Welcome
The Company is pleased to provide you with this Summary Plan Description (SPD) of our comprehensive benefits program. We believe our benefits program is an essential and meaningful part of your overall compensation. The Company’s benefits program allows you to design the benefits package that best meets your own, unique needs. We hope you and your family take some time to become familiar with all that the program has to offer you.
Under the Company’s flexible benefits program, you can choose the benefits that are important to you. The following are benefits for which the Company pays all of the cost:
n Basic Life Insurance
n Business Travel Insurance
n Long-Term Disability Insurance
n Employee Assistance Program.
The following are benefits for which you and the Company share the cost:
n Medical
n Dental
n Vision.
You may also participate in other benefit plans by paying the full cost through payroll deduction. These additional choices include:
n Group Universal Life Insurance
n Long-Term Care Insurance
n Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
n Health Care Flexible Spending Account
n Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account
n Vacation Buy/Sell.
To help you save for retirement, the Company provides a Cash Balance Plan (management and nonrepresented, nonmanagement employees) or Pension Plan (represented employees) at no cost to you. If you elect to participate in the 401(k) Savings Plan, the Company will match a portion of your contribution after you meet the service requirement.
From time to time, we may update sections of this SPD. We’ve designed the SPD so that you can simply replace any updated sections with new information we send you. Also, you can store any other benefits information or new information you receive in the binder’s inside pockets. This way, all of your benefits information is right at your fingertips—and in one place.
We encourage you to read through your SPD so you can better understand your benefit options, and use it as a guide to make well-informed benefits decisions for you and your family.
Sincerely,
Employee Benefits
How
to Use This Summary Plan Description (SPD)
Here is how this SPD is organized:
n Each benefit area is divided into sections by tabs
n “At-A-Glance” charts in the beginning of each section give you a quick summary of your benefits
n Important facts and helpful tips are highlighted in boxes throughout the SPD. You can look at these for quick information
n If you have any questions, please contact an Employee Benefits representative for more information.
Who
Is Eligible
You
You are eligible to participate in the Company’s benefits program if you:
n Are a regular employee
n Are scheduled to work at least 40 hours per week and
n Have worked for the Company for at least six months.
For the Savings Plan, Cash Balance Plan and Pension Plan, you are eligible if you’re scheduled to work at least 1,000 hours in a calendar year.
Your Dependents
Your family members may participate in your group insurance plans if they are eligible.
Eligible dependents include:
n
Your legal spouse
n Your domestic partner (you must complete an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership, and your domestic partner is eligible for an HMO medical plan, dental and vision coverage)
n Your unmarried dependent children under age 23
n Your unmarried children, regardless of age, who are mentally or physically disabled and are dependent on you for support. To arrange for coverage to continue after your dependent child reaches age 23, contact the medical, dental and/or vision plan carriers before your child’s 23rd birthday. Individual carriers will determine the child’s eligibility for continued coverage. Send Employee Benefits a copy of the carrier determination letter within 31 days of receipt.
Eligible dependent children include your natural children, legally adopted children, children placed in your home for adoption, stepchildren and children for whom you or your spouse are the court-appointed legal guardians. For purposes of the Company’s benefits program, children of your eligible dependent children (your grandchildren) are not considered to be your eligible dependents. A dependent child who becomes eligible due to a Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO) is eligible on the date stated in the order.
The following are situations when members of your family are not eligible for coverage:
n If you or your dependents are on active duty in the armed forces of any country
n If you are married to an employee of any Sempra Energy Company, you may enroll as an employee or as a dependent, but you cannot be covered as both. Also, your dependent children may be covered by one parent only.
You may be required to provide proof of your dependents’ eligibility, such as their ages. False or misrepresented eligibility information will cause both your coverage and your dependents’ coverage to be irrevocably terminated immediately. Falsification of information is also a violation of the Company’s Code of Conduct and you will be subject to disciplinary action.
Adding New Dependents
If you get married, your new spouse and any
eligible stepchildren are eligible for coverage the first of the month
following your marriage date. You must enroll your new spouse and any eligible
dependents within 31 days following the date of marriage or you will not be
able to enroll them until a future open enrollment period.
