Automated Reciprocity System Makes Debut
May 2002 IBEW Journal
ERTS Will Ease Transfer of Pension, H&W Payments for Traveling
Members
Since the earliest days of the IBEW, members have
hit the road to follow work, leaving their home area to work on
projects in another local unions jurisdiction. There was a time
when IBEW "road warriors" took risks other than the normal
job hazardslike losing proper crediting of their pension and health
and welfare benefits.
Reciprocity has now entered the 21st centurywith a bang.
Out With the Old
In the 1980s, the Brotherhood developed and refined its reciprocity
system to allow participants in IBEW/NECA pension and health and
welfare funds to be able to do two things: first, to have all their
pension money transferred back to their selected home fund(s), and
second, to have an amount of money transferred back to their home
H&W fund allowing them to maintain eligibility for themselves
and their families at their home fund.
That was a big step forward. But obstacles remained. The system
required the processing of paper forms by the plan participants
to start their transfers every time they traveled. If they wanted
to stop transfers that were currently being made, they also had
to complete paper forms. Funds also were required to submit several
other paper forms to report hours and send back money to the IBEW
members selected home fund(s). Obviously, this system was slow
since it required processing forms by hand then mailing those forms
to two different fund offices for data entry, followed by the processing
and mailing of additional paper reports and checks by the local
union funds.
Now, there is ERTS.
In With the New
After more than a year in development and testing, the new IBEW/NECA
Electronic Reciprocal Transfer System (ERTS) is going live. This
new system is web-based and dramatically increases the speed, ease
and accuracy of transferring money to members selected home funds.
Heres how it works. IBEW members will now be allowed to pre-register
with ERTS, entering all the information necessary to have blanket
authorizations on file with ERTS for each fund transfer. These blanket
authorizations will become effective once the members selected
home funds have confirmed their acceptance of home fund designation.
These authorizations will remain in effect until modified or cancelled
by the plan participant. After the initial registration/blanket
authorizations, which must be done in person (with ID required),
the plan participant will be issued a log-on and password to allow
them to either modify their registration or to stop transfers. Funds
will be able to exchange information and forms electronically over
the ERTS. There will also be a link to a web-based Automated Clearing
House (ACH) to allow for the electronic transfer of money from fund
to fund.
What About Security?
One of the most important issues addressed by ERTS is the security
of the plan participants personal information. All log-ons to ERTS
will be encrypted to ensure the security of information on ERTS.
No personal data will be transmitted over the open Internet.
It is important to note that ERTS is only for the transfer of reciprocal
information from fund to fund. No individual personal account information
can be accessed on ERTS. Members must contact their individual funds
for any personal account information.
At Long Last, Portability
The IBEW and NECA have signed an agreement with Crunchy Technologies
(the developer of ERTS) to be the service provider to our union
related pension and H&W funds (see "Signing
of the Electronic Reciprocal Transfer System (ERTS) Service Provide
Contract," IBEW Journal, April 2002, page 4). In order
for funds to participate in ERTS they must sign up. The funds have
until January of 2003 to become signatory to the service provider
agreement in order to remain part of the Electrical Industry Pension
and Health & Welfare agreement which has provided security to
IBEW members for almost 20 years.
The IBEW and NECA have accomplished what members of Congress have
only talked about for years, portability of benefits. Now they have
worked together to develop a truly state-of-the-art, web-based system
that no other union has.
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