We all like to plan for our future: saving up for a family vacation, buying a new car, or retiring at the cabin. But we also need to plan to ensure our family's financial security in a situation we can't always predict –– death.
Currently, only 11 per cent of the Superannuation death benefit has been applied for, a number that APSAR Prairies Regional Vice-President Frank McGregor finds unsettling.
"The government is keeping 89 per cent of the death benefit that public service employees pay for," he explains. "That's OUR money –– PSAC members past and present. We need to let our beneficiaries know they can apply for it."
The death benefit for PSAC members still employed in the public service is two years salary, which is good until age 65. After 65, it depreciates 10 per cent until age 75 when it flattens out at $10,000. Members are advised to know who their beneficiary is and ensure the beneficiary knows that they’re the beneficiary because the benefit must be applied for to receive it. It can only be one person or an estate.
A story previously posted on the PSAC Prairies website outlined further details about the Association of Public Service Alliance Retirees (APSAR). For more information, please contact Frank McGregor, APSAR Regional Vice-President, Prairies at (306) 764-7668.