If you or your covered spouse/domestic partner have a baby, adopt a child, have a child placed for adoption or become the court-appointed legal guardian, your new child will be automatically covered for the first 31 days following the date of birth, adoption, placement for adoption or the date of the court appointed legal guardianship. You must enroll your new child within 31 days of the birth, date of adoption, placement for adoption or the date of the court-appointed legal guardianship in order to continue coverage.
A dependent child who becomes eligible due to a Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO) is eligible on the date stated in the order. You should enroll your dependent within the specified time period (31 days) allowed by the Company.
When adding a new dependent you will be required to provide appropriate documentation, such as a marriage license, birth certificate or court decree.
A Qualified Medical Child Support Order is a judgment, decree or order (including a settlement agreement) issued by a domestic relations court or other court of competent jurisdiction, or through an administrative process established under State law which has the force and effect of law in that State and which creates or recognizes the existence of a child’s right to, or assigns to a child, the right to receive health benefits for which a participant or beneficiary is eligible under the plan and that the plan administrator determines to be qualified under the terms of ERISA and applicable state law.
Domestic Partner Cov erage
You may also add your domestic partner and dependents of your domestic partner for coverage any time during the year. You must complete and submit the Affidavit of Domestic Partnership to Employee Benefits.
In order for you to cover your domestic partner or your domestic partner’s dependents for benefits, you must meet all of the following criteria:
n You and your domestic partner must reside together and intend to do so permanently
n You cannot be related by blood to your domestic partner to the degree of closeness that would prohibit a legal marriage
n You and your domestic partner are mutually responsible for basic living expenses
n You and your domestic partner are both the age of consent in your state
n You or your domestic partner are not legally married to someone else. (If you are married, you must wait until the divorce is final and you have received the papers before you are eligible for coverage)
n Neither you nor your domestic partner have any other domestic partners.
Domestic partner coverage is limited to the HMO medical plans, dental and vision plans. You may choose to add your domestic partner to any or all of these plans, however, you must be covered under the same plans.
If your domestic partner already has medical, dental or vision coverage, our Company plan will be the secondary coverage.
If your domestic partner relationship ends, contact Employee Benefits for a “Termination of Domestic Partnership” form. You will not be able to add a new domestic partner, or re-enroll your domestic partner, until 12 months after the termination notice is filed with Employee Benefits.
|
Note: Under IRS regulations the domestic partner benefit is considered taxable income. The value will show on your paycheck as additional earnings when there is a medical dental or vision plan deduction. These additional earnings are subject to all applicable taxes but do not count as earnings for benefits. |
Flexible
Benefits
The Company offers a flexible benefits program. This means that you can choose the plans, coverage levels or coverage options that best meet your own, unique needs. In a sense, you get to design your own personal benefit program.
The Company provides some benefits to you at no cost. For other benefits, you share the cost with the Company, or pay the entire cost of coverage. The amount you pay depends on the benefits and coverage levels you select.
Waiving Cov erage
If you have adequate coverage from another source or don’t need a particular benefit, you may choose to waive all Company coverage except the following:
n Basic Life
n Long-Term Disability.
For more information, contact Employee Benefits.
Personalized Enrollment Information
During each annual open enrollment period, the Company will provide you with personalized enrollment information, which will include the coverage choices available to you and the costs for the following year.
The cost for Vacation Buy/Sell is based on your pay as of a company designated date prior to the annual open enrollment period. During the annual open enrollment period, the Company will notify you of the exact date used to establish your rate of pay. Changes in your pay after this date will not affect the cost of Vacation Buy/Sell.
Cost
Of Coverage
The Company provides the following benefits at no cost to you:
n Cash Balance Plan (management and nonrepresented, nonmanagement) or Pension Plan (represented)
n Basic Life
n Business Travel Accident
n Long-Term Disability
n
EAP.
For other benefits, you share in or pay the entire cost of coverage.
Before-Tax Payroll Deductions
The following benefits are paid for through before-tax payroll deductions:
n Medical
n Dental
n Vision.
