Reciprocity FAQs
What is my "home fund"?
Your “home fund” is the fund in the jurisdiction of the IBEW local in which you are a member. This is typically the local where you first started working under an IBEW bargaining agreement.
See the Health & Welfare Eligibility & Reciprocity page for an overview of rules attributable to that Plan.
How do I set up reciprocity?
You must be enrolled in the Electronic Reciprocal Transfer System (ERTS) in order to take advantage of “money follows the man” reciprocity so that your hours and contributions worked can be transferred to your home fund. You may review your information online at the ERTS website.
If you are an IBEW Local 1547 member travelling outside, you must work in the jurisdiction of a “participating fund” that has signed a contract with the ERTS to be able to transfer contributions to the Fund’s Plans.
If you are a traveler to Alaska, to initiate reciprocity for contributions made while you are working in the jurisdiction of Local 1547, you must be working under the Inside or Outside Agreement and your home fund must be a “participating fund” in ERTS.
If you have questions about reciprocity, you may contact the Administrative Office by phone (907) 276-1246 or email and request the reciprocity representative.
How long does the transfer of funds take to be sent back to my Home Fund under reciprocity?
The minimum length of time for processing contributions through reciprocity is two to three months after the hours are worked. You must be signed up on the Electronic Reciprocal Transfer System (ERTS) and inform both your home fund and local, and the local and fund office in which you are working of your traveler status. If you do not do so, this will cause additional delays in processing your contributions to your home fund.
Will all the contributions for my hours get full benefit credit under reciprocity?
Your Home Fund defined benefit (DB)-Pension and/or defined contribution (DC) -Retirement Savings Plan will receive full credit for each hour worked.
See the Health & Welfare Eligibility & Reciprocity page for an overview of rules attributable to that Plan.
If I initiate reciprocity for one Fund, does it apply to the others?
No. For reciprocity, you will need to take separate action for each Fund.
Must I reciprocate Health & Welfare, Pension and the Retirement Savings Plan (RSP)?
No. The choice is yours. You may reciprocate Health & Welfare, Pension, or RSP individually, for two of the Funds or all three.
Can I get credit in the Pension for my service in other retirement plans if I don’t qualify for Money Follows the Man reciprocity?
The Trust has agreements with a relatively short list of plans to award “pro-rata” credit for service earned in the related plan. Under “pro-rata” pension reciprocity, years of service in one plan may be used to vest or gain benefit eligibility in the related plan. No contributions are transferred between plans using pro-rata reciprocity.
Contact the Administrative Office by phone (907) 276-1246 or email for more information.
Do I need to sign up on ERTS every time I travel outside of my Home fund?
No. You only need to sign up on ERTS once. However, it is your responsibility to keep your ERTS information up to date, keep track of your cessations on file and to notify the Locals and Trust offices when you travel away from your home Local and Home Fund.
How do I stop transfers back to my home fund?
To end transfers to your home fund you must log into the ERTS and fill out a Temporary Cessation Form or a Permanent Cessation Form.
A Temporary Cessation Form allows you to start and stop having funds sent back to your home fund from another participating fund’s jurisdiction without having to go through your home fund confirmation process each time.
Example: You should file a temporary cessation form if you transfer from one participating fund’s jurisdiction to another and you want to end having funds sent back from your current job and have them start up again when you get to your new participating fund.
A Permanent Cessation Form ends the transfer of funds back to your home fund now and in the future and changes your file to “No Selection”.
Example: You should file a permanent cessation form if you have returned to a job covered by the Alaska Electrical Trust Funds and want to end transfers from a participating fund in the lower 48 where you have been working for the past six months.
Note: if you want to resume transfers back to your home fund after submitting a Permanent Cessation Form, you MUST go back on ERTS and modify your registration on ERTS to select your new Home Fund. If a Home Fund is not selected the contributions WILL NOT transfer out. Contributions will stay in the Funds where the Traveler works.
How is my H&W calculated through reciprocity?
See the Reciprocal Eligibility section of the Health & Welfare Summary Plan Description (H&W-SPD) for details on how H&W hours are calculated through reciprocity.
I lost my login for ERTS. What do I do?
Contact your Home Local. They will be able to provide you with the necessary information for you to log back into ERTS.
Can I make voluntary contributions to my Pension and Retirement Saving Plan through reciprocity?
No. The Reciprocal Agreement does not permit transfer of voluntary employee contributions– only Employer contributions.
Why do some funds only have certain types of funds available?
Each jurisdiction is different. There are some that all three funds, as Alaska Electrical Trust Funds: Health & Welfare (H&W), Pension, (Defined Benefit-DB) and Retirement Savings Plan (Defined Contributions-DC). Few have legal funds, as we do. Others may only have H&W and DB or DC. To determine if a certain Fund participates in reciprocity and which plan(s) they contribute to, you may contact the related IBEW local. You may also contact the Alaska Electrical Trust Funds by phone (907) 276-1246 or email and request the reciprocity representative.
