APWU Member Eases into Retirement with Disability Grant
After 38 years as a postal clerk, APWU member Sally Tobar was ready to put her feet up. However, before she could retire, she found herself sidelined from work by an injury. Because Tobar is a Union Plus Credit Cardholder, she was eligible to apply for a Union Plus Disability Grant, which helped offset some of her medical costs. Tobar was "very surprised and happy" to learn about the grant.
Sally Tobar was looking forward to retirement. Tobar, a member of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 185, had put in more than 38 years as a postal clerk and anticipated spending her well-earned free time knitting, doing macramé, and beefing up her sewing skills.
Unfortunately, Tobar's vision was thwarted when she fell and injured her back a few months before her planned retirement date. Health insurance covered some of her medical costs, but not all of them.
"It started to add up and I wasn’t working overtime, which I was used to doing," says Tobar.
When Tobar, a Union Plus Credit Cardholder1, reached out to report an incorrect medical charge, the customer service representative told her about the Union Plus Disability Grant2.
"She told me, 'We have this grant program for our union brothers and sisters in situations like this.'" Tobar adds, "I’d never bothered to look at the credit card benefits before."
The Union Plus Disability Grant is a $1,600 - $2,700 payment available to eligible Union Plus Credit Cardholders who have been unemployed for at least 90 days and who have lost at least 25 percent of their monthly income due to illness or disability during the past 12 months, among other requirements. Applicants must have been Union Plus Credit Cardholders for at least three months and their card account must be in good standing.
"The person I spoke to with Union Plus was helpful and friendly," Tobar recalls. "I was very happy to receive the grant."
Tobar retired soon after receiving her grant and is grateful it helped her cover her copays on her road to recovery.
For more information on how Union Plus can help union members in times of need, visit unionplus.org/hardship.
1Credit approval required. Terms and conditions apply. The Union Plus Credit Cards are issued by Capital One, N.A. pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
2Certain restrictions, limitations and qualifications apply to these grants. Additional information and eligibility criteria can be obtained at https://www.unionplus.org/page/disability-grant.