Group Income contInuance plan Review 2016 - www.cornmarket.ie - DCU
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Group Income Continuance Plan Review 2016 www.cornmarket.ie (01) 408 6280 1
Member update
The DCU Group Income Continuance Plan is exclusively available to DCU
employees and the unique benefits that it provides are designed to meet
your specific needs.
The Plan is reviewed every three to five years to ensure that members
continue to receive the best deal available. At the 2016 review,
Cornmarket compared all insurers in the Irish market. DCU has decided to
retain Friends First as the underwriter of the Plan, as they provided the
most competitive rate and benefits for members.
Here we cover the key changes to the Plan following the 2016 review. All
changes will take effect from the 1st October 2016 and the revised terms
are guaranteed until 1st October 2019.
The Plan in Action
Over 1,000* DCU employees are protected
under the Plan. The comprehensive, tailored benefits
that it provides are not available anywhere else.
100%
Since the 2011 Plan review, of claims have
*Source: Cornmarket, August 2016
**In respect of decisions made for claims notified 01/06/2011-31/05/2016
been paid**. (Source: Friends First, June 2016)
2
Tailored Benefits
Disability Benefit NEW Partial Pension Premium
Specified Illness Death Benefit
Payment Specified Protection Benefit
Benefit
— of up to 75% of Illness Benefit — of twice
salary less any other — a once-off lump sum — 5% of your salary
your annual salary
— an additional paid into a separate
income that you may of 25% of salary paid in
benefit of 12.5% of Personal Retirement
be entitled to (e.g. half the event that you
salary or €15,000 Savings Account once
pay, Ill Health Early suffer any of the 39
(whichever is less) if a claim is in payment
Retirement Pension, Specified Illnesses
you suffer one of the for more than 2 years.
Temporary covered (see page 7 for
10 less severe, but still
Rehabilitation more information)
life altering conditions
Remuneration, State
covered under this
Illness Benefit)
benefit (see page 8 for
more information).
Important:
You must be a DCU employee to be an eligible member of the Plan. If you leave DCU you must inform Cornmarket in writing, as you can no
longer stay in the Plan and you will not be able to claim from it.
3
Claims Paid
• Since the 2011 review, 100% of claims have been paid*
• To date, the Plan has paid out over €4.7 million**
in benefits to DCU staff and their families
• 24 members are currently receiving Disability Benefit
from the Plan with an annual benefit of €500,000**
• Over 7777,000** has been paid out in relation to
Death Benefit claims
• Over €172,000** has been paid out in relation to
Specified Illness Benefit claims
Most Common Disability Claims**
■ Mental Health 34%
■ Other Illnesses 28%
■ Cancer 15%
■ Back 13%
■ Cardiac 5%
■ Injury 5%
*In respect of decisions made for Disability Benefit claims notified 01/06/2011-
31/05/2016 (Source: Friends First June 2016). **Source: Friends First, June 2016
4
Claimant’s Story
Shelly Barron, a DCU Group Income Continuance Plan claimant, tells us about her
experience claiming from the Plan:
“If I wasn’t a DCU employee and a member of the Plan, I wouldn’t have anything now –
my home would be gone or I would be in very serious debt at this point.
I never imagined I would need to claim from the Plan for something as simple as a fall
and a broken arm. Because of my injury, I went from being in a full time job and in the
gym three nights a week, to literally not being able to drive or do anything on my own.
Since my accident happened in 2011, I’ve had four surgeries. Although my injury is
improving, I’m still not fully recovered. Stress management plays an important role in the
recovery from any illness, and having your income protected removes the burden of
financial stress.
Thanks to the Plan, I could continue to pay my mortgage, my credit union loans, my
grocery and mobile phone bills, and TV, electricity and broadband costs. The cost of the
Plan is a very small price to pay to ensure that your home and your standard of living are
protected. Cornmarket were brilliant and made a huge difference to my situation when I
needed to make a claim.
Your income is the most important asset you have, particularly if you are the sole earner in
the family. I would recommend everyone to avail of the option to be in this Plan, because
you just never know what’s around the corner.”
5
Factors affecting the Plan since the 2011 review
Certain key factors have impacted the Plan since the last review in 2011. There has been an increase in overall claims from 2011 to
2016 and, specifically, the changes to Public Sector sick pay arrangements have resulted in higher claims. These factors have
resulted in a necessary increase in the cost of membership at this review, to ensure the long-term viability of the Plan.
Change in cost of membership
From 1st October 2016, the cost of membership will increase your contributions to the Plan. On your payslip the gross
from 1.45% to 2.26% of gross salary. Your revised cost of amount appears, however the net cost to you will be
membership will depend on the benefits that you are significantly less. Here are some examples of the new weekly
covered for under the Plan. cost, after tax relief is applied:
You receive tax relief on the Disability Benefit, Pension
Premium Protection Benefit and Death Benefit elements of
Benefit Old Rate New Rate Declared Earnings Monthly Gross Monthly Net
Disability Benefit 0.85% 1.75%
Pension Premium Protection Benefit 0.10% 0.10% Tax Relief €30,000 €12.99 €10.54 **
Death Benefit 0.35% 0.28% €50,000 €21.66 €13.49 ***
Specified Illness Benefit 0.15% 0.13%
€70,000 €30.32 €18.89 ***
Total Gross Rate 1.45% 2.26%
€110,000 €47.64 €29.68 ***
Total net rate* 0.93% 1.41%
*assuming you are paying income tax at 40%. **If you are paying income tax at 20% your net contribution will be 1.83%
***If you are paying income tax at 40% your net contribution will be 1.41%
6Improvements to the Plan
The following improvements to Plan benefits will be effective from 1st October 2016.
