Health Insurance Help for Trade Displaced Workers, Some Pensioners

We previously discussed job retraining programs and benefits available to people who have lost their jobs when the jobs moved overseas.  The health coverage tax credit is something else for those workers, and their dependents.  It helps both workers who are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance payments (TAA) or whose pension plans have been taken over by the Pension Guarantee Corporation (PGC) who are also 55 years or older.  It pays nearly 80% of your health insurance premiums, either by paying that portion directly to the insurance company every month, or by allowing you to apply for an annual tax credit for that portion of your health premium payments.  To see if you qualify for this assistance, check this page by the IRS.   Some states also have a “bridge” program that will help pay health premiums till the HCTC begins.  Here’s a page with a list of states that have such a program.
If you need health insurance, here's an interactive page that lets you answer questions about your situation (state, family situation, finances, etc.) and lets you explore your options.

So Where's the Free Money for Job Retraining?

***IF YOU DON'T FIT THE DEFINITION OF A WORKER DISPLACED BY FOREIGN COMPETITION, SEE THESE OTHER POSTS ON JOB TRAINING HELP.***


Where's that free money to re-train workers displaced by foreign competition? When people ask that, they usually mean the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) or Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) benefits. These benefits were created to help retrain workers who lost jobs because the competition of foreign products caused them to lose their jobs, or because their jobs were moved overseas to foreign plants.

It can seem obvious on the ground when a worker has lost his or her job for these reasons, but a worker isn't eligible for help unless a group of affected workers petition the U.S. Labor Department's Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance, requesting that they be certified as being hurt by foreign trade. So, for instance, a group of workers in a plant that has been or will be shut down can apply. If they receive this certification, the individual workers affected can file to get service like employment counseling, resume writing and interview skill workshops, career assessment, training, and sometimes, relocation allowances.

In the case of workers 50 or more years of age, for which retraining may not be the best way to regain their economic standing, the Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance program might help. Older workers may get the employment retraining help, but also a wage subsidy and a tax credit for part of the montly health insurance premiums they pay. Older workers can chooses to file for either the TAA or ATAA, but not both.

To get the process rolling, workers need to downloand, fill out, and send the petition. You can even get help filling out the petition at the nearest one-stop career center in your area. If your petition is accepted, individual workers can use that one-stop center to file for--and use--all their benefits.