a Long Term Disability Claim there is a very efficient and orderly transition.
Is it true that I have to apply for Employment Insurance (EI) sick benefits in order to receive weekly indemnity benefits from the Health and Welfare Plan?
Yes, you must exhaust your EI sick/illness benefits prior to receiving any weekly indemnity benefits from the Plan. As well, you must provide Manulife with a copy of either your EI decline letter or your EI termination of benefits letter.
What if my injury is work related or as a result of a motor vehicle accident?
If your reason for disability is partially or wholly related to a motor vehicle accident or may be work related, you must apply for either ICBC or WorkSafeBC benefits. This is a requirement even if you don’t believe your claim will be approved by ICBC or by WorkSafeBC. You may also file a weekly indemnity claim, but you will be asked to sign a “Reimbursement Agreement”, which means that if your claim is approved by either ICBC or WorkSafeBC, you will reimburse the Health and Welfare Plan for some or for all the benefits you received.
What is a Special Authority Request?
Special Authority Requests (“SARs”) are required when your health care provider is prescribing a medication that is not on the approved list of covered medications by PharmaCare or it is a medication for which PharmaCare would only provide partial or limited coverage. A listing of drugs and request forms can be found online at http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharmacare/sa/saindex.html. Your pharmacist can also tell you if the medication requires a SAR.
Why do I have to go through the Special Authority Request process?
You need to work with your health care provider to obtain Special Authority approval to ensure that the Boilermakers Lodge 359 Health & Welfare Plan (the “Plan”) does not unduly bare the financial responsibility for medications where the cost can be shared between PharmaCare.
What are the Steps for a Special Authority Request?
Your health care provider will complete the required form and submit it to PharmaCare on your behalf once you have requested him or her to do so. There is no charge to you for this service. It is not necessary to make an appointment to have the SAR completed. You can call your doctor’s office and make the request over the phone.
Please note that the Trustees recognize that obtaining a Special Authority Request can take some time. Accordingly, your initial prescription for a drug requiring an SAR will be reimbursed. This will then allow you time to work with your doctor to submit the SAR to PharmaCare. Subsequent prescriptions for the same drug will not be reimbursed if confirmation of the SAR approval or denial is not received by Bilsland Griffith Benefit Adminstrators prior to purchasing subsequent prescriptions.
Approved SARs are entered into the PharmaNet system which is accessible by BC pharmacies. Special Authorities are valid for various time periods, depending on the medication and its prescribed use. If necessary, Special Authority coverage may be renewed. To ensure continuous coverage, requests for renewal should be submitted at least two (2) weeks before the expiry date. Retroactive coverage is not provided.
If I need to self-pay and I don’t pay until the due date, am I covered still?
No, until your self-payment is received you are not covered. If you need to get treatment in the first 2 weeks of the self-pay month you have to make sure your self-payment is received by the Plan Administrator before-hand. For example, if you are going to the dentist on December 10th, and the self-payment notice for December coverage has a due date of December 12th, then the Administrator must receive your self-payment by December 9th to be able to tell your Dentist’s office you are covered if they need to know. If you wait until the self-payment due date to pay any claims received on your behalf will be held for payment until your self-payment has been received. If your self-payment is not received by the due date, then the claim will be returned as not eligible.
Please remember it is your responsibility to act on receiving a self-payment Notice and make the necessary payment, treating it responsibly like you treat your other bills.
Can I pay my Self-Payment by money order?
Yes, BUT you must make sure that your name is on the money order, and/or attach a copy of the Self-Pay Notice to the money order. Otherwise, the Administration Office will not know who the money order is from because the money order only prints who the payment is to and the amount.
Can I pay my Self-Payment with a credit card?
You can now use your PayPal account to pay the required amount as detailed in your self-payment notice. You must use the direct PayPal link on the Boilermakers359.org website under the benefits tab, self payment using PayPal. When you transfer the funds to the Boilermakers Lodge 359 Health and Welfare Plan using PayPal, you are acknowledging that you are submitting payment for the correct amount of your self-payment PLUS a 2.9% administration fee charged by PayPal.
Do I need to do anything special if I am having major dental work done?
Yes. Before you get any major dental work done (for example, crowns or bridges), your dentist should send the Plan Administrator a pre-authorization. This provides the details of the dental treatments the dentist plans to perform. The Plan Administrator will then send a Dental Pre- Authorization Statement to you and your dentist, in writing, which tells you what dental services and fees will be covered by the Plan. This is strongly recommended so that both you and your dentist know the amount covered by the Plan before the treatment is started. And, you will also know in advance of any out-of-pocket expenses you may have to pay.
Am I covered when I leave the country?
