Group Life Insurance
Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance Program
Who is Eligible for Coverage and How to Enroll
Amount and Type of Coverage
Continuation or Conversion of Coverage After Terminating
Employment
Life Insurance Premium Rates
This section provides a general overview of the Wisconsin Public
Employers Group Life Insurance Program. Detailed information regarding
this insurance may be found in the brochure The Wisconsin
Public Employers Group Life Insurance Plan (ET-2101).
Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance Program
The Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance Program, which
is administered by the Department of Employee Trust Funds, provides
group term life insurance coverage for state employees and local
employees whose employers have elected to participate. Under most
circumstances, there is no cash benefit from this insurance while
you are still living; it is normally payable only as a death benefit.
However, if you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness or have
been confined for medical reasons to a custodial care facility for
six months or enrolled in a certified hospice care program, you
may be eligible to receive some or all of your life insurance amount
as a living benefit.
More information about this living benefit may be found in the
brochure Living Benefits (ET-2327).
Who is Eligible for Coverage
If you are under age 70, have been covered under the Wisconsin
Retirement System for at least 6 months, and your employer participates
in the life insurance plan administered by the Department of Employee
Trust Funds, you may be eligible to apply for life insurance coverage.
You should check with your payroll representative to determine whether
your employer participates in the plan and when you would be eligible
to participate. All state agencies automatically participate in
the plan.
To apply for life insurance coverage, you must submit a completed
life insurance application to your employer within 30 days of the
date you complete six months under the Wisconsin Retirement System.
If you previously completed six months under the retirement system
and have not withdrawn your account balance, you must submit your
application within 30 days of the time you were hired in your current
position.
Employees who are eligible for immediate enrollment in the life
insurance plan, such as employees or members of the legislature,
must also apply within 30 days of hire.
If you are returning to work from layoff or leave without earnings
and your insurance was discontinued, to enroll, you must submit
a competed application within 30 days of your return to work.
Your life insurance coverage will be effective the first day of
the month after your application is received by your employer.
If you fail to apply during one of these periods, you may apply
by providing evidence of insurability. You and your employer will
be notified in writing when your coverage becomes effective or is
denied.
Amount and Type of Coverage
There are three levels of life insurance coverage available under
the life insurance program. There's the Basic plan, the Supplemental
plan, and the Additional plan. You must enroll in the Basic plan
to be eligible for the Supplemental or Additional plans. State agencies
participate in all three plans, but if you are employed by a local
employer, you should contact your payroll representative to determine
which plans your employer has elected to participate in.
Under the Basic plan, you have insurance equal to your earnings
reported to the Wisconsin Retirement System for the previous year,
rounded up to the next thousand.
The Supplemental plan is offered to state employees and to local
government employees whose employer has filed a resolution to offer
the coverage, the amount of coverage is 100 percent of your previous
year's earnings rounded up to the next thousand.
The additional plan offers up to three units of coverage to state
employees. Local government employers may file a resolution to offer
1, 2 or all 3 units of coverage to their employees.
If you have the basic coverage, and are married or have a qualifying
dependent, you may be eligible to apply for life insurance coverage
for your spouse and dependents if your employer has elected to participate
in the Spouse and Dependent program. If you are eligible for spouse
and dependent coverage you must apply for coverage when you first
apply for your basic coverage, or within 30 days of the time you
first have a spouse or dependent to insure. You may apply for one
or two units of coverage. Each unit provides coverage of $10,000
for your spouse and $5,000 for each dependent. Each unit costs $2.00
per month regardless of the number of dependents you are insuring.
Continuation or Conversion of Coverage After Terminating
Employment
To be eligible to continue your life insurance at group rates after
you terminate employment, you must meet one of the following conditions:
- You must be at least minimum retirement age and be eligible
to receive an immediate annuity. Minimum retirement age is 50
for protective category employees and age 55 for all other categories,
OR
- The sum of your years of creditable service under the Wisconsin
Retirement System before January 1, 1990, plus your years of group
life insurance coverage after that date equal at least 20 years,
OR
- The sum of your years with the same employer before January
1, 1990, plus your years of group life insurance coverage after
that date equal at least 20 years.
If you began employment after January 1, 1990, you also must be
insured for at least 5 years to qualify to continue.
If you are retiring and applying for an immediate retirement annuity,
your insurance will automatically be continued for you. Otherwise
you should contact your payroll representative immediately for an
application to continue coverage.
Your insurance will remain at the same amount as prior to your
termination until you reach age 65. Premiums must be paid until
that time. At 65, the supplemental and additional insurance ends
and the basic insurance is at a reduced rate of coverage. At age
65, your coverage is reduced to 75 percent of your coverage in effect
at that time. At age 66, the rate is 50 percent. For state employees
and some local employees, it continues after age 66 at the 50 percent
rate. For most local employees, your coverage will drop again at
age 67 to 25 percent. It remains at 25 percent for the remainder
of your life. See the brochure Group
Life Insurance After You Terminate Employment (ET-4104) for
more information.
If your insurance is terminated because you are no longer working
or because you are on temporary layoff or leave of absence and it
has expired, you may qualify to convert your policy to an individual
policy without submitting evidence of insurability. To be eligible
to convert you must have been insured for at least six months before
your employment ended. There are also certain restrictions on the
type of policy you may apply for.
The conversion application, available from your employer or this
Department, must be submitted with payment of your first premium
to the life insurance company within 31 days after your group insurance
coverage ends. See the Life
Insurance Conversion (ET-2306) brochure for more information,
and a conversion application.
Converting Your Group Life Insurance To Pay Health or Long-Term
Care Insurance Premiums
Active employees age 70 or older and retirees who are insured
under both the Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance Program
and one of the health insurance plans or long-term
care plans offered by the Department of Employee Trust Funds can
elect to convert their life insurance to pay health or long-term
care insurance premiums. The health insurance plans offered by Employee
Trust Funds are the plan available to state employees, the plan
available to employees of local government employers who elect to
participate in our health insurance plan, and the Local Annuitant
Health Program. Long-term care plans are offered by ETF to state
employees only. You cannot convert your life insurance to pay the
premiums for any other health or long-term care insurance coverage.
To be eligible, your basic life insurance coverage must be at
its final reduced amount. If you are retired from the state you
must be at least age 66, and if you are retired from a local government
employer you must be either age 66 or 67, depending on whether your
basic life insurance coverage reduces to 50% or 25% of the original
amount after retirement. If you are retired from the state your
sick leave credits must be exhausted before you can convert your
life insurance to pay health insurance premiums.
If you elect this conversion, your life insurance coverage will
be converted to credits equal to the present value of your life
insurance. The present value ranges from about 45% to 80% of the
face amount, depending on your age. Your converted life insurance
credits will be used to pay your health insurance premiums until
the credits are exhausted. You cannot receive any direct cash payment.
You may file the election to convert your life insurance at any
time, and it will become effective on the beginning of the third
month after we receive it. The brochure Converting
Your Group Life Insurance to Pay Health Premiums (ET-2325) provides
detailed information on this subject.
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