The United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds (the “Funds”) is a group of multi-employer plans that provide health and pension benefits to retired coal miners and their eligible dependents. The Funds was created in the White House in 1946 in a contract between the United Mine Workers of America (“UMWA”) and the Federal Government. Since that year, the UMWA and Bituminous Coal Operators’ Association, Inc. (“BCOA”) have negotiated periodically over employee benefits for coal miners, retirees, and their dependents. At present, the Funds provides benefits to over 90,000 beneficiaries.
The Funds is currently made up of the following multi-employer plans with a separate Board of Trustees administering each of the plans:
The UMWA 1974 Pension Plan and Trust, the UMWA Cash Deferred Savings Plan of 1988, the UMWA 1993 Benefit Plan, and the UMWA Prefunded Benefit Plan were established through periodic collective bargaining between the UMWA and the BCOA. The UMWA Combined Benefit Fund and the UMWA 1992 Benefit Plan were established by Congress in the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992 (“Coal Act”).
The Funds is headquartered in Washington D.C. and has Field Service Offices located in the coalfield areas of Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Funds has approximately 160 employees, most of whom are located in the Washington, D.C. office. The Funds is separate and distinct from the UMWA and the BCOA.