Yes, 180 days per trip. You should have a card indicating the policy number with a number to call in the event you have a claim. If you don’t have a card, you should contact the Plan Administrator.
Coverage maximum for eligible members under age 65: $1,000,000 per trip
Coverage maximum for eligible members aged 65-79: $100,000 per trip
There is no coverage for retirees over age 80.
The Trustees strongly encourage you to confirm coverage BEFORE you travel, and that you consider purchasing additional out of country medical insurance should individual circumstance require.
In the event of an out of country emergency, you must call Global Excel immediately:
Canada or USA Toll Free: 1-866-870-1898
Mexico Toll Free: 001-800-574-1518
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What type of pension plan is the Boilermakers Pension Plan?
The Boilermakers Pension Plan is a negotiated cost, collectively bargained, multi employer target benefit pension plan. It provides pensions at retirement according to a pre-determined benefit formula.
How do I become a Member of the Plan?
You become a Member of the Plan automatically once you have satisfied a waiting period which is having 350 Hours of Employment reported to the Trustees during one Plan Year. The effective date for becoming a Member, once the waiting period has been satisfied, is the first day that contributions were remitted on your behalf.
What is my Normal Retirement Date?
Your normal retirement date is the first day of the month immediately following your 62nd birthday.
What are the earliest dates I can retire and begin receiving my pension?
You are eligible to commence your Pension, which shall be subject to reduction, as early as the age of 52. The reduction is 1/2% percent per month (6% per year) before you reach the age of 62. Some members may qualify to start their pensions at age 50, please contact the Plan Administrator for further details.
What are the earliest dates I can retire and begin receiving my pension WITHOUT reduction?
You may retire with an unreduced pension as early as 55 as long as you meet the Plan’s early retirement eligibility requirements. Please contact the Plan Administrator to confirm your eligibility.
Who can I designate as my beneficiary?
If you have a spouse, any benefits which become payable on your death are paid to your spouse. The payment of benefits to your spouse is not affected by your failure to designate your spouse as beneficiary.
If you do not have a spouse, or your spouse signs the appropriate waiver in the required form, you may designate a different beneficiary. You may also designate your estate as the beneficiary.
If you have no spouse on your date of death and you have not designated a beneficiary, any benefit payable from the Plan will be paid to your estate.
What happens if I work as a Travel Card in the National Plans jurisdiction?
The Trustees have entered into reciprocal agreements with a number of other plans in Canada, including the National Plan, which provides for the transfer of contributions from that other plan to this Plan. Please note that these reciprocal agreements may not provide for the transfer of 100% of the contributions made to the other plan on your behalf.
Is the requirement for Termination Benefit eligibility that I have worked less than 350 hours in each of the two previous consecutive calendar years?
Yes, that is correct. In order to be eligible for a Termination Benefit, you must have had no more than 350 hours of employment reported to the Plan on your behalf over the previous two calendar years.
What is the Termination Benefit?
The Termination Benefit is either:
The commuted value of your Termination Benefit is a lump sum that equals the present value of the pension you have earned up to your termination date based on a set of assumptions set by the Trustees on the advice of the Plan’s actuary. If the Plan is not fully funded at the time the commuted value is paid, the commuted value will be reduced based on the Plan’s target benefit funded ratio
If I choose to transfer my commuted value out of the Plan, will I receive 100% of the amount?
Provided the target benefit funded ratio of the Plan is at least 100%, then you will receive 100% of the commuted value of your pension. If the target benefit funded ratio of the Plan is less than 100%, then you will receive your commuted value amount multiplied by the target benefit funded ratio. For example if, in accordance with the most recently filed actuarial valuation report, the target benefit funded ratio of the Plan is 92%, then you will receive 92% of the commuted value of your pension. You will not be entitled to receive any future payments from the Plan, even if the subsequent actuarial valuation shows improvement in the funded ratio.
If I take the commuted value of my pension, may I receive it in cash?
You are only eligible to receive the commuted value in cash if the commuted value is less than the amount set out in the BC Pension Benefits Standards Act. In 2016, this amount was $10,980.00.
If you are not eligible to receive your commuted value in cash, then it must be transferred, as required under pension legislation, to one of the locked-in investment vehicles listed below.
If I retire under the Boilermakers Pension Plan and then go back to work after I retire, how come the contributions my employer sends in don’t go to my pension account?
Under the Income Tax Act Regulations, Section 8503(3), a Member of a registered pension plan cannot receive at the same time both a pension and have further pension contributions credited to their account because they are working after taking the pension. There are some pension plans which allow pensioners to suspend receipt of their pensions while they return to work and then earn additional pension while they are working, but the Boilermakers Pension Plan does not allow this. If the Trustees determine that it may be something that the Plan can offer in future they will consider it.