Your contributions are automatically deducted from your paycheck on a before-tax basis. The amount you contribute for these benefits depends on the plans and coverage level you choose.
If you decide to contribute to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or buy vacation time, you pay the entire cost and your contributions are made on a before-tax basis.
If you participate in the Savings Plan, you contribute on a before-tax or after-tax basis, or a combination of the two. If you have completed a year of service with at least 1,000 hours worked, the Company matches a portion of your contributions, subject to the maximum matching contribution rules imposed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Contributing on a before-tax basis lowers your taxable income and saves you money.
Tax Treatment for Domestic Partner Cov erage
The IRS does not extend the tax breaks allowed for spouses
to domestic partners. For this reason, if you cover your domestic partner for
medical, dental and/or vision benefits through the Company, the cost of
coverage for your partner will be deducted from your paycheck on an after-tax basis. In addition, the value
of the company-subsidized coverage will be added to your taxable income as
“imputed income”
—money you did not earn but that is attributed to your income.
After-Tax Payroll Deductions
For the following benefits, you pay for the entire cost of coverage through after-tax payroll deductions:
n Group Universal Life (GUL) Insurance
n Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
n Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance.
Who Pays for What
|
|
Who Pays |
How You Pay |
|
Medical |
The Company and You |
Through before-tax payroll deductions |
|
Dental |
The Company and You |
Through before-tax payroll deductions |
|
Vision |
The Company and You |
Through before-tax payroll deductions |
|
EAP |
The Company |
You pay nothing |
|
Basic Life |
The Company |
You pay nothing |
|
Group Universal Life |
You |
Through after-tax payroll deductions |
|
Accidental Death &
Dismemberment (AD&D) |
You |
Through after-tax payroll deductions |
|
Business Travel
Accident |
The Company |
You pay nothing |
|
Long-Term Disability |
The Company |
You pay nothing |
|
Long-Term Care |
You |
Through after-tax payroll deductions |
|
Flexible Spending
Accounts |
You |
Through before-tax payroll deductions |
|
Cash Balance Plan |
The Company |
You pay nothing |
|
Savings Plan |
The Company and You |
Through before-tax and/or after-tax payroll deductions. The Company makes matching contributions subject to a maximum |
|
Vacation Buy |
You |
Through before-tax payroll deductions |
|
Vacation Sell |
The Company |
You receive additional taxable income |
Changing
Your Coverage During The Year
Qualified Status Changes
You can change your level of coverage during the year (such as employee-only to employee-plus-one-coverage, or deleting coverage) only if you have a qualified change in status. Qualified changes in status include:
n Your marriage or domestic partnership
n Your divorce or legal separation
n You gain a new dependent by reason of marriage, birth, adoption, placement for adoption, court-appointed legal guardianship or domestic partnership
n The death of your spouse, dependent child or domestic partner
n A change in your spouse’s or dependent’s employment status (such as losing a job or becoming employed)
n Loss of eligibility for an unmarried dependent child (by reaching age 23, marrying, joining the military or other circumstances making him or her no longer eligible for coverage)
n A significant change in the cost or coverage of your spouse’s employer-provided benefits or the Company’s benefits (if imposed by a third party, such as a carrier)
n You decline coverage with the Company because you have coverage elsewhere, but you later lose coverage
n An increase or decrease in work hours for you, your spouse or your dependent
n You are beginning or ending a leave of absence under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
n A change in residence or work site for you, your spouse or your dependent (this may require a change of carrier)
n Entitlement to Medicare or Medicaid for you, your spouse or your dependent
n Court judgment, decree or order requiring coverage for your dependent.
You may also increase your Health Care FSA contributions if you, your spouse or dependent becomes eligible for COBRA.
Any change you make must be consistent with your change in
status (e.g., you adopt a child and
you want to add the child to your medical plans). For more information, see the
Life Events section
of this binder.
Special Enrollment Periods
You and your eligible dependents may be eligible to enroll in the plan during a 31-day special enrollment period if:
n You have coverage under another plan that ends or
n You gain a new dependent as a result of marriage, birth, adoption or court-appointed legal guardianship.
