Health
& We
lfare
and Pension Funds
of Philadelphia and Vicinity
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)1. How often will I receive a bill from the Health & Welfare and Pension Funds? 2. What do I do if I do not receive a contribution report? 4. Can we send the Fund our contribution reports by e-mail? 5. Can I remit one check for both the Health & Welfare and Pension contributions? 7. What if I cannot pay my contributions on time? 8. Why am I charged liquidated damages? 9. Why is the charge so huge for being one day late? 11. What happens if I become delinquent in my contributions to the Funds? 13. Do I have to mail my contributions or can they be hand delivered? 14. Why can't the Fund tell whether the contribution units that I am reporting are correct or not? 17. If I am unsure of how to complete my contribution report, what should I do? 25. Can we contribute for our office employees to the Health & Welfare Fund? 26. Can we contribute for our non-bargaining unit employees to the Pension Fund? 31. I recently received a letter notifying me that our company is going to be audited. Why is that? 32. What records are reviewed in the course of a payroll audit? 34. What can I expect to happen during a payroll audit? 37. What if the Auditor determines that I am overpaying? 38. What should I do if I disagree with the audit results?
1. How often will I receive a bill from the Health & Welfare and Pension Funds? You will not receive a "bill" from the Funds. You will receive contribution reports. During the first or second business day of each calendar month, the Funds send out the contribution reports. It is up to the employer to make certain that the contribution report includes all of the employees for whom contributions are due for that particular month as well as being sure that the names and social security numbers appear correctly. 2. What do I do if I do not receive a contribution report? If you have not received a contribution report by
the 7th or 8th business day of the month, please contact the Fund
office to make certain that all contribution reports have been mailed.
Speak with the Accounts Receivable Department and they will advise you
of the procedure to use. If you have had a change in address then you
should notify the Fund in writing immediately. The Funds would prefer that you use the contribution
reports which we send you on a monthly basis. The reason for this is
that the names of the employees appear in our computer system in the
same order as they appear on the contribution reports. This makes
entering the contribution units into the computer much easier and less
prone to error. If you are going to submit contributions on a
worksheet that you have created, then the Funds ask that you make sure
that the employees are listed in alphabetical order and that the
social security numbers and contribution units are displayed next to
each name. We also ask that you return the contribution reports back
to us that we forwarded to you at the beginning of the month and also
notify the Fund of any deletions or additions to those reports. Many
times employees leave the bargaining unit but the names of the
employees continue to remain on the contribution reports because the
Employer has never notified the Fund to delete the names. This makes
the names continue to appear on our computer screen, as well as the
contribution reports, and slows up the process of entering the
information into our computer system.
4. Can we send the Fund our contribution reports by e-mail? The Funds are currently working on a format which we
will make available to all Employers who wish to remit their
contributions via e-mail. However, you must use the template that the
Fund provides. You will not be able to make any modifications to
it. The Funds will take the information directly from the template and
upload it into our computer system so that the contribution time is
updated automatically. 5. Can I remit one check for both the Health & Welfare and Pension contributions? The Funds are separate and distinct entities and as
such a separate check is needed for the Health & Welfare
contributions as well as the Pension contributions. If you are
remitting contributions for more then one account, you may consolidate
all of your health and welfare contributions onto one check and all of
your pension contributions onto a second check. If the participant's social security number is incorrect, please notify us immediately and provide the correct information. Please do not wait until you file the contribution report. You may fax a letter to us with this information. A copy of the employee's social security card or W-4 statement should be attached to your letter. The employee's name appears in the same form on the
preprinted form as it does on our census files. If it is incorrect on
the preprinted form then it is either incorrect on our census files or
we have never received a census card for this individual. Either a
census card has to be filled out or the census information adjusted
for the name to reflect correctly on the contribution report. 7. What if I cannot pay my contributions on time? If you cannot pay your contributions on time, it is
imperative that you send in the original contribution report without
payment and a letter explaining the reason why the contributions will
not be remitted at this time and when you expect that these
contributions will be remitted. The Funds will be in contact with you
regarding payment of these contributions but it is imperative that we
receive the contribution report since the contribution units contained
on this report are the basis for eligibility for your employees.
