– Available to active Plan A Participants and their eligible children only
The Tuition Assistance Program is designed to reimburse all or part of your tuition expenses for education, such as undergraduate college and university coursework, technical or vocational training, general education degree courses, career training, or adult education. It can also provide a small reimbursement to you for the cost of your child’s tuition for education in a public or private college or university degree program, or for post-high school technical or vocational training.
Participant Eligibility
Active Plan A Participants can apply for Tuition Assistance for themselves, if they meet the following criteria:
- You have completed at least one year of service (as defined by the plan) prior to beginning the course(s) for which you are seeking assistance, and
- You are actively employed in covered service during the month in which you begin the course(s).
Eligibility for Children
Active Plan A Participants can submit an application for Tuition Assistance for a child, as well.
To establish your child’s eligibility, a Participant must meet the following criteria:
- You have at least 10 years of vesting credit under the Southern California United Food & Commercial Workers Unions and Food Employers Pension Trust Fund, and
- You are actively employed in covered service during the month in which the child begins the course(s).
Your child must also meet the following criteria. He or she must be:
- Unmarried,
- Less than 24 years of age on the date the course begins, and
- Your dependent for purposes of federal income taxes.
Eligible children also include legally adopted children, children placed in the home for adoption, or step-children principally supported by you. Foster children are eligible, provided they meet the Fund’s foster child requirements. Contact the Fund Office for details.
A child does not need to be covered under the Fund’s benefits (i.e., medical, dental, etc.) to be eligible for Tuition Assistance.
Tuition Assistance for Participants
The Tuition Assistance Program is available to both full-time and part-time students. It may reimburse Participants for up to $500 per calendar year for classes or courses completed in that calendar year.
Eligible expenses include tuition expenses for post-high school undergraduate degree and general education degree classes or courses. The program recognizes the following types of accredited institutions:
- Public and private colleges and universities
- Community colleges
- Trade and technical schools
- Vocational schools
In addition, courses through correspondence schools, if accredited, qualify for Tuition Assistance.
If the courses you take qualify as Industry Advancement Courses, you can receive reimbursement for up to $1,000 for courses completed in a calendar year. (An Industry Advancement Course is a class or course approved by the Board of Trustees that improves a Participant’s knowledge or skills in a manner that is pertinent to advancement in the Retail Food Industry.) For more information about Industry Advancement Courses, contact the Fund Office.
Tuition Assistance for Children’s Expenses
You can receive reimbursement for up to $300 per child per calendar year for classes or courses completed by your eligible dependent children in that calendar year. Eligible expenses include tuition expenses you pay on behalf of your eligible children for post-high school undergraduate degree and general education degree courses at any of the institutions listed in the Scholarship Award and Tuition Assistance Programs.
Applying for Tuition Assistance
The following forms are required to apply for Tuition Assistance.
Tuition Assistance Application for Participant
The Participant must complete this form. You must also provide a tuition receipt and a copy of a school transcript showing successful completion of the courses for which you would like Tuition Assistance. Mail the form and documentation to the Fund Office within one year after completing the courses.
Tuition Assistance Application for Child of Participant
You or your child can complete this form, but you must sign it. You must also provide a receipt for your child’s tuition and a copy of his or her school transcript showing successful completion of the courses for which you would like Tuition Assistance. Mail the form and documentation to the Fund Office within one year after your child has completed the courses.