In order to be eligible for the special enrollment period, you must request enrollment in the plan within 31 days of either of these events.
In the event of marriage or loss of other health coverage, the plan covers you on the first of the month following the date of the event. In the event of birth, adoption, placement for adoption or court-appointed legal guardianship, coverage starts on the date of birth, adoption, placement for adoption or the date stated in the legal order.
What You Need To Do
To make a change, complete and submit a “Family Status Change Form” to Employee Benefits within 31 days after the change occurs. If you do not report the event within this time limit, you will not be allowed to make changes until the next annual open enrollment period.
Changing Between Plans
You can change from your current medical or dental plan to another medical or dental plan only during an annual open enrollment period. You cannot change plans during the year unless you have a qualified status change such as moving out of the plan’s service area or transferring to another Sempra Energy Company that does not offer the same plans.
Taking
A Leave Of Absence
Family Medical Leave
If you have been employed at the Company for at least a year and worked at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months, you may be eligible for a family medical leave of absence of up to 12 weeks, if any of the following applies:
n The birth of a child
n To care for a newborn child
n To care for a child placed for adoption or foster care
n To care for a member of your family with a serious health condition
n You have a serious health condition that makes you unable to perform your job.
(
Your coverage under the plan will continue during a family medical leave of absence from the first day of leave to the day the leave ends, provided you pay your share of the premiums, if any. If your coverage is terminated for failure to make any contribution to the plan while on leave, you will be eligible to re-enroll in the plan immediately upon returning from leave.
Military Leave
You may continue your coverage at no additional cost under the plan if you are on military leave of 30 days or less. If your leave is longer than 30 days you may be eligible to continue coverage under COBRA by paying the full monthly cost plus a 2% administration fee.
If you give advanced notice, the Company, through its administrator, will notify you of your option to continue coverage for up to 18 months under COBRA. If you fail to make the required contributions, or fail to return to work after 18 months, your coverage will end.
Note: COBRA coverage may not be available if you are covered under a military plan.
Phone
Numbers and Web Sites
|
Carrier |
Phone Number |
Web Site |
|
Medical |
|
|
|
|
1-800-756-7039 |
www.aetna.com |
|
Blue Cross |
1-800-933-9146 |
www.bluecrossca.com |
|
CIGNA |
1-800-344-0557 |
www.cigna.com |
|
Health Net |
1-800-522-0088 |
www.healthnet.com |
|
Kaiser Permanente |
1-800-464-4000 |
www.kaiserpermanente.org |
|
Maxicare |
1-800-234-6294 |
www.maxicare.com |
|
Dental |
|
|
|
Delta Dental |
1-888-335-8227 |
www.deltadentalca.org |
|
SafeGuard |
1-800-880-1800 |
www.safeguard.net |
|
Vision |
|
|
|
Vision Service Plan
(VSP) |
1-800-622-7444 |
www.vsp.com |
|
SafeGuard Premier
Vision Plan |
1-800-880-1800 |
www.safeguard.net |
|
Retirement |
|
|
|
T. Rowe Price |
1-800-922-9945 |
rps.troweprice.com (you must first register with T. Rowe Price) |
|
Other |
|
|
|
CIGNA (GUL) |
1-800-828-3485 |
www.cigna.com\corp\index.html |
|
CNA (LTC) |
1-800-528-4582 |
www.cnaltc.com |
|
FSA Administration
(UniAccount) |
1-888-209-7976 |
www.bluecrossca.com |
|
Holman Counseling (EAP) |
1-800-321-2843 |
24 hours a day |
|
Pacific Business Group
on Health |
For general information on health care in |
www.healthscope.org |
|
Your ERISA Rights |
|
Your rights as a
participant in the Company's benefits program are protected |
|
Important! |
|
This SPD is intended to be easy to use and understand. This binder contains only highlights of the Company benefits program. The Plan Documents contain the details of the plans. This SPD does not replace the official Plan Documents that legally govern the operation of the plan. If there is a discrepancy between this SPD and those documents, the documents wil |