Protect the retirement security your members worked decades to build.
A portable, member-paid long-term care program designed for union locals. No trust funding required. Hollowtree handles education, enrollment, and member advocacy.
- Portable across contractor changes, local transfers, and retirement
- Direct member billing in the standard structure, with no payroll deduction or trust remittance
- Built for physically demanding trades, earlier retirements, and mobile workforces
No cost. No obligation. No trust funding or implementation commitment required to review the report.
Prefer a 15-minute intro call? Schedule here.
~70% of Americans turning 65 will need long-term care
How the program is structured
A member-paid long-term care program structured for union workforces.
Hollowtree works with union leadership to make a long-term care program available to members in a structure designed for contractor mobility, local transfers, and earlier retirement patterns. Leadership evaluates and approves access. Members choose whether to enroll. Hollowtree manages education, enrollment support, and member advocacy alongside the carrier.
Member-paid, not trust-funded
Members pay premiums directly to the carrier in the standard structure. The local and the health & welfare trust are not expected to fund premiums by default.
Portable across contractors and locals
The policy is owned by the member, so coverage can continue through contractor changes, local transfers, and retirement, subject to policy terms.
Long-term care with optional life insurance
Program designs may include traditional long-term care or hybrid LTC plus life insurance options, depending on carrier, case design, and member fit.
Hollowtree handles education, enrollment, and member advocacy
Hollowtree supports member education, enrollment, care coaching, and claim navigation. Carrier adjudication and policy administration remain with the insurer.
How it flows in the standard structure
Step 1
Leadership approves access
Step 2
Members enroll individually
Step 3
Members pay carrier directly
Step 4
Local receives reporting
Why union members specifically need it
Pensions were not designed to absorb a multi-year care event.
For many members, a long-term care event can create a large unfunded retirement risk. Pensions help provide income. Health and welfare coverage was not built to fund ongoing custodial long-term care. This program is designed to help protect retirement assets, home equity, and family finances when care needs arise.
- Estimated lifetime care need
- ~70%
- Annual cost in many markets
- $100k+
- What Medicare typically covers
- Limited
Many Americans turning 65 are expected to need some form of long-term care support during their lives.
Private-room nursing home costs can exceed $100,000 annually in many markets.
Medicare may cover short-duration skilled care in limited circumstances, but it generally does not cover ongoing custodial long-term care.
Sources include HHS, Genworth, and Medicare.gov. Full sourcing available in the report.
Long-term care need is common in retirement
Many Americans turning 65 are expected to need some form of long-term care during their lives. Standard health coverage and Medicare are generally not designed to fund ongoing custodial care.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, ACL.gov
Physically demanding trades, earlier exits
Members in building trades, transportation, and manufacturing often retire earlier and live with cumulative physical wear, which can make care needs arrive sooner than for the general population.
Contractor mobility breaks employer-tied coverage
When members move between contractors, projects, or locals, employer-sponsored benefits typically do not follow them. A member-owned, portable policy is designed to.
Caregiving can reduce earnings in peak working years
Members caring for an aging parent or spouse may turn down foreman roles, refuse travel, or step back from overtime. Leadership often only learns about it after pension-earning years are affected.
Why it's built for unions
Built for union workforce realities, not retrofitted from a corporate voluntary plan.
Members move between contractors, change locals, retire earlier, and earn bodies that wear out faster. The structure of this program is designed for that reality.
Member-owned and portable
The policy is owned by the member rather than the employer or the trust, which helps coverage continue through contractor changes, local transfers, and retirement, subject to policy terms.
Traditional and hybrid design options
Depending on carrier and case design, the program may include traditional LTC or hybrid LTC plus life insurance options modeled for your workforce.
Simplified underwriting options
Eligible members may qualify for simplified underwriting or guaranteed-issue designs depending on carrier, group size, and case structure. Final terms vary by carrier.
Availability depends on carrier, group size, participation assumptions, and final case design.
