If you become disabled while you are a member of the fund and working for your employer, you qualify to get up to 75% of your pensionable salary until your normal retirement age (this percentage depends on the fund and the insurer’s recommendations).
Your employer will have to send your disability claim to the insurance company with recent medical evidence. You will only get your money if the insurance company accepts your claim that you are permanently disabled and cannot work. The maximum amount that the insurer will be willing to pay without getting medical evidence is referred to as the free cover limit. To make sure that you get your full benefit, you must submit all the medical requirements the insurer asks for.
Note: there is a waiting period before you are paid you disability income benefit. The waiting period could be between 0 and 6 months, depending on the fund you belong to.
While you are disabled, you are still a member of the retirement fund, so your contributions and the employer’s contributions to the fund will continue as usual. Your contributions will be based on your pensionable salary before you were disabled and will be deducted from your disability benefit.
If you die before you retire from the fund, your beneficiaries will get the full value of the death benefit.
Your disability benefit will stop if:
The insurer will check whether you are still disabled according to the definition of disability in the insurance policy. The first assessment is usually two years after your claim is accepted.
The monthly disability benefit will be taxed in the same way as your salary or wages are taxed.