Welcome!

As a new employer of IBEW Local 353, we would like to welcome you to our Plan.

Toronto Electrical Industry Benefit Administration Services (TEIBAS) administers the IBEW Local 353 Trust Funds. TEIBAS handles the day-to-day administration of the benefit, pension and supplemental unemployment benefit plans. This includes receiving contributions, maintaining records, preparing statements, and answering members’ questions. TEIBAS collects contributions from and provides services to almost 500 electrical contractors in the Greater Toronto Area. These contributions help provide pension and health & welfare benefits to more than 12,000 working members and 3,100 retired members of IBEW Local 353. Our Pension Plan has net assets in excess of $2 billion.

The overall policy direction is provided by the IBEW Local 353 Board of Trustees, which is made up of eight members; four appointed by the Greater Toronto Electrical Contractors Association (GTECA) and four appointed by the IBEW Local 353 Union.

Should you have any questions, the Employer Services Department at TEIBAS will gladly assist you Monday to Friday, between 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. by calling 416-637-6789 or toll-free at 1-800-267-0602. You may also email employers@teibas.com.

Getting Started – Contribution Remittance

Employers are required to submit to TEIBAS a report and payment for hours worked in the month on or before the 20th of the following month.

Employers are provided access to a web-based remittance tool called MERIT, for submitting their monthly reports. The advantages of the electronic remittance tool include:

• It’s easy to use and makes monthly reporting faster,
• Contribution rates for various classifications are provided and maintained and,
• It’s fully supported.

How to get started 

You should have received a package from TEIBAS with an application form to sign up for MERIT. Once you have completed your form, return it to TEIBAS and we will provide you with a username and password to access MERIT.

CLICK HERE to view a video on your MERIT home page.

CLICK HERE to view a video on how to enter data in MERIT.

Should you require assistance, please contact Vanitha at 416-637-6789 extension 703 (vanitha@teibas.com) or contact Ashley at 416-637-6789 extension 780 (ashley@teibas.com).

Reporting Details

• Please send us your Revenue Canada Agency Taxation number with your first remittance. Also, advise us if it changes.
• The report and payment are due on or before the 20^th of each month.
• When the 20^th falls on a weekend or holiday, we recommend you date the cheque no later than the 20^th and deliver it to TEIBAS before the due date. For instance, if the 20^th of a given month falls on a Sunday, you must deliver the cheque to TEIBAS the Friday before.
• Companies that submit their payments after the due date are deemed to have filed late and are subject to delinquency charges of $0.08 per $100 outstanding per day.
• If you have no employees in a given month for whom contributions are required, you must remit a “NIL” report.
• Contributions are based on the total number of hours earned by the electrical worker, multiplied by the appropriate rate for each fund. The rates for the various job classifications are provided and maintained by the employer’s electronic remittances tool and taxes (GST/HST or PST) are automatically calculated.
• You are required to monitor the contributions made to the pension plan on behalf of each member in your employ during the year. When you are producing T4 slips at the end of the year, you will be required to report the contributions as the Pension Adjustment (PA). The PA is the total amount of the contributions made to the pension plan by the employer on behalf of the employee. (IBEW Local 353 Pension Plan registration number: 0598235)
• Some of the funds are paid to an RRSP account for the member. Please refer to the Canada Revenue Agency Employer’s Guide to Payroll Deduction Basics for more information.
• If you are an owner/operator, contributions are required at a minimum of 150 hours per month.

Payment Options

Electronic Funds Transfer

The following banks and financial institutions are set up to provide electronic funds transfers to the IBEW Local 353 Trust Funds: BMO, CIBC, Central 1 Credit Union, HSBC, National Bank, RBC, Scotia Bank, and TD Canada Trust.

To transfer funds, use your five-digit employer number as the account number and process payment to vendor IBEW LOCAL 353 TRUST FUNDS – TEIBAS. The amount of the transfer is based on the contribution statement balance owing, created through MERIT. You must ensure the funds are electronically transferred on or before the 20th day of the month. Banks and financial institutions require from one to three days to prepare the transfer of funds. We suggest you check with your provider beforehand because payment received after the 20th day of the month is considered delinquent and interest charges will apply.

Pre-Authorized Debit

The amount the employer calculates using MERIT is withdrawn from the account with pre-authorization. Complete the Pre-authorized Debit form. Employers must submit their data (“pending status”) in MERIT three business days prior to the 20th of the month. While the file is created in advance, funds are not withdrawn from the account until the 20th of the month.

Please note: where employers have not submitted data (e.g. data status is still “open” in MERIT) they will have the following options:

• Submit payment to TEIBAS (cheque or electronic funds transfer)
• Have the payment processed the following month through pre-authorized debit—delinquent interest charges apply.

Cheque Payment

Cheques must be made payable to IBEW 353 Trust Funds and must be sent to TEIBAS at 110 Sheppard Ave East, Suite 705, Toronto, ON M2N 6Y8.