DC 37 Health and Security Plan Benefits: Death Benefits

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.

Effective 1/1/2010, if an eligible retiree covered by the Plan dies, a Death Benefit of $2,000 will be paid to his/her beneficiaries. The retiree Death Benefit for the Cultural Trust remains at $1,000.

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 July 1, 2009 for active employees covered by the DC 37 Cultural Institutions Health & Security Plan:

Basic death benefit will be $10,000
Accidental death benefit will be $10,000
Single dismemberment will be $5,000
Multiple dismemberments will be $10,000

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:

the employee received the maximum disability benefit provided by the Plan; and
the employee is under age 55; and
the employee remains disabled; and
the employee is uninsurable and unemployable; and
the employee is not receiving a pension from a current Employer; and
the employee qualified for Social Security Disability benefits.

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:

the employee received the maximum disability benefit provided by the Plan; and
the employee is 55 or older; and
the employee remains disabled; and,
the employee is uninsurable and unemployable; and
the employee is not receiving a pension from a current Employer; and
the employee qualifies for Social Security Disability benefits.

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 3/3/92

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.