Specified Illnesses Benefit now covers more illnesses
The Specified Illness Benefit cover has expanded to now cover 39 conditions as listed below. The illnesses marked were introduced
at the 2016 review. These illnesses are covered once the date of diagnosis is after 1st October 2016.
1. Alzheimer’s disease 12. Coronary artery surgery 23. Loss of Independent 32. Primary Pulmonary
before age 65 Existence Hypertension
13. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
2. Aorta graft surgery 24. Loss of speech 33. Progressive Supranuclear
14. Deafness
Palsy
3. Aplastic Anaemia 25. Major organ transplant
15. Encephalitis
34. Pulmonary Artery Surgery
4. Bacterial Meningitis 26. Motor neuron disease
16. Heart attack
before age 65 35. Rheumatoid Arthritis
5. Balloon Valvuloplasty
17. Heart structural repair
27. Multiple sclerosis 36. Stroke
6. Benign Brain Tumour
18. Heart valve replacement
28. Multiple system atrophy 37. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
7. Benign Spinal or repair
Cord Tumour ❖ 29. Paralysis of limbs 38. Third degree burns (covering
19. HIV infection
20% of the body’s surface
8. Blindness 30. Parkinson’s Disease before age
20. Kidney failure area, or 50% of the surface
65
9. Cancer area of the face)
21. Liver Failure
31. Pre-Senile Dementia before
10. Chronic Lung Disease 39. Traumatic head injury
22. Loss of hands or feet age 65
11. Coma
Please contact Cornmarket for the policy definition of each Specified Illness and its pre-existing conditions.
7Improvements to the Plan
NEW Specified Illness Benefit – Partial Payment Plan contributions waived for an extended period
of time for Unpaid Maternity, Parental, Adoptive
A further 10, less severe, but still life-altering conditions will be covered
& Carer’s Leave
under an additional Partial Payment Specified Illness Benefit. The benefit
you would receive is 12.5% of salary or €15,000, whichever is less. If you take unpaid leave under more than one of
these categories (for example a period of unpaid
maternity leave, followed by unpaid parental
1. Brain abscess drained via craniotomy leave), then you are not required to pay any Plan
2. Carcinoma in Situ contributions for an extended period of time. This
has increased:
3. Carotid Artery Stenosis
4. Cerebral arteriovenous malformation
From To
5. Coronary Angioplasty*
30 weeks 34 weeks
6. Ductal Carcinoma in situ
7. Low level prostate cancer with Gleason score between 2 and 6
8. Serious Accident Cover
9. Surgical removal of one eye
*Please note: Coronary Angioplasty has been moved from the
10. Third Degree Burns covering 5% to 19% of the body’s surface area or 25% to 49% main Specified Illnesses category to the Partial Payments
category at this review. Please contact Cornmarket for the
of the face’s surface area
policy definition of each Specified Illness and its pre-existing
conditions.
8Other Changes to the Plan
Pension Premium Protection Benefit is reduced to 5% for new claims
Up to now, after a claim was in payment for more than 2 years, a further
10% of the salary that your Disability Benefit is based on would be paid
into a separate Personal Retirement savings Account (PRSA).
This will not change for existing claimants. However for new claimants
admitted from 1st October 2016, the amount of Pension Premium
Protection Benefit will be 5% of salary.
Important information about making a claim
(i) Claims can take up to 3 months to process from the date that the claim form is received, until the decision is made. It takes
time to gather the necessary medical evidence and information such as details of salary and sick leave from employers, to
assess the amount of benefit due. Therefore, it is vital that you contact us as soon as you become aware that you will need to
make a claim.
(ii) A claim for Specified Illness should be submitted as soon as possible after the date of diagnosis.
9We’re here to help you
You’re in good hands
Cornmarket’s Claims Team is dedicated to representing you in all
interactions with the insurance company. We pride ourselves on
getting claims paid for members.
Our team is specialised, experienced and easy to talk to. We do all
we can to help in a member’s time of need. We provide a vital
‘hand-holding’ function from start to finish of the claims process.
We’re here to help you.
Should you need to make a claim, you can rest assured that your
claim will be dealt with in the efficient, professional and sensitive
manner that you deserve.
To talk to us today, call us on (01) 408 6280
or email spsclaims@cornmarket.ie.
10www.cornmarket.ie/dcu
This review is designed as a quick reference only to the main enhancements arising from the 2016 Plan review. The master policy
document (708218) is definitive in all matters of interpretation and entitlements to benefits.
The Death Benefit is provided under Group Life Assurance Plan No. 710496 issued by Friends First. This is a Defined Contribution
Scheme for the purposes of the Pensions Act 1990. It is designed to qualify as an exempt approved scheme under Chapter 1 of Part
30 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 and is established under Trust with formal Rules. All benefits payable under the Plan are
provided by means of one or more insurance policies with Friends First plc. The Revenue Approval number is SF 18365. The Pensions
Authority register number is PB280403.
Members of the Plan may request a copy of the policy document from Cornmarket Group Financial Services Ltd. The information
herein is based upon our current understanding of Revenue law and practice as at September 2016.
We’re here to help you
To speak to a member of our team about a query or a claim:
11650 DCU Review 9-16
Phone: (01) 408 6280
Queries: spsadmin@cornmarket.ie
Claims: spsclaims@cornmarket.ie
Cornmarket Group Financial Services Ltd. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Cornmarket is part of the Great-West Lifeco group of
12 companies, one of the world’s leading life assurance organisations. Friends First Life Assurance Company is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.You can also read
