FAQ

Some benefit plans include family coverage provided your dependents meet the definition of a dependent contained in the benefit summary. Coverage for your dependents becomes effective the same date your coverage is effective.

Definition of a dependent:

Who is a dependent?

Your spouse is a person of the same or opposite sex to whom you are legally married, or with whom you have lived continually in a common-law relationship for more than 12 months and publicly represent as your spouse.

• Benefits can be extended for a former spouse where you are required by court order to provide some or all of the benefits available under your plan. Note that you can only insure one person as your spouse for all benefits at any given time.

Your dependent children are your or your spouse’s unmarried natural, adopted, or step children, or any other unmarried children for whom you or your spouse have been appointed legal guardian. Your dependent child is eligible for coverage if he/she:

• is under age 21 and not working more than 30 hours a week, unless a full-time student,
• is under age 25 and registered as a student at a college, university, trade school or similar educational facility and attending on a full-time basis, or
• permanently incapacitated either prior to age 21 or while an eligible student (must be suffering from a permanent mental or physical infirmity and incapable of supporting himself/herself financially due to a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric condition).

If your child is suffering from a medically diagnosed permanent mental or physical infirmity, or is a student, for continued coverage beyond age 21 you must submit a written application within 31 days of your child reaching age 21 and supply proof of their infirmity, or status as a student.

Your spouse’s child is an eligible dependent if the child is also your natural or adopted child and your spouse is residing with you, insured under your plan and has custody of the child.

A child for whom you or your spouse has been appointed guardian is not an eligible dependent unless NEBS has received satisfactory proof of guardianship. If your insured spouse is the guardian, the insured spouse must be residing with you.

A child is not considered a full-time student if the child is being paid while attending a training or re-training program at an educational institution, excluding scholarships. If you have dependent children who are students over age 21, you must submit proof of student status annually (by completing the student declaration form).

A parent (for the purpose of Optional Life Insurance only) under age 70 who is residing with you and who is financially dependent on you.

Claim forms are available from your employer or here on our website.

Yes! You must have a Medical Doctor's note, recommending massage therapy. Submit this note with your first claim and The Co-operators will keep it on file.

NEBS is a multi-employer plan, meaning we bill the employer and they are responsible to deduct from employees any premiums the employee is expected to pay.

Employers set the level of contributions they will make to the cost of the insurance and health benefits plans. In cases where non-taxable benefits are chosen, employees must pay premiums. In other cases, employers may pay all, or a portion of premiums. These are decisions the employer will make with their employees based on their circumstances.

For more information on the NEBS Program, call the Program Administrator at 867-873-4965.

You apply for benefits through your employer, by completing an enrolment form.

Claim forms are available from your employer or from our website

Employee and Dependent Life, Short Term Disability (Weekly Indemnity), and Long Term Disability claims should be sent to:

            Manager, Group Benefits Plans

            Northern Employee Benefits Services

            #700, 5201 50th Avenue

            Yellowknife, N.T. X1A 3S9

Upon completion, Extended Health Care, Vision Care and Dental Care claims should be sent to:

            Group Claims Department

            The Co-operators

            1920 College Avenue

            REGINA, Saskatchewan S4P 1C4

Claims must be sent to The Co-operators within one year from the date of service, to be considered for payment.

Prescription drug claims can be submitted electronically if your pharmacy has the capability to submit drug claims online. If your pharmacy does not accept online transmission please complete a standard Extended Health Care claim form and submit it to Co‑operators Life.

Extended health care claim forms must be accompanied by receipts which give sufficient detail to assist in the settlement of the claim. Dental claim forms must be completed by you and your dentist, and a separate form is required for each person seeing the dentist.

Dental Claims and Dental treatment plans for pre-determination may be submitted electronically if your dental office has the capability to submit claims online. If your dental office does not accept online transmission please complete a standard Dental Association claim form and mail it to The Co‑operators. 

If you are a member of the NEBS Extended Health program, you are covered for Emergency Out of Canada coverage.

There is a yearly deductible. After that, all basic services, such as fillings, check ups, x-rays, cleanings and getting teeth pulled are 100% paid for by the NEBS dental plan, up to a maximum of $1,500 per person, per year!

You can register to have your claim reimbursements directly deposited to your bank account. It's easy and you get your money back much quicker than by mail. You can find the Direct Deposit Application Form on the the Member Forms page.