Notification to the Fund of your inability to pay the contributions in
a timely manner will not relieve you of any liquidated damages that
may be assessed. 8. Why am I charged liquidated damages? The liquidated damages that are charged to an
employer are not imposed by the Fund itself but are due under the
terms of your particular collective bargaining or participation
agreement. Your agreement will state that contributions are due by a
due date. If they are not received by that due date, liquidated
damages are to be assessed. 9. Why is the charge so huge for being one day late? A liquidated damage assessment will be the same
whether your payment is one day late or thirty-one days late. The
provisions of the collective bargaining agreement provide for an
assessment to be made once you are late. There is a grace period, the period being from the
1st of the month to your due date. Most employers who receive
liquidated damage assessments incur such charges because they wait
until the last possible moment to remit the contributions. Please keep
in mind that the Funds will use your postmark as the determining
factor as to whether or not liquidated damages are assessed. We
recognize the postmark since we realize that mail could be delayed. It
is also important to remember that the date which the envelope runs
through your postage meter machine is not the same as the United
States Post Office postmark. If your contributions are due by the 28th
of the month and your contribution remittance was metered on the 28th
but not postmarked by the United States Post Office until the 29th,
liquidated damages will be assessed. 11. What happens if I become delinquent in my contributions to the Funds? If you become delinquent you will receive a series
of letters and phone calls from the Fund attempting to ascertain the
reason for the delinquency and when we can expect payment. If the
situation cannot be resolved, or if you completely ignore all attempts
to resolve the matter with the Funds Audit Department, then the matter
will be turned over to Fund Counsel for collection. You should be
advised that under ERISA, you may then be liable for all attorneys
fees and costs, interest, as well as liquidated damages.
No. While the Funds are separate and distinct
entities, the remittances for both Funds may be included in the same
envelope as the processing of the remittances for both Funds are
shared. You do need to remit separate checks, however. 13. Do I have to mail my contributions or can they be hand delivered? Your contributions can be hand delivered and dropped
off at the Fund office during normal business hours, which is
typically Monday thru Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Contributions that
are hand delivered must be received on or before the due date stated
in your agreement. 14. Why can't the Fund tell whether the contribution units that I am reporting are correct or not? The contribution method which the Fund employs is a
self-reporting method. We rely on the Employer to correctly remit the
hours that are due in any given month. The Fund assumes that the
contribution remittance is correct. The Fund has no knowledge as to
the amount of work performed by any given employee during any given
month. As such, we cannot determine that your remittance is incorrect
and assume that it is correct. Contributions are to be made in accordance with the
terms of the written agreement between the Local Union and the
Employer. Amendments to that agreement cannot be made orally. Any
amendments that are made to the original collective bargaining
agreement must be done so in writing and signed and dated by both
parties. A copy of any and all amendments must also be forwarded to
the Health & Welfare and Pension Funds.
You should not take any credits against your Health
& Welfare and Pension contributions unless you have received
written authorization to do so by the Funds. Refunds and credits are
governed by the terms of the Trustees Resolution
regarding the return of over-reported contributions. Any request
for a refund or overpayment must conform to the terms of this
resolution. If you do not have a copy of this Resolution, please
contact the Funds Audit Department and we will gladly send you a copy. 17. If I am unsure of how to complete my contribution report, what should I do? Please contact the Fund's Audit Manager or Accounts
Receivable Department. We will gladly assist you in whatever
difficulties that you may encountering in the completion of your
contribution report. If there is a case in which your contribution report
does not include all of the hours that it should for any and all of
your employees, then you should notify the Fund in writing as to the
name and social security numbers of the individuals involved as well
as the additional amount of hours that are due. You should also
include copies of the payroll records, which may include time cards,
or pay sheets, for the entire month for which you are remitting the
additional contributions. The Funds must ascertain whether or not the
contributions which have been made are correct. After we have had a
chance to review the payroll records we can determine whether your
supplemental report is correct or if there is another problem that has
to be addressed.
As long as you are receiving contribution reports
from the Funds then you should return the reports even if it means
indicating that there are no hours to report for that particular
month. If you do not remit any report, you will show up as being
delinquent. If you would like to be removed from the Funds active
mailing roster, then you should notify us in writing. We will then
confirm this matter with the Local Union involved. After we receive
confirmation from the Local Union, we will then remove you from our
active mailing roster. Employee contributions are not allowed. If your
agreement states that contributions are to be made for work performed
under the collective bargaining agreement to the Health & Welfare
and Pension Fund, then your company would be responsible for those
contributions to the Funds regardless of whether or not you paid them
to a third party. Contributions are made to the Fund strictly under
the terms of the terms of the collective bargaining agreement or
participation agreement. This is the vehicle used to fund the benefit
plans. Contributions are only to be made as outlined under
the terms of your collective bargaining or participation agreement.
You cannot remit contributions to the Health & Welfare Fund to
maintain an employees eligibility for Health & Welfare coverage if
it is not stated in your agreement. Doing so would constitute
submitting a fraudulent report.
Contributions are only to be made as outlined under
the terms of your collective bargaining or participation agreement.
