Northwest Carpenters Health and Security Plan

Accounts 

Establishment of Accounts

An account was established effective January 1, 2009 in the name of each participant and retiree who met specific service-related criteria. Accounts were not established and will not be established for self-employed persons, whether a sole proprietor or partner, or spouses of a self-employed persons, whether a sole proprietor or partner or more than a 2% Sub-Chapter S corporation shareholder. Members of an LLC, and spouses of members of an LLC, are eligible, provided the LLC elected to be treated as a corporation on Treasury Form 8832.

The accounts were funded with a one-time allocation from the Retiree Health Reserve Fund, which was established with employer contributions. You qualified for a share of the one-time allocation if: (1) you were eligible for medical benefits under dollar bank eligibility, Self-Contribution Coverage or COBRA Coverage in January 2008; or (2) you were eligible for medical benefits under Retiree Coverage in December 2008; or (3) you were a surviving dependent of a deceased carpenter and you were eligible for medical benefits under Retiree Coverage in December 2008 or post-retirement COBRA Coverage from dollar bank eligibility in December 2008.

The amount allocated to your account in the one-time allocation was based on your total career hours reported to the Northwest Carpenters Health and Security Plan as of December 31, 2007, divided by the total hours reported for all carpenters and retirees eligible to share in the allocation. No employer contributions have been allocated to the accounts since the initial funding.

Adjustment of Accounts

Account balances are adjusted to reflect payment of eligible expenses.

Prior to January 1, 2014, accounts were also adjusted upward or downward as of the last day of each calendar quarter to reflect the following:

  • Investment gains or losses; and
  • Forfeitures that were allocated pro rata among the existing accounts, based upon the value of a participant’s, retiree’s or surviving dependent’s account to the value of all accounts.

Your account balance is reflected in your quarterly benefit statement.

No New Allocations on and After January 1, 2014

Employer contributions were not allocated to accounts following the initial one-time allocation, because reserves were not available for funding. Moreover, in order to comply with the Affordable Care Act, no additional employer contributions or investment gains or losses will be allocated to the accounts on or after January 1, 2014, unless further action is taken by the Board of Trustees.

Last Updated: 10/31/2023