We are excited to announce that all Bell Technical Solutions team members will be transitioning to Bell’s Omniflex benefits, pension and savings plans effective April 29, 2023.

Some key upcoming dates are as follows:

·        April 28: Last date of your current benefits coverage under the BTS policy with Industrial Alliance (IA)

o   You will have 90 days (up to July 27, 2023) to submit eligible claims expenses with IA.

o   If you have any known medical expenses like an upcoming prescription renewal, for example, you may want to consider filling/refilling your prescriptions before April 29.

·        April 29: Effective date of benefits coverage under the new Omniflex program (insured with Manulife) and enrollment in the Defined Contribution (DC) pension and savings plans

o   You will begin to submit claims expenses with Manulife and be reimbursed according to Bell’s plan provisions. If you have to incur costs for your eligible dependents before Manulife is advised of your enrollment choices, you will have to pay the full cost and then submit your claim to Manulife for reimbursement.

·        May 1: Visit the Benefits site to access detailed information on all new benefits and savings plans.

·        May 4-17: Enrollment period for benefits and savings plans

o   You will receive an email when the enrollment period opens on May 4, with a link to the new Benefits site where you will make your enrollment selections online.

Important – For all unionized staff

·        Automatic enrollment in the DC pension plan occurs at 3 months of service at BTS. You will receive an email from the Benefits Administrator to enroll on the Benefits site.

·        You are entitled to enroll in the Benefits plan at 6 months of service.

o   If you have less than 6 months of service as of the enrollment period, you will receive an email upon reaching the 6-month eligibility date, with details on how to enroll through the Benefits site.

To learn more about the new plans and additional details regarding the transition, stay tuned for video capsules coming next week!

Note: As part of the transition, disability claims management and medical accommodations will be handled under the Bell Disability Management group beginning May 1. As such, next week we will communicate the new policy and process for employees and leaders if they need to file a disability claim or medical accommodation request.

The Benefits team