
If an active employee covered
by the Plan dies, a Death Benefit of $10,000 for a full-timer or $6,000 for a
part-timer will be paid to his/her beneficiaries.
If an eligible retiree covered by the Plan dies, a Death Benefit of $1,000 will
be paid to his/her beneficiaries.
The Death Benefit is paid to the person or persons selected by the member on
his/her enrollment card or Change of Beneficiary card filed with the Plan
office.
The member can change beneficiaries whenever he/she wishes - as long as it is
done on the proper Change of Beneficiary card. As soon as the new card is
received by the Plan office, it becomes effective and voids any previous
designations.
If a member names more than one beneficiary, the Death Benefit will be divided
equally among them unless the member indicated otherwise. If children are
named, and they are under 18 years of age at the time of the member’s death, a
custodial letter will be given to the child’s surviving natural parent, if the
child lives with that parent. The benefit will then be paid in installments of
$500 per month.
If no natural parent survives, guardianship papers will be requested of the
adult individual who has custody of the infant beneficiary. The benefit will be
paid to the guardian and will be subject to the control of the court until the
child/children is 18 years old.
If there are no living beneficiaries or if the member does not name any
beneficiaries, the total benefit will be paid according to the rules and
regulations of the Plan.
Facility of Payment
If no other assets are available to pay for a member’s funeral,
the Trustees will permit a reasonable amount of the benefit to be used for
burial of the member. This amount will be deducted from the total amount of the
benefit.
Accidental
Death and Dismemberment Benefit
If an active employee dies as a result of an accident,* an
additional benefit of $10,000 (full-time) or $6,000 (part-time) will be paid to
the beneficiary (is) as an Accidental Death Benefit. In order to be covered for
this benefit, the death must occur within 90 days from the date of the accident
and be a result of injuries sustained in that accident.
If an active employee loses a limb (hand or foot) or the sight of an eye as a
result of an accident, he/she will receive a Dismemberment or Loss of Sight Benefit
of $5,000 (full-time) or $3,000 (part-time) for each lost limb or eye - but no
more than a total of $10,000 (full-time) or $6,000 (part-time) will be paid
under this benefit.
The loss of limb or eye must be the result of an accident; not a disease, act
of war, or injuries received during the commission of a crime, not
intentionally self-inflicted, or occurring during the course of employment and
not due to the use of alcohol or drugs.
*There are exceptions based on the rules and regulations of the Plan.
Death Benefits and the Cultural Trust
In addition to the aforementioned procedures regarding death
benefits, the following information applies specifically to the Cultural Trust.
The following benefit amounts are effective as of March 1, 2000 for active
employees covered by the DC 37 Cultural Institutions Health & Security
Plan:
Basic death benefit will be $20,000
Accidental death benefit will be $20,000
Single dismemberment will be $10,000
Multiple dismemberments will be $20,000
Extended Death Benefit
This benefit is available to an employee/member who is forced to
leave employment because he/she becomes totally disabled and is under age 55.
In order to be eligible for this benefit, the employee must meet the following
conditions:
If the employee meets all of the above
qualifications, his/her beneficiaries will be entitled to receive the Death Benefit
that was in effect at the time the disability benefits were exhausted.
Coverage for this benefit ends when the member ceases to be disabled, retires,
reaches age 55, or the benefit is discontinued.
Expanded Death Benefit
This benefit is available to an employee/member who is forced to
leave employment because he/she becomes totally disabled and is age 55 or over.
In order to be eligible for this benefit the employee must meet the following
conditions:
If
the employee meets all of the above qualifications, his/her beneficiaries will
be entitled to receive an Expanded Death Benefit of $1,500.
Coverage for this benefit ends three years after the employee/member first met
all of the above conditions, or the benefit is discontinued.
Effective
The Expanded Death Benefit was enhanced to increase the coverage
offered to an eligible employee, who has 10 years of continuous employment. If
such an employee qualifies for the expanded death benefit and is over 55 or
under 62, he/she will be eligible for a $5,000 benefit. All other conditions of
the benefit remain in place.
Survivor's Benefit
In order to qualify for Health and Security Plan benefits as a
survivor, the surviving spouse and eligible dependents must have been eligible
and enrolled for benefits under the member's plan at the date of death. The
deceased member must have been eligible for Plan benefits at the date of death,
and that benefit package must have included a death benefit. If you fulfill
these requirements, you may continue to utilize the Health and Security Plan
benefits available to the covered dependents for a period of twelve (12) months
measured from the member's date of death. At the end of the twelve months,
eligible dependents have the option to purchase Continuation of Benefits for up
to an additional 24 months, under COBRA.
