WELS BPO

Premium Payments

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Payment of Premiums

Billing Frequencies and Payment Deadlines

  • The WELS VEBA Group Health Care Plan, Voluntary Group Term Life, Voluntary Long Term Disability, and Voluntary Dental benefits are billed on a monthly basis. Invoice payments are due on the first day of each month, and should be paid as billed.

  • The WELS Pension Plan is billed on a quarterly basis. Invoice payments are due on the first day of each calendar quarter, and should be paid as billed. A late payment penalty will be applied to Pension contributions paid past the grace period deadline, which is the 20th day of each calendar quarter. Click here for details on the Pension late payment penalty.

How to Remit Payment

Checks for premium payments should be made payable to WELS. Payment, including the bottom portion of the invoice, should be mailed to the WELS Benefit Plans Office lockbox at the following address:

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
PO Box 856840
Minneapolis, MN  55485-6840

Payments should not be sent to the Benefit Plans Office in Waukesha.

Automated Bill Payment Services

Organizations that use automated bill payment services to pay premiums should include their organization’s name, address, and plan for which payment is being made (e.g. Health, Pension, etc.) on the check that is sent to the Benefit Plans Office lockbox.

Members who use automated bill payment services to pay premiums should include their member ID number and plan for which payment is being made (e.g. Health, Dental, etc.) on the check that is sent to the Benefit Plans Office lockbox.

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

The WELS Benefit Plans Office offers an automated payment option via Automated Clearing House (ACH). Participation in the ACH payment program will ensure that premium amounts due will be paid in full and on time. Please contact the WELS Benefits Service Center at 1-800-487-8322 (option 1) or [email protected] for more details.

Timing and Adjustments

Invoices are generated and mailed in advance of the month being billed to provide sponsoring organizations and members with sufficient time to remit payment by the due date. To illustrate the typical billing cycle, the invoice reflecting WELS VEBA health plan coverage in effect for the month of July will be generated on June 10th, mailed on June 15th and arrive on June 20th.

Changes may occur to a worker’s coverage or employment status between the time that an invoice is generated and payment is due. For example, a worker may get married and cover his/her spouse under WELS VEBA, or a worker may accept a call to serve at a different sponsoring organization. In these situations, the sponsoring organization should pay the invoice as billed, and the appropriate adjustments will be reflected on the next invoice.

Pro-Rating

Premium amounts for the WELS Benefit Plans are not pro-rated, either by month (for WELS VEBA) or by quarter (for WELS Pension).

WELS VEBA Example: A newly-hired worker enrolls for WELS VEBA health plan coverage effective August 10th. Payment of the entire monthly WELS VEBA premium for August is due.

WELS Pension Example: A worker accepts a new call to serve at a different sponsoring organization effective August 1st. Payment of the entire quarterly WELS Pension premium for July is due from the organization at which the worker was serving on July 1st.

Refunds

If a sponsoring organization or member has no future invoices on which an overpayment can be credited, a refund will be issued by check or ACH (based on the original payment method used) upon approval by the Benefit Plans Office. In no event will a refund be issued more than 12 months after a payment was received in the Benefit Plans Office lockbox.

WELS BPO