Frequently Asked Questions

To apply for most SASMI benefits, log in to the member portal or contact the SASMI Fund Office for assistance. For the Welfare Benefit, contact your local union.

Download a SASMI beneficiary form from your Profile Page on the member portal. Complete it, sign it in ink, and submit it to your Local Union. Keep a copy for your records.

If you’re an active member, you should designate a beneficiary for the SASMI Death Benefit. If you’re a retired member, you should designate a beneficiary for the Retiree Death Benefit.

No. If you have surviving dependents who were covered by your local SMART welfare plan, they can continue to use your Active Plan HRA as long as they remain covered. They should contact the SASMI Fund Office for help.

No. Your surviving spouse can access your HCRA upon your death. They should contact the SASMI Fund Office for help.

You can change your bank account information and set up direct deposit only when you apply for online benefits through the member portal. If the information on file is no longer correct, you will need to upload a copy of a voided check to make changes. You can also contact the office and a representative can assist you.

You can update all of your personal information on the member portal. Just navigate to the profile page. At the bottom of the page, you will be prompted to click a link.

SASMI Trust Fund
3180 Fairview Park Drive
Ste. 150
Falls Church, VA 22042

Here’s a link.

Visit the member portal and click on “Need a New Login” to get started. There’s also a quick video you can watch to help you register. Note that you will need your IA Number (must enter 8 digits), Social Security Number, and date of birth to register.

The IA number is the 6- or 7-digit number located on your dues receipt. You can contact your local office to find out your IA number.

SASMI does not have access to the information on file with your local, so you will need to provide the required verification documents to determine your dependents’ eligibility for SASMI benefits, even if you’ve provided this information to your local. In addition to verifying your dependents’ information, other information, like beneficiary information, home address, phone number and email address all need to be shared with SASMI separately to receive communications from SASMI.

Available for work means you must be available for, seek and accept suitable work in the Sheet Metal Industry in your Home Local Union at all times during a Stabilization Period and until receipt of payment and benefits. SASMI confers with a member’s local union to determine availability for work.

Tax forms, along with all other forms and mailings that have been sent home, are available on the member portal.

An EOB is an Explanation of Benefits. When you visit a doctor’s office (or vision, dental or hearing care office) for a treatment or service, you’ll receive an EOB in the mail from your health insurance company detailing how your claim was processed. It outlines the services received, the amount billed, what the insurance covered, and the patient’s responsibility. An EOB is not a bill but a document to help you understand your coverage.

Future Service Credit is the period (measured in years) during which you are eligible for benefits under the Plan after you have established initial eligibility. A half-year is credited for each Stabilization Period during which you are eligible for benefits, have not forfeited eligibility or qualification for benefits and worked at least 100 hours with paid contributions or received a benefit. The time during which you retain eligibility during military service under is included in future service. For purposes of the Severance Benefit, there are no additional Future Service Credit accruals after December 31, 2009. Contributions paid under a contract requiring contributions to HCRA Plan B do not count towards Future Service Credit under this Active Plan.

Most of your personal information, including your group hours, can be found on the member portal. After you log in, go to “Eligibility & Activity” on the top of the screen and scroll down to the appropriate stabilization period.

To apply for the Supplemental Unemployment/Underemployment or Welfare Benefit, contact SASMI or your local union for an application. A local union representative will need to sign your application before it can be processed by SASMI.

In most cases, receiving a benefit as an active member reduces your retiree (HCRA) benefit. However, benefits like the Annual Physical Exam Benefit and the Work Boots Benefit are not “deduct” benefits and will not have an impact on your future active or retiree SASMI benefits.

Yes, you can! You can apply for both benefits during the same stabilization period. Receipt of the Welfare Benefit will not reduce your Supplemental Unemployment/Underemployment benefit.

Visit the member portal and click on “Need a New Login” to get started. There’s also a quick video you can watch to help you register. Note that you will need your IA Number (must enter 8 digits), Social Security Number, and date of birth to register.

Yes. If you’re not working, or you’re working less than the average number of hours due to an illness or injury, you are eligible for benefits even if you are not receiving state unemployment benefits. To receive the benefit, you must provide medical documentation of your inability to work. You can contact SASMI and we will send an application out to you or you can contact your local union. A Local Union Representative will need to sign your application before it can be processed by SASMI.

You can enter your bank account information and set up direct deposit from the member portal when you apply for online benefits, like the Annual Physical Benefit. Just upload a copy of a voided check. If you had previously applied for an online benefit, verify the information on file is still correct. If so, you will not need to upload another copy of a canceled check.

Yes! If your local union welfare plan allows it, you can set up automatic payments of your premiums from your HCRA account. If your welfare fund is not able to do this, then you may submit claims for reimbursement.

If you pass away prior to retirement and if the contributions made on your behalf are greater than the benefits paid out, you may qualify for the Death Benefit. The benefit payable is based on a schedule using your years of Future Service Credit. Your surviving spouse is also eligible for up to 18 months of COBRA Continuation Coverage.

Your HCRA can still be accessed by your surviving spouse. Your beneficiary may be eligible for the Retiree Death Benefit, depending on how many years you’ve been retired.

You can change your bank account information and set up direct deposit only when you apply for online benefits through the member portal. If the information on file is no longer correct, you will need to upload a copy of a voided check to make changes. You can also contact the office and a representative can assist you.

You can check your SASMI benefits, including how much has been contributed, how much SASMI has paid to you, or how much you have in your HCRA, on the member portal.

Yes! If they’re covered under your local’s health plan as your dependent, you will be eligible to receive SASMI’s Annual Physical Benefit on their behalf for receiving a physical exam. Spouses and children are eligible for $100 each per calendar year. As the member, you are eligible for $200 per calendar year. The maximum the whole family can receive each year is $600 total.

If you have received Supplemental Unemployment/Underemployment Benefits for two benefit periods, you are not eligible for either the third or fourth period of benefits unless you worked at least 10% of the applicable group hours in the previous stabilization period or had a verified disability.

In general, you cannot receive active benefits that equal more than 200% of the contributions received on your behalf. Your eligibility to receive benefits that equal up to 200% of contributions is capped at $100,000 in benefits. If you have received benefits equal to or in excess of $100,000, additional benefits will only be paid up to 100% of the contributions paid on your behalf.

If your eligibility for SASMI benefits ends after you receive benefits for 1, 2 or 3 stabilization periods, you can become eligible (or recycle) once you meet the initial eligibility requirements again. If you work during a stabilization period and you draw a SASMI active benefit, that period cannot be counted toward reestablishing eligibility.