There are several plans you can choose. You may choose to add additional levels of life insurance for yourself, your dependents, and/or your dependent parents. If your employer participates in the extended health and vision care plan and/or the dental care plan, you can choose to participate or not. If you participate you have the choice of single coverage, spouse coverage or family coverage.

Rates for insurance and health care plans are negotiated annually with our insurance underwriters. These rates are generally stable but can go up or down slightly from year to year.

Life insurance, long term disability, accidental death, disease and dismemberment, and weekly indemnity plans provide benefits based on an individual's salary. The cost for these plans will vary by the employee's salary and the coverage chosen by the employer.

Extended health care and dental services have a fixed rate for single coverage and another rate for family coverage.

The NEBS Pension Plan is legislated and employee contributions are set in the plan. The current contribution for employees is 8% of regular earnings. Employers currently contribute a matching 8%.

The NEBS office can provide interested employers with exact costs for the various plans and the optional levels of coverage based on a current employee salary listing.

Your health benefits stop immediately. If you are a member of the pension plan, your options will be mailed to you. 

Your benefits, under each coverage, terminate automatically at the age specified in each benefit explanation, retirement date or your retirement on pension. Other reasons for termination of coverage are termination of your service as an employee, termination of the master policy or plan text or cessation of premium and/or deposit payments.

All full-time employees under the age of 75 for Life and under the age of 65 for all other benefits who have completed the waiting period, are actively at work and who work a minimum of 20 hours per week, and elected councillors and appointed board members under the age of 75 for Life, if coverage is elected by the employer.

All Term Employees that fit the aforementioned criteria are eligible for the following benefits:

• term of 24 months or more, eligible for all benefits,
• term of less than 24 months but at least 12 months, eligible for all benefits except disability benefits,
• term of less than 12 months, not eligible for benefits.

Yes, you are currently required to contribute 8% of your earnings each month.

No. Your employer’s contributions to the Plan are not included in your taxable income and, therefore, are not subject to income tax.

Yes.  Pension benefits you receive are treated as taxable income at the time you receive them.  Income tax is usually automatically deducted.

Benefits from the Plan are “locked-in” as required by law.  Unless your entitlement qualifies as a “small pension” under pension legislation, locked-in funds cannot be received in cash until you reach retirement age and must be used to provide a lifetime pension. 

Your membership in the Plan has a direct effect on how much you can contribute to an RRSP.  In each year of membership in the Plan your RRSP contribution room is reduced by a certain amount called a Pension Adjustment (PA).  You will always know how much RRSP contribution room you have because the Canada Revenue Agency indicates the maximum amount you can contribute to an RRSP on your Notice of Assessment.

Depending on a number of factors (described in this summary) such as age and years of uninterrupted service if you retire early, your pension may be subject to a reduction. 

All pension benefits, benefits on terminating employment, death benefits, and other amounts payable are designed to provide retirement income.

Generally, with the exception of marital breakdown, your benefits cannot be assigned to anyone, nor can they be claimed by your creditors even if you become bankrupt.

Contributions by you and your employer are remitted to a pension trust fund.  The pension trust fund is held separate from the assets of your employer.

*This description of the Plan is a summary for communication purposes only.  Interpretation is governed by the legal plan documents which the Pension Committee has reserved the right to amend from time to time.  In the event of any inconsistency, provisions of the legal plan documents and any applicable legislation will prevail. 

If you leave your employer before retirement and depending on your age and years of service, you can choose to receive a deferred pension benefit calculated in accordance with the standard formula or transfer the commuted value of your pension out of the Plan to another locked-in retirement savings vehicle.

Your employer is required to contribute an amount equal to your contributions to the Plan.  Currently, your employer contributes 8% of your earnings each month.

When you can start receiving your pension depends entirely on your age.  Once you reach age 65, you are eligible to receive your normal pension. However, you can begin receiving your pension earlier in certain circumstances. 

You become entitled to the pension benefits you have accrued under the Plan according to the benefit formula once you have been a member of the Plan for 2 years. However, you cannot receive any money from the Plan until you reach retirement age (subject to some limited exceptions).

All employees employed by a Participating Employer in a class of employment that is eligible for membership in are required to join the Plan. Full-time employees generally become members of the Plan on the date of their employment. Part-time employees generally become members of the Plan after completing 2 years of employment in which they earn more than 35% of the YMPE in each of those years (In 2015, 35% of YMPE was $18,760).