OPSEU Local 330 - Benefits

Great West Life Benefits

Rates

Below are the new benefit rates for 2011/2012.

Also below is the cost of benefits with the breakdown between Family Rates and Single Rates. It also shows what the total monthly cost is with the comparison of what the employer and what the member pays.

OPSEU Benefit Rates

Updates

January 12, 2012

FYB Bulletin: January 2012

December 7, 2011

Good Afternoon OPSEU members,

Here is the latest update from OPSEU re: the Trust Wind Up. We are getting closer. Please pass this on to all OPSEU staff at your work location.

Thank you for your patience.

Silvanna Petersen
President Local 330

Update on the Simcoe County District School Board Insurance Trust Wind Up – Distribution of Surplus OPSEU Local 330

We are happy to confirm that current and former members of OPSEU Local 330 who participated in the Simcoe County District School Board Insurance Trust between January 1, 1977 and September 30, 2006 can expect to receive a letter from NPT+Ricepoint Class Action Services Inc. in the month of December.

The application packages are being mailed out during the next week to all eligible current and former OPSEU Local 330 members for which there is an address on file. The letter will provide eligible members with the information they will require to apply for their portion of the surplus funds.

We are trying to ensure that anyone who should receive an application package gets one. If you have not yet provided your contact information, please visit the website specifically set up for this distribution at: www.opseulocal330benefitsurplus.com. You will be able to provide your current mailing address. You can also contact NPT+Ricepoint Class Action Services Inc. by phone at 1-866-432-5534 or email at opseulocal330@nptricepoint.com.

If you know of anyone who is a former OPSEU member at the Simcoe County District School Board who may have participated in the Insurance Trust please contact them. If they are unaware of the surplus distribution and feel they are eligible, ask them to contact NPT+Ricepoint Class Action Services Inc. at the above noted addresses or phone number.

Payments will be issued in batches. We expect that the first batch of payments will be issued early in the New Year. Once you receive your application kit, it will be important that you return your application form promptly to ensure that your payment is processed as soon as possible.

We understand that this process has been a long one, and we appreciate your patience.

October 19, 2011

See attachment

September 22, 2011
OPSEU is pleased to inform all current and former members of Local 330 who participated in the Simcoe County District School Board Insurance Trust between January 1, 1977 and September 30, 2006, that the courts have endorsed the methodology developed to distribute OPSEU's portion of the surplus from the Trust.

This fall, NPT RicePoint Class Action Services Inc. will be sending out an information kit to all eligible individuals for which they have a mailing address. NPT RicePoint Class Action Services Inc. will be asking you to verify certain personal information and provide your social insurance number for verification purposes.

Please note that after the kits are mailed out and applications are sent back, cheques will be mailed in batches. The timing will depend on how many applications have been received back and verified. Sending the cheques out in batches will help to keep administrative costs down.

More detailed information on this process will be sent out in the next few weeks. In the meantime should you have any further questions please contact Kim Macpherson at 1-800-268-7376 ext. 8361 or email at simcoewindup@opseu.org.

September 6, 2011
I hope everyone had a great summer and is looking forward to the 2011/12 school year.

As you are aware, it has been a busy summer with respect to finally completing the changes of our benefit provider from OJTBF to Great West Life. We started the process just before summer break with a couple of correspondences going out over the summer to keep you updated. Hopefully those that have provided the office with a home email have received them, but if not, remember, you can always check the website for all contact messages as they are uploaded as soon as possible.

Your information package should be at your worksite by the end of this week, with your Assure card, plus an application to increase benefits, hard copy claim forms, eclaims, etc.

The best news we have to pass on is that the final calculation of the costing for our new benefit plan (attached) provides a reduction in your rates for benefits while maintaining the plan design.

For example, if you are signed up for Family Health and Dental coverage and 100K Life insurance you will see an annual savings of approximately $900.

Please take the time to read all of the information and make colleagues aware that the option to enroll in benefits without proof of medical evidence is available until September 30 2011.

Always working on your behalf,

Silvanna Petersen

August 23, 2011
Good Morning OPSEU members,

Yesterday I met with Great West Life and the transfer of benefits from SSQ to GWL is progressing well, we hope to have the cards and info packages out to the schools sometime next week. I will also upload all information I receive from GWL to the web upon receipt. If you need a card prior to your return to school, we have discussed the ability to print off a temporary card. I will provide you with that information as soon as I receive it.