Care coaching from day one
Enrolled members and their immediate families receive access to care coaching for aging-parent needs, care navigation, and provider selection before a claim is ever filed.
Why leadership can adopt it safely
In the standard member-paid structure, the program is designed to avoid trust funding and routine local administration, and may often sit outside normal bargaining processes.
In the standard launch structure, the program is voluntary, member-paid, and administered without payroll deduction or trust remittance. Leadership approves access for members, receives rollout reporting, and is not expected to administer routine program operations.
Direct member billing to the carrier
Members pay the carrier directly through ACH, card, or Apple Pay in the standard structure. No trust contribution, payroll deduction setup, or remittance reconciliation is required.
No routine administration for staff or stewards
Hollowtree handles member education, enrollment support, and initial member advocacy. Union staff are not expected to sell, troubleshoot, or administer the program day to day.
Can launch outside normal bargaining cycles
Because the standard structure is voluntary and member-paid, launch timing can often sit outside bargaining and trust administration cycles. Final review should always reflect your local's facts and counsel.
What the local does not administer
In the standard structure, routine administration does not fall on union staff or stewards.
- Set up payroll deduction
- Manage premium remittance
- Reconcile billing with the trust
- Maintain member rosters or logins
- Field benefits or claims questions
- Add to steward or staff workload
What leadership is approving
- Access for members to review and enroll
- A member-paid structure
- Co-branded communications review
- Reporting during rollout
What leadership is not approving
- Trust funding
- Payroll deduction administration
- Claims adjudication
- Day-to-day member support
Members pay the carrier directly in the standard structure.
Implementation
From leadership approval to member enrollment in roughly 4 weeks.
Each phase includes defined deliverables, leadership review points, and rollout support. Timing may vary based on group size, outreach mix, and plan design.
- 1
Week 1
Design
- Workforce demographics and trade-mix analysis
- Custom plan design recommendations from participating carriers
- Co-branded education plan reviewed with leadership
- 2
Week 2
Launch
- Educational outreach via email, text, and optional mailers
- Live information sessions (virtual and on-site) for members
- Dedicated enrollment microsite for the local
- 3
Weeks 3–4
Enrollment
- Mobile-friendly enrollment with live phone and chat support
- Member enrollment is designed to be brief, with most applications completed in minutes
- Weekly participation reporting delivered to leadership
Throughout launch, leadership receives weekly participation reporting, including enrollment counts, demographic mix, and outreach response rates, so rollout remains visible without creating local administrative work.
Trust, security & advocacy
Specific standards, not generic assurances.
SOC 2 Type II audited platform
Our enrollment and member data platform is independently audited under SOC 2 Type II standards. Member data is not sold.
Carriers rated A or better by AM Best
Coverage is placed with nationally recognized carriers that, at time of placement, carry AM Best Financial Strength Ratings of A or better.
Member advocacy support, documented in writing
When a member needs care, Hollowtree supports documentation, carrier communication, appeals support, and renewal coordination as described in the service model. Claim decisions remain with the carrier.
Prepared for trustee and executive review
A real deliverable, not a lead form.
The report is prepared for internal leadership review, not a sales demo.
It helps trustees and executive leadership evaluate workforce fit, structure options, participation assumptions, and rollout requirements before deciding whether further discussion makes sense.
Request a Leadership Impact ReportWhat the report includes
- Confidential workforce demographic and trade-mix snapshot
- Union-specific risk framing for your member population
- Illustrative plan structure options modeled for your workforce, with indicative member pricing where available
- Participation benchmarks and assumptions, with context and limitations
- 4-week launch roadmap and education plan
- Plain-language summary suitable for trustee or executive review
Trustee & leadership FAQ
The questions trustees and leadership usually ask first.
See whether it fits your workforce before making any commitment.
We'll prepare a confidential Leadership Impact Report for internal review, including workforce-fit analysis, structure options, participation assumptions, rollout steps, and the operational implications of the standard member-paid model.
- No cost
- No obligation
- No trust funding decision required
Prefer a 15-minute intro call? Schedule here.