Funding Your Benefits Plans
Employer Contributions as Part of Your Total Compensation
Your UA Local 67 Benefits Plans are funded by your employer’s contributions, to provide a comprehensive pension and benefits program that supports your and your family’s well-being.
Employer Contributions
Employer Contribution Rates Per Hour
Effective Date
May 2025
Welfare
$3.07
SUB
$0.50
Pension
$8.15
The contribution rates are set under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The Welfare rate is the group benefits plan rate per hour, and the SUB plan rate is the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit rate per hour. Please note that some collective agreements outside of the UA Local 67’s jurisdiction may not include SUB.
At the end of each month, your employer sends UA Local 67 Benefits a report of your hours earned and the contributions.
Keeping Track of Contributions
To help you keep track of your employer contributions, UA Local 67 Benefits sends you a benefit statement every three months. This statement reports the number of hours for which contributions were received.
Check each statement carefully as soon as you get it. Make sure all of your employers have reported all of your hours. You will be given credit only for those contributions that are actually paid by your employer. If you spot any errors, call UA Local 67 Benefits at 905-387-5861. Remember: unpaid contributions will result in lower amounts available in your Benefits Account, which funds your benefits and affects your eligibility for SUB and pension.
The contributions your employer makes are deposited into the Plans’ Trust Funds, but are earmarked for you as outlined below.
IMPORTANT! Leaving the union or plan can mean forfeiting your accumulated contributions. For more information see Life and Job Changes.
Welfare Plan Contributions
Your Benefits Account
The contributions made by your employer for the Welfare Plan are credited to your Benefits Account (also known as your Dollar Bank).
To pay for your Welfare Plan each month, a regular monthly rate is deducted from your Benefits Account on the first of each month. This money is then used to cover the cost of:
- Health, Dental, Life, and Short Term Disability claims
- The insurers’ administrative fees, and taxes
- Premiums for Long Term Disability and Travel Medical Insurance
Please note that group benefit deduction rates are subject to change to reflect the increasing cost of claims and related expenses.
Excessive Contributions
As of June 1, 2024, your Benefits Account will have a maximum limit of $17,000. This means you can continue to grow your account while working and rely on it when you’re not working to maintain your benefits. Any funds exceeding this amount will be transferred to the plan’s reserves to help pay for benefits and expenses for all members.
Benefits Account Balance Minimum
If your Benefits Account balance falls below one month of premium, you will receive a letter from UA Local 67 Benefits, alerting you that you won’t be able to continue in the UA Local 67 Benefits Welfare Plan unless:
- UA Local 67 Benefits receives until the end of the month enough hours from your employer that will cover the premium, or
- You pay to keep the coverage in effect.
If you choose to continue your benefits coverage by paying for it yourself, you may contact UA Local 67 Benefits to make a direct payment out of your own pocket before the 25th of the month in which coverage applies.
If you choose to stop your coverage, you cannot restart the benefits you stopped unless you:
- Return to work and earn the required contributions, or
- Pay for all the months you missed, since there cannot be any gaps in contribution.
Active Members
Active members may choose to:
- Maintain full coverage by paying the full cost for regular coverage, or
- Maintain only your Life, Short and Long Term Disability benefits at a reduced premium (modified rate).
Members in receipt of LTD Disability benefits can also choose to reduce their benefits to only Life benefits.
Your full plan eligibility can only be restored once you return to work and your employer has contributed enough to your Benefits Account to cover the cost of two monthly payments.
Retired Members
If you are a Retired Member with less than one month of premium in your Benefits Account, your options will vary depending on your age.
Retirement BEFORE 65
You can:
- Continue to pay the full cost by direct payment until you turn 65, or
- Change your coverage to Life benefits only in case you don’t have enough funds in your Benefits Account to pay for the full coverage.
Your full plan eligibility can only be restored once you return to work and your employer has contributed enough to your Benefits Account to cover the cost of two monthly payments.
Retirement AFTER 65
You have several options for continuing coverage:
- Continue your Life, Health, Dental and HCSA benefits by direct payment if you are a member in good standing with UA Local 67, and you were covered by the UA Local 67 Benefits Plan immediately before you retired.
- Reduce your benefits to Life, Health and HCSA only, paying a reduced Retiree Over Age 65 (Life & Health) rate and stop your Dental benefits. Note that Vision coverage changes to every two years under this plan. Please note that if you choose to reduce your benefits and cancel your dental coverage, it cannot be reinstated later.
- Reduce your benefits to Life only, paying a reduced Retiree Over Age 65 (Life Only) rate to maintain your Life Insurance and stop your Health and Dental benefits. Your full plan eligibility can only be restored once you return to work and your employer has contributed enough to your Benefits Account to cover the cost of two monthly payments.
Spouse/Dependents
Active Members
When you pass away, your spouse and children on your Health & Welfare Plan will remain covered until your Benefits Account falls below one month’s premium payment. Your spouse then has the option to continue coverage by paying the group benefit deduction rate for Survivors each month. Keep in mind that Survivors are not permitted to change their coverage option at any time.
Retired Members
If the covered member was a Retiree over age 65, their surviving spouse can continue the health benefits (no dental) at the same group benefit deduction rate as the Retiree was paying.
In both cases, coverage will end if your spouse stops paying the premium. Survivors/Dependents cannot be reinstated once coverage has been terminated.
SUB Plan Contributions
Your employer’s contributions for the Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUB) Plan are added to the SUB plan’s Trust Fund. Your SUB claims are paid from the SUB fund and administered by UA Local 67 Benefits.
Pension Plan Contributions
When your employer makes contributions to the UA Local 67 Benefits Pension Plan on your behalf, the amount that you will be credited for each hour earned depends on when that hour was earned.
At any given time, the amount (or value) of your pension will depend on:
- When your hours were earned, and
- How many hours you earned.
UA Local 67 Benefits will send you a statement each year showing how much pension you have earned to date.
Contributions and Tax Implications
You do not pay taxes on employer contributions to the plan, except for those used for Life Insurance coverage. Each year, you will receive a T4A form detailing the total employer contributions for the Life Insurance premium.
Health, Dental, and Health Spending Account (HCSA) reimbursements you receive from the Welfare Plan are generally not taxable. However, income benefit payments, including Short and Long Term Disability and SUB payments, are taxable and reported on your T4A.
Note that medical expenses already covered by the plan, including those from your HCSA, cannot be claimed as medical expenses on your income tax return.
Benefits Receipt for Taxes
If you made direct payments for your Health and Dental benefits premiums out of your own pocket during the tax year, you can request a receipt from UA Local 67 Benefits. Life and Disability premiums you paid are not considered an eligible medical expense by the CRA. You can claim the Health and Dental Premiums on your income tax or through your Health Care Spending Account (HCSA), but not both.
RRSP Contribution Room Reduction
The amount you can contribute to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) during the calendar year is reduced by the total of your employer contributions to the UA Local 67 Benefits Pension Plan for the previous year. For example, your RRSP contribution room for the 2024 tax year will be reduced by your total employer contributions for 2023. This reduction is referred to as your “pension adjustment” (or PA).
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