Also FYI, you will have 3 months (90days) from the termination date to submit any claims incurred prior to the termination date to SSQ. Another advantage with GWL is your claims can be submitted electronically with payment received directly into your account within 48 hours.

I will send out a comparison of the costs for benefits as soon as I receive them, which I am sure will be positive news for our members. Enjoy the last few days of summer break,

Always working on your behalf,

Silvanna Petersen

Read the welcome letter from Great West

August 16, 2011
Good Morning OPSEU members,

Let me begin with a little history:

Since the wind up of the Simcoe County District School Board Insurance Trust our local has been in a complicated state of affairs. At the time, we found ourselves without a sponsor for our benefit plan and were fortunate enough to have OPSEU Corp. agree to sponsor us with one stipulation, that OPSEU Joint Trustee Benefit Fund be the choice for benefit insurance for Local 330.

A few years ago, we attempted to go to market, but again, sponsorship of our plan became the issue, so we maintained our relationship with OJTBF.

In the Fall of 2010, after some productive discussions with our employer, we were able to come to an understanding where they have agreed to become our sponsor, allowing us to finally go to market to ensure that we were being offered competitive benefit rates for our members.

Your local formed a committee last spring and asked OJTBF, Great West Life, Manulife and Sunlife to provide us with quotes. After several meetings and conference calls over the summer, we have made the decision to partner with Great West Life. We were very pleased with their proposal and impressed their presentation, services, and pricing they had to offer the membership.

We have maintained our plan design and forwarded all history of membership claims to GWL and the process of moving over is well underway for a Sept 1 2011 startup. We look forward to working together with the GWL team.

We are hopeful that the change over goes smoothly, and felt it was important to give everyone this information sooner than later.

If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to email or call the
office.

Enjoy the last few weeks of your summer.

Benefit Committee members,
Donna Cassie
Lesley Chisholm
Sandra Cadeau
Valerie Fraser
Gloria Miller
Dave McCarl
Silvanna Petersen

October 6, 2010
Good Afternoon OPSEU members,

Lesley Chishom (1st Vice President) and I attended a meeting last week at OPSEU Head Office, we can now provide you with another update regarding the distribution of the funds resulting from the benefits wind up.

I am passing along a correspondence to keep you all posted and to guarantee you that we are keeping on top of the process and will continue to work on your behalf.

See attachment

Update: May 2011 - Download here

October 6, 2010
Good Afternoon OPSEU members,

Periodically I receive queries about what is happening to the monies with respect to the wind down of the SCDSB benefit trust plan. Here is the information I have right now.

In March 2010 OPSEU received a cheque for $2.2 million in respect of thewind-up of the Simcoe County District School Board Insurance Trust. These monies have been deposited in a trust account overseen by OPSEU. In keeping with OPSEU's long-standing intention of returning these monies to the members, OPSEU has retained national benefits consulting firm Morneau Sobeco and class-action settlement administrator NPT Ricepoint.

Morneau Sobeco will obtain member-specific data from Sunlife and will develop an objective methodology to determine eligibility for payment. NPT Ricepoint is the administrator who will administer a claims process and determine individual entitlements based on claims made and verified by the Sunlife data. OPSEU will be seeking judicial approval of these processes through a court application sometime in the New Year.

For more information, please send an email to simcoewindup@opseu.org.

See also:

OJTBF Service Bulletin

Claim forms are available via Great-West Life's Client Services (click here).

If you wish to suspend your benefits, please complete and submit the form below.

Suspension of Benefits Form

Wind up of Simcoe County District School Board Insurance Trust

October 13, 2009 Between 1969 and 2007, certain employees of the Simcoe County District School Board received benefits administered pursuant to an Insurance Trust sponsored by the Simcoe County District School Board and certain employee representative groups, including OPSEU. These parties to the Insurance Trust have commenced an Application with the Superior Court of Justice to approve the wind up of the Insurance Trust and subsequent distribution of the remaining assets. The proposed distribution is based on the agreed terms of the Insurance Trust, to the Parties to the Trust (namely, the unions and the School Board). As part of the court process to wind-up the trust and distribute the assets, the court ordered that a Notice for Publication be posted on each party's website.

Wind up of SCDSB Insurance Trust .

Health and Wellness Resources

Building Blocks: Constructing a Solid Foundation for Good Mental Health microsite

Benefits

Wind up of Simcoe County District School Board Insurance Trust

Health and Wellness Resources

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