Jennifer Hope | Director, Marketing
There are two common mindsets people have as they approach retirement. The first group slowly gathers information over a period of years, learning about their options, planning the steps, and when their big day comes, they gently step into retirement with all the pieces in place. ARTA membership is part of their plan, and they already know which plan is right for them. They only need to press “apply.”
If you’re reading this as a retiree, and you don’t already belong to ARTA, I’m guessing you belong to the second group: Incredibly busy, with an “I’ll figure it out later” mindset. But don’t worry, if you didn’t start retirement planning until after you actually retired, you didn’t miss your chance to access ARTA Benefits.
Checking Eligibility
Whether you’re retired already or not, if you’re interested in joining ARTA, the first thing you should do is to check your eligibility. ARTA is a diverse group of retired professionals from a variety of industries, but it’s not open to all retirees. Once you’ve confirmed that you’re able to get benefits through ARTA, you can begin the next steps as a late applicant. There’s no real difference between joining ARTA on day one of retirement, versus day one hundred and one, except if you were not participating in a group or employer-sponsored benefits plan during that gap.
The First 60 Days
We recommend joining ARTA within 60 days if you would like to participate in a plan that includes emergency travel coverage. That’s 60 days after you lose access to their previous benefit plan, not necessarily 60 days after retirement. This can be a benefit plan you accessed through your old employer, your spouse’s employer, or through a private provider.
If you miss that 60-day window, don’t worry, it’s still not too late. You can still apply to join ARTA, but you will need to fill out a medical questionnaire if you would like to access a plan that includes emergency travel coverage. If you would like to join a plan that does not include emergency travel coverage, you do not have to fill out a medical questionnaire and can join at any time.
ARTA’s Doors are Always Open
Many ARTA members who retire before their spouses choose to become a dependant on their spouse’s employer-sponsored benefit plan, rather than join ARTA right away. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s usually the soundest choice, financially speaking. If you want to join ARTA as a member without benefits, but with access to our other services, you can easily do so, adding health benefits to your membership when your spouse joins you in retirement.
There’s another common reason for late entry into ARTA: Choosing the wrong benefit plan provider when you retired. Maybe you didn’t know ARTA was an option, maybe you didn’t understand what coverage you’d need, maybe your health circumstances changed. Whatever the reason, it’s never too late to call things off and make the switch to ARTA.
Which Benefit Plan Is Right For You?
How To Connect With Member Services
Jennifer is ARTA’s Director of Marketing. She holds a management degree from the University of Lethbridge with a major in marketing and has a Group Benefits Associate (GBA) designation, giving her a particular insight into the world of health benefit plans.