FAQs

When you complete your probationary period, you’ll be eligible for health coverage under the Plan. To enroll for health coverage, complete an enrollment form, and list the dependents you wish to cover under the Health Plan. You also must designate a beneficiary for your life insurance benefit. In addition:

• If you have a stepchild(ren), complete the stepchild affidavit.
• If you are unmarried, complete the Pension Plan beneficiary form to name a beneficiary for the pre-retirement death benefit for an active member. (If you are married, your spouse is automatically your beneficiary.)
• See Annuity and 401(k) questions below, for how to enroll in the 401(k) plan.

You will receive medical and prescription drug ID cards, and Health, Pension, and Annuity and 401(k) Summary Plan Description booklets, automatically. These will be mailed to you within about two weeks of when the Benefits Office establishes your initial eligibility.

Submit a completed enrollment form to the Benefits Office to make changes to your existing dependents or beneficiaries under the Health Plan. If you have a stepchild(ren), complete the stepchild affidavit.

If you are laid off, tell your local business representative about the layoff and the date it happened. Ask him or her to notify the Benefits Office immediately.

If you become disabled, complete a Weekly Income form for an off-the-job injury or a Workers' Compensation form for an on-the-job injury, and return it to the Benefits Office.

If the Benefits Office is not notified in a timely manner of your layoff or disability, your health coverage will end.

Complete a HIPAA authorization form if you would like your spouse or others to have access to your personal health information (PHI). If your spouse and/or any dependent child age 18 or older would like others to have access to their PHI, they must each complete a HIPAA authorization form.

If you wish to cancel a previous HIPAA authorization, complete this HIPAA cancellation form.

If you are unmarried, complete the Pension Plan beneficiary form to name a beneficiary for the pre-retirement death benefit for an active member. If you are married, there is no form for you to fill out—your spouse is automatically your beneficiary.

Contact the Benefits Office Pension Unit (800-523-4702) about six months before the date you want to retire, and request a retirement application.

You will need to submit copies of the following, along with your application, as applicable:

• Your birth certificate
• Your spouse’s birth certificate
• Your marriage certificate
• Your divorce decree
• Your qualified domestic relations order (QDRO)

If you’re permanently disabled and want to apply for Social Security disability benefits, contact Allsup, Inc., for assistance: 800-383-2495. Allsup’s services are available at no cost to you and your family as long as you are eligible for health benefits under the Plan.

Generally, when you start receiving a benefit under the Pension Plan, you have retired from the trade. If you go back to work in the trade after your pension benefit starts, the way in which your pension benefit will be affected will depend on your age, as described below. Also, your retiree health coverage cost will increase dramatically if you are age 65 or older.

• If you are a retiree under age 65. If you work any number of hours in Disqualifying Employment, your pension benefit will be suspended. Disqualifying Employment includes supervisory work and self-employment, or elevator industry consulting. In addition, you may lose entitlement to Retiree health benefits coverage.
• If you are a retiree age 65 or over. You may work up to 39 hours per month in Disqualifying Employment without your pension benefit being suspended. This includes supervisory work and self-employment or elevator industry consulting.
• If you are a retiree age 70½ or older. Beginning April 1 of the year following the year you become age 70½, your pension benefit can’t be suspended, even if you work in Disqualifying Employment.

Important: Working any number of hours in Disqualifying Employment after retirement—if you are age 65 or older—will greatly increase the cost to you of your retiree health coverage.

To start contributing to the 401(k) plan, visit MassMutual’s website for an enrollment kit and all forms. The kit contains general information, enrollment/deferral change form, investment election form, beneficiary form, and instructions on where to send them. Or call MassMutual at 800-74-FLASH (800-743-5274), identify the plan (# 60041), and request an enrollment kit. See the Annuity and 401(k) Plan page for plan details.

Generally, you can contribute up to $19,500 in 2020. If you are age 50 or older in 2020, you can contribute an additional $6,500 in catch-up contributions to the plan (for a total of $26,000). Contribution amounts may change each year, based on changes in IRS limits.

What is the Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan?

The Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan is a retirement plan that has two parts: an employer-contributory annuity plan and a member-contributory 401(k) plan. The Plan is available to members outside of Local One of the International Union of Elevator Constructors that participate in the NEI Benefit Plans. Member participation in the 401(k) plan is voluntary.

As an employer, what does it cost me if my members participate in the 401(k) plan?

There is no cost to you if your members participate in the 401k) plan. All contributions are deducted on a pretax basis from your participating employees’ pay. All plan expenses are paid by the plan; there are no plan expenses charged to you.

What are the recordkeeping requirements of the Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan?

As with any payroll or personnel matter, the Plan requires that the employer perform certain recordkeeping functions, including:

• Tracking your employees’ voluntary contribution rates and calculating the correct deduction for each payroll
• Reporting the contribution information to the NEI Benefits Office and making the required contribution remittance each month

Specifically, what information do I have to report to the NEI Benefits Office?

Each week you must report the deferral amounts (employee contributions) to the Benefits Office via the Employer Portal at neibenefits.org, an electronic format approved by the Benefits Office, or on a paper form provided by the Benefits Office. Reports must be filed every week. The deferral report must be filed even for weeks when no deferral contributions are made. The earnings/W-2 wages are reported on the Hours Report Form to track wage information for non-discrimination testing.

When are contributions due?

Contributions are due no later than seven calendar days after the employee receives his or her paycheck. Because these contributions represent employee withholdings, the Internal Revenue Service requires that contributions be made as soon as they can be segregated from employer assets. Late contributions or failure to make required contributions can result in severe penalties.

Can 401(k) plan contributions be combined with contributions to the big plans?

No. Since deferral contributions to the 401(K) plan represent employee contributions, they always must be kept separate.

Can I maintain my own 401(k) plan and participate in the Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan?

Yes, although doing so is very complicated. Participating in two 401(k) plans should only be done after consultations with attorneys for both plans.

How does an employer enroll in the 401(k) plan?

Contact the Benefits Office at 800-523-4702 ext. 2312 or 2608 to let the office know you would like to participate in the 401(k).

What happens after my employees enroll?

You will receive information from MassMutual and the Benefits Office. MassMutual’s enrollment kit includes sample forms, contact information, and other participant and investment information. From then on, an employer will submit contributions and wage data via the Employer Portal.