[§87D-2]  Establishment of the trust. An employee organization shall be exempt from chapter 87A and meet thefollowing requirements in order to establish a voluntary employees' beneficiaryassociation trust under this chapter:

(1)  The employee organization shall establish atax-exempt trust pursuant to Title 26 United States Code section 501(c)(9), asamended, and related regulations, known as a voluntary employees' beneficiaryassociation trust;

(2)  The trust may offer health benefits in accordancewith Title 26 United States Code section 501(c)(9), as amended, and relatedregulations;

(3)  The trust shall meet all the standards andrequirements applicable to employee welfare benefit plans under Title 29 UnitedStates Code sections 1001-1191, as amended, and related regulations.  Theassets of any plan provided by or through the trust shall not inure to thebenefit of any employee organization and shall be held for the exclusivepurposes of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and defrayingreasonable expenses of administration; provided that this shall not precludethe trust from returning contributions or payments made by an employer under amistake of fact within one year after the payment of the contributions orpayments;

(4)  Each plan offered by the trust shall beestablished and maintained pursuant to a written instrument that:

(A)  Provides a procedure for establishing andcarrying out a funding policy and method consistent with the objectives of theplan and the requirements of this chapter;

(B)  Describes any procedure under the plan forthe allocation of responsibilities for the operation and administration of theplan;

(C)  Provides a procedure for amending theplan;

(D)  Specifies the basis on which payments aremade to and from the plan; and

(E)  Provides a procedure for providingadequate notice in writing to any participant or beneficiary whose claim forbenefits has been denied, setting forth the specific reasons for such denial,and affording a reasonable opportunity for any participant whose claim has beendenied for a full and fair review.  The written instrument shall meet any otherstandards and requirements of Title 29 United States Code [sections] 1001-1191,as amended, and related regulations;

(5)  The trust shall provide a summary plandescription, material modifications or amendments to the summary plandescription, and updates to the summary plan description that meet thestandards and requirements of this chapter;

(6)  All of the assets of the trust's plans shall beheld in trust by the governing board of the trust, at least one member of whichshall be a retiree and a member of the employee organization sponsoring thetrust;

(7)  The governing board of the trust shall holdregularly scheduled meetings open to all participants and beneficiaries andshall provide such persons with advance notice of all meetings; and

(8)  The employee organization shall have anapplicable collective bargaining agreement with the employer; provided that theagreement shall specify that the employee organization agrees to comply withall requirements of this chapter without regard to whether or not the trust isdeemed a governmental plan under federal law. [L 2005, c 245, pt of §2]

 

Revision Note

 

  Subsection designation deleted pursuant to §23G-15(1).