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Health Fund
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Certified Retiree Coverage

To qualify for Certified Retiree Health Fund benefits, a Certificate of Retirement must be obtained from the Administrator of the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan.

The employment criteria considered in determining whether or not you qualify for coverage as a Certified Retiree must be satisfied prior to retirement.

For individuals who retired before January 1, 1997, a Certified Retiree is a Writer who:

  • Retired under the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan on or after March 1, 1974; and
  • Accumulated at least 20 qualified years or 80 qualified quarters of earned eligibility prior to retirement; and
  • Accumulated at least 400 credited weeks; and
  • Accumulated at least three qualified years after December 31, 1954

Currently, if you retired on or after January 1, 1997, the following rules apply in determining whether you can be considered a Certified Retiree of the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund (the "Fund"):

If you retired on or after January 1, 1997, you're considered a Certified Retiree if you:

  • Are at least 60 years old;
  • Retired under the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan;
  • Accumulated at least 68 quarters of earned eligibility before your retirement, calculated as follows:
    • A Qualified Year under the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan for each year before 1988 equals four quarters of eligibility for each year before 1988, provided, however, that you shall not be entitled to earned eligibility quarters for any Qualified Year you earned prior to 1988 based on employment with an employer who did not make contributions on your behalf to the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund and who appears on the following list of employers: American Broadcasting Corporation News, CBS TV Network News NY (Daily Temps), Metromedia Inc., RKO General Inc., United Stations Radio Network, WABC-AM Radio, Inc., WNYW-5 Fox TV, W.O.R. A.M. Radio, WWOR-TV Inc.; and
    • Each year of eligibility earned under the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund during 1988 and every year thereafter equals four quarters of eligibility.

Please note: Participation in the Fund's Extended Coverage Program, the COBRA The acronym for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 which allows for the purchase of coverage after loss of eligibility due to certain qualifying events. Continuation Coverage Program or any period of extended coverage resulting from enrollment in the Industry Advantage/CaliforniaCare HMO Plan is not considered "earned eligibility" for purposes of satisfying this requirement.

Certified Retiree health coverage will generally begin on the date of your retirement unless you are younger than age 60 when you retire. If you are younger than age 60 when you retire, the coverage will begin on the first day of the month after you turn 60. If you are still eligible for benefits as an "active" participantAn individual or that individual's spouse, dependent children who meet(s) the eligibility requirements established by the Fund. when you retire, the Certified Retiree coverage will not begin until the employer paid eligibility has ended.

Additional Certified Retiree Requirements for Employees Working Under the WGA-CBS National Agreement

The Board of Trustees of the Fund recently adopted a change to these rules solely for participants who:

  • were or are covered under the Fund on or after March 1, 2000 due to their employment as a CBS staff employee covered under the 1999-2002 WGA-CBS National Staff Agreement or any subsequent WGA-CBS National Staff Agreement (a "CBS Staff Employee"); or
  • were or are covered under the Fund on or after July 1, 2007 due to their employment as a KNX Daily Rate Employee, as defined under Article XVII.C. of the 2005-2008 WGA-CBS National Agreement or any successor of that Article in any subsequent WGA-CBS National Agreement ("KNX Daily Rate Employee"); or
  • were or are covered under the Fund on or after April 2, 1996 due to their employment as a CBS temporary employee covered under the WGA-CBS 1996-1999 National Agreement or any subsequent WGA-CBS National Agreement (a "CBS Temporary Employee")

If an individual was a participant in the Fund due to their employment with CBS as a (i) CBS Staff Employee or KNX Daily Rate Employee on or after March 1, 2000, or (ii) KNX Daily Rate employee on or after July 1, 2007; or as a CBS Temporary Employee on or after April 2, 1996the following rules apply to determine whether such individual will be considered a Certified Retiree:

  • Are at least 60 years old;
  • Retired under the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan or retired from CBS as evidenced by an affidavit filed with the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund;
  • Accumulated at least 68 quarters of earned eligibility before your retirement, calculated as follows:
    • A Qualified Year under the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan for each year before 1988 equals four quarters of eligibility for each year before 1988, provided, however, that you shall not be entitled to earned eligibility quarters for any Qualified Year you earned prior to 1988 based on employment with an employer who did not make contributions on your behalf to the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund and who appears on the following list of employers: American Broadcasting Corporation News, CBS TV Network News NY (Daily Temps), Metromedia Inc., RKO General Inc., United Stations Radio Network, WABC-AM Radio, Inc., WNYW-5 Fox TV, W.O.R. A.M. Radio, WWOR-TV Inc.;
    • Each year of eligibility earned under the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund during 1988 and every year thereafter (other than as a CBS Staff Employee or a KNX Daily Rate Employee) equals four quarters of eligibility; and

    • Each year of eligibility earned under the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund as a CBS Staff Employee starting on March 1, 2000 and thereafter or as a KNX Daily Rate Employee starting July 1, 2007 and thereafter equals four quarters of eligibility. The following additional rule applies to CBS Staff Employees and KNX Daily Rate Employees who, for any year on or after the relevant dates listed above, are eligible for less than a year of coverage under the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund due to employment as a CBS Staff Employee or KNX Daily Rate Employee, and whose eligibility for coverage is not based on meeting a certain level of earnings: an individual who earns $5,000 of "gross compensation" in a year from employment as a CBS Staff Employee or KNX Daily Rate Employee shall be deemed to earn a year of eligibility under the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund in accordance with the preceding sentence. For this purpose, "gross compensation" shall mean the amount of compensation upon which Employer ContributionsContributions employers pay to the Fund that are based on a percentage of a participant’s covered earnings. are based, as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

A CBS Staff Employee, KNX Daily Rate Employee, or CBS Temporary Employee who is eligible for Certified Retiree coverage, but is not retiring under the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan shall be required to file a fully completed application packet (on forms prepared by the Trustees of the Fund) with the Trustees at least thirty (30) days prior to the date selected by such CBS Staff Employee, KNX Daily Rate Employee or CBS Temporary Employee for such Certified Retiree coverage to commence.


Disclaimer

NOTE: This is only a brief summary of your benefits. All benefit descriptions contained herein are governed by the limitations and other information contained in your SPD.

The Certified Retiree Health Fund program and all benefits associated with the program are subject to renewal by the Board of Trustees of the Writers' Guild-Industry Health Fund from time to time and may be revoked at any time with or without notice. Participants and their eligible dependentsAny dependent of a participant who meets the criteria for eligibility established by the Fund., spouses and/or children have no guaranteed or vested right to benefits.