Know your benefits

Death benefits for in-service members

Jun 4, 2009 12:06 PM

If you should die, in addition to whatever insurance coverage you may have, the UFT Welfare Fund provides a benefit that’s payable on a decreasing scale to the beneficiary(ies) of in-service members [see box at right].

The reason the death benefit decreases as members age is that it takes into account the equity that older members have in the retirement system. (To see what benefits are available from your retirement system — and that applies to retired teachers, as well — check the Annual Benefits Statement you received in the mail. In some cases the retirement system’s death benefits are quite substantial.)

Welfare Fund death benefits are paid to the beneficiary(ies) you designated when you enrolled in the Welfare Fund. If you have had a change in marital status or dependents, you should have filed a Change of Status Form with the Fund. It is important that you keep this form up to date in order to avoid complications for your intended beneficiary(ies) at a stressful time. You can easily complete a Change of Status Form online and forms are also available from chapter leaders and the Welfare Fund.

When the Welfare Fund has been notified of your death, it will send a Death Benefit Notification Form (DBNF) to your beneficiary(ies). This must be returned to the Fund with certified copies of your birth and death certificates.

The Welfare Fund will then send a Death Benefit Claim Form (DBCF) to your beneficiary(ies) after verification of the information received on the DBNF. This DBCF must be completed, notarized and returned to the Fund. Upon completion of claim processing, a check in the appropriate amount will then be sent to your beneficiary(ies).

If only one beneficiary is on file at the Welfare Fund office, he or she will receive the entire benefit. If more than one beneficiary is named, the benefit will be shared equally unless otherwise indicated by percentage.

Should the last named beneficiary predecease you, or should no beneficiary be named, the death benefit will be paid to the first surviving class of the following classes of successive preference beneficiaries:

• your widow/widower or domestic partner;
• surviving child(ren);
• your estate.

It should be noted that the UFT Welfare Fund does not operate under the supervision of the New York State Insurance Department and there are no conversion privileges with the self-insured death benefit offered by the Fund.

As you see, if the time comes for the Welfare Fund to pay out a death benefit, it is limited to the beneficiary(ies) you have indicated. So be sure that your wishes are followed by keeping the designation of beneficiary(ies) current by using the Fund’s Change of Status Form.

Dependent survivor coverage

(in-service and retired members)

The Welfare Fund extends dependent coverage three months following the month in which a member dies.