Your eligibility for Plan benefits is affected when you do not meet the minimum hours worked requirements described above. Eligibility for all Plan benefits stop as indicated in the Eligibility Chart.
If You Are Disabled
For all Plan benefits, any month in which you have a Certified Disability for 18 or more days will be counted as a month in which you have worked in Covered Employment. However, you may not receive credit for a Certified Disability for more than six months in a period of twelve consecutive months.
A Certified Disability is one for which you would otherwise receive Weekly Accident and Sickness Disability Benefits from the Plan, were you eligible, or benefits under any Workers’ Compensation Law, Occupational Disease Law or similar legislation. However, if you are not eligible for this extension, you may continue health coverage under Continuation of Health Benefits (COBRA) as explained in COBRA Continuation of Coverage
If You Retire
If you retire and are eligible for retiree medical benefits under the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 73 Retiree Welfare Fund, you may continue your coverage under the Plan for Active Employees until the end of the calendar year in which you retire if you have not yet reached age 65. Beginning January 1 of the following calendar year, coverage under the Active Plan ends, and you may continue coverage under Retiree Plan. However, you must begin making self-payments for retiree coverage on your retirement date (the date you begin receiving pension payments from the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 73 Pension Fund).
If you retire after you have reached age 65, you may not maintain coverage under the Active Plan. You must enroll in Medicare and you will have certain benefits other than major medical coverage under the Retiree Plan, if you are eligible for such coverage.
There are two exceptions to this rule: The Fund’s Death Benefit and the Accidental Death and Dismemberment Benefit will stop six months after your retirement date.