You cannot remit contributions to the Pension Fund to maintain an
employees eligibility for Pension coverage if it is not stated in your
agreement. Doing so would constitute submitting a fraudulent report. 25. Can we contribute for our office employees to the Health & Welfare Fund? It is possible for non-bargaining unit employees to
be able to participate in the Health & Welfare Fund. If you are
interested in this option, please contact the business agent for your
bargaining unit employees. 26. Can we contribute for our non-bargaining unit employees to the Pension Fund? No. Contributions are only to be made to the Pension
Fund for those employees who are covered under the terms of a written
agreement with one of our participating Local Unions. This is incorrect. Contributions are to be made
under the terms of the written agreement with the Local Union for
those employees doing work covered by the agreement. Union membership
is not prerequisite for fringe benefit contributions or eligibility
under the Funds' Plans of Benefits. If your Company is a participating Employer in the
Teamsters Health & Welfare Fund of Philadelphia and Vicinity, then
employee contributions that are made via payroll deduction are not
allowed. No employee contributions are allowed except as outlined
under COBRA. If your Company is deducting a portion of the Health
& Welfare premium from your employees pay, then this method is to
be changed immediately. If you should have any questions about this
issue, you should contact the Fund's Audit Manager as quickly as
possible.
The reason this may occur from time to time is that
the Health & Welfare and Pension Fund cannot increase your
contribution rate until we receive a copy of the collective bargaining
or participation agreement from the Local Union. If we have not
received that in a timely manner, then we cannot inform you of any
contribution rate increase in a timely manner as we will not be aware
of what the terms of the agreement are until we receive it. The reason for this is that contributions are to be
made to the Funds in accordance with the terms of your collective
bargaining or participation agreements. These agreements do not limit
contributions to fifteen days per month. The cost of providing
benefits exceeds the amount of contributions for 15 days.
Employees who work more than 15 days and those who work less than 15
days in effect subsidize those who achieve eligibility by working the
minimal number of days required. If all employers were required to
remit only 15 contribution days per month, the contribution rate would
be extremely high. 31. I recently received a letter notifying me that our company is going to be audited. Why ? The Funds perform audits to ensure that the
Employers are remitting correctly and to head off any potential
problems. The Funds want to ensure that contributions are being made
for individuals for whom contributions are required and in the correct
amounts. It is only through auditing that the Administrator and the
Trustees can be reasonably sure that all participating employers are
properly and accurately recording the contributions which are due. It
also allows the employer to be comfortable with the performance of
it's employees who are remitting contributions to the Funds. 32. What records are reviewed in the course of a payroll audit? The type of records reviewed in a audit depends upon
the type of Employer that is being audited, as the records involved
vary from a small sole proprietorship company to a large national
corporation. Basically, the Funds will use time cards, time sheets,
payroll registers, employee earning records, personnel records, petty
cash journal sheets, and State Unemployment Quarterly Tax Returns.
The ICC may only require that you hold onto the
driver logs for six months but ERISA requires that you maintain
records to be able to account for the hours worked by your employees.
As such, if you decide to destroy the ICC logs, you should have a
summary of the hours worked by the employees kept by the month or
year. If you don't have the original records then the Funds may
estimate the amount of contributions due based on wages that were
earned by the employee during that time period.
34. What can I expect to happen during a payroll audit? You will be contacted by a Fund Auditor to set up a
mutually convenient date to perform the audit. The Auditor will notify
you as to what records are needed. Once the Auditor is at your
offices, he will review all of the records that have been given to
him. If he has any questions regarding the records, he will ask them.
He will then perform his review. After he has finished the audit
process, he will review with the Employer any and all discrepancies
that he has found. He will also ask additional questions if there is
additional information needed. At that time the Employer may bring to
his attention any areas that the Employer may believe that the auditor
has not considered in producing the audit results. The Auditor will
provide his/her rationale for assessing contributions in a specific
matter. When the Auditor leaves the Employer's office, the audit is
not yet completed. There will be work that the Auditor has to finish
at the Fund offices. Once he has completed his worksheets that are
then turned in to his/her supervisor for review. After this review,
the audit results will be sent out to the Employer.
The tax returns are one method that the Funds use to
review the entire population of employees to determine who is to be
included and who is to be excluded for contribution purposes. The
matter of making tax returns and other types of records available to
Fund auditors was decided in a Supreme Court case known as Central
States vs. Central Transport. This case acknowledged that
the Trustees of the Plan are responsible for collecting contributions
from delinquent employers, that the Trustees are personally
responsible for the actions of non-fiduciaries in collecting the
delinquent contributions and that the Funds have the right to expect a
reasonable audit of the employers books and records which include the
tax returns. The Employer does have the option of mailing the
records in only if all of the records, including the tax returns, are
going to be mailed. This can be discussed with the Auditor further
when he/she makes contact with you. 37. What if the Auditor determines that I am overpaying? If you are overpaying the Auditor will instruct you
how to proceed for any overpayments discovered during the time period
of the audit. Please be aware that any refunds or credits will be
given under the terms of the Trustees Resolution. The Employer should
then undertake a self audit for time period between the end of the
payroll audit to the present time to see if the trend has continued.
If it has, then a request or refund should be made under the terms of
the Trustees Resolution. 38. What should I do if I disagree with the audit results? Should you disagree with the audit results, you
should send a letter into the Fund outlining the differences that you
have with the results of the payroll audit. You should also include
any and all documentation to support your claim. The Fund may also
request that your books and records be made available again to review
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