CONTACTS
Current MERP Participants:
Find a link to more information here or contact the plan administrators.
Vimly Benefit Solutions
425-367-0743
MERP Online Portal Access
View your benefits online through the MERP portal SIMON
General Inquiries:
DiMartino Associates is your Local’s contact for general information regarding Trust operations and benefits. They are also your contact for changes to your IAFFF MERP language (i.e. increases in contribution levels, sick leave conversion, etc.), Representatives from DiMartino Associates are available to attend your Local Union meeting to educate prospective Locals on IAFF MERP or to provide a refresher course for those already participating.
DiMartino Associates
206-623-2430 or 800-488-8277
The IAFF Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP) was created in 1999 by the WSCFF to help address the problems faced by Washington fire fighters approaching retirement. With no mandated access to employer-sponsored healthcare, the MERP was developed to help members address the funding part of the retiree healthcare equation. Recognizing that other locals throughout the 7th District of the IAFF were facing similar challenges, the Plan was quickly expanded to Alaska, Idaho, and Montana.
IRS tax rules limited the geographical availability of the MERP to only fire fighter locals in the Pacific Northwest. In 2022, WSCFF solved this problem by partnering with the IAFF to rebrand the program as part of the IAFF Financial Corporation. The MERP’s affiliation with the IAFF opened Plan access to any publicly funded IAFF Local throughout the United States. In August 2023, the California Firefighters Benefit Trust was merged into the MERP adding several thousand more members and exciting new Plan provisions.
Today the IAFF MERP continues to be governed by fire fighter fiduciary Trustees with a team of professional service providers. MERP is the largest fire fighter-only Retiree Medical Trust in the country having grown to more than 15,000 participating members and retirees from over 180 participating locals across the United States. This growth is sure to continue as we hear from more and more locals looking to provide superior benefits to their members and shore up fire fighter retiree healthcare financing solutions.