If you become disabled while you are a member of the fund and working for your employer, you get a percentage of your earnings until your normal retirement age (this percentage differs from fund to fund and depends on the insurer’s recommendations).
There is a waiting period before you are paid a disability income benefit. This waiting period could be between 0 and 6 months.
Your employer will submit your disability claim to the insurance company, together with recent medical evidence. You will only get the benefit if the insurer is satisfied that you are permanently disabled and cannot work after looking at the medical evidence.
The maximum amount of benefit that the insurer is willing to pay without medical evidence of insurability is the free cover limit. To make sure you are eligible for your full potential benefit, please submit all the medical requirements the insurer has requested from you.
| Until 28 February 2015 | From 1 March 2015 |
|---|---|
| Disability benefit income premiums were taxed as a fringe benefit in the hands of the employee, but with an immediate tax deduction. | Disability income benefit premiums are taxed as a fringe benefit in the hands of the employee and there is no tax deduction. There is a small reduction in take home pay. |
| Disability income benefits were taxed | Disability income benefits are tax free. No tax is payable |
If you get a monthly income disability benefit then you will remain a member of the fund and your contributions and the employer’s contributions to the fund continue as usual. Your contributions are based on your fund salary before you became disabled and are deducted from the disability benefit you get.
Since you will be receiving a monthly income disability benefit the premium for the disability benefit will not be paid to the insurer but the extra amount will be allocated to your retirement funding.
You will get your full fund credit when you reach normal retirement age. If you die before normal retirement age, your beneficiaries will get the full value of the death benefit.
Your monthly income disability benefit will stop if you:
The insurer will check from time to time, 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.