There is a lot of confusion about one of the benefits of former Bell Atlantic and former NYNEX employees (GTE employees did not have a provision for a retiree death benefit) and that confusion does not exist only in the minds of retirees. Retirees have reported that calls to the Verizon Benefits group were met with a serious lack of understanding as to the very existence of the benefit as well as details about to how it works. As a result, we have had several discussions with the Human Resources team and have been assured that training has been given to solve this problem.
The purpose of this article is to provide general information about the Sickness Death Benefit. However, the final authority as to your eligibility and the amount of the benefit rests with the Verizon Benefits Committee.
The proper name of this post-retirement benefit is the Bell Atlantic Sickness Death Benefit. The benefit pre-dates company-provided life insurance, and goes back as far as the early 1900s. It should not be confused with the company Group Life Insurance Benefit and is subject to limitations and exceptions covered later.
For managers, you had to be an active employee hired before July 1, 1985 for former NYNEX employees and before April 1, 1991 for Bell Atlantic employees to be eligible for the benefit. The amount of the benefit is equal to one year of your pay that was in effect on June 30, 1985, for NYNEX, and Dec. 31, 1991 for Bell Atlantic, or your retirement date, which ever is earlier.
For associates, the death benefit was based on an eligible employee's wage level -frozen at a fixed date - 12/31/86 in former NYNEX. An exception to that amount applies to associate employees on an Incentive Compensation Pay Program and North Associate Directory Advertising Sales Representative employees. In former Bell Atlantic South, the benefit did not exceed the maximum amount (the maximum amount was $39,000), which could have been paid as a Sickness Death Benefit, under the terms of the pension plan if the pensioner had died on his/her last day of active service before retirement on pension. An exception to the maximum of $39,000 applies to BA South Directory Advertising employees (associates) with Title Code 4520.'
The "mandatory beneficiary" is defined as: your spouse - if your spouse was living with you at the time of your death and/or, under certain circumstances, your unmarried, dependent child, under the age of 23, if older than 23 but incapable of support or dependant parents, if living with you or living in a separate household provided by you. If there is no identifiable "mandatory beneficiary," there will be no payment, not even to your estate.
There are a number of limitations as to eligibility. Some of the most common are: you must have retired with a service or disability pension; the benefit was discontinued for anyone retiring under the new management Verizon pension plan effective Jan. 1, 2002 management employees who retired between April 1 and Dec. 31, 2001 were given a choice of pension plan
Those selecting the new Verizon plan were no longer eligible for the Sickness Death Benefit. In addition to these eligibility limitations, employees who retired with a service pension or disability pension and elected a lump sum payout are eligible for the death benefit with this exception: NYNEX managers who retired as a result of the Force Management Plan (FMP) in 1992-93 and who elected a lump sum payout of their pension are not eligible for the death benefit since that amount was included in their lump sum payout.
You can find out if you are eligible and, if so, the amount of your benefit by calling the Verizon Benefits Center, 1-866-998-8777
Ask specifically for the Benefits Team. If you are eligible and upon request, the Life Benefits Team will provide written confirmation/documentation of the Sickness Death Benefit amount to be filed with your important papers. In the event of
Your death, the person handling your affairs must immediately call the Verizon Benefits Center to report the death and to initiate the process for the death benefit payment. "We understand that claims for the death benefit will not be honored if submitted over one year after the retiree's death.
Lucent Eliminates Death Benefit
In a letter dated Jan. 2, Lucent notified its retirees that the Death Benefit was being eliminated for all former management employees effective Feb. 1, 2003, regardless of retirement date. In 1997, Lucent had eliminated the Death Benefit for all management employees who retired on or after Jan. 1, 1998.
The Lucent letter cited the length and depth of the downturn in customer spending and indicated that they believe that they will continue to see a decline in revenues in 2003. They said, "The last two years have been the most challenging period in the history of our industry."
Verizon eliminated the Death Benefit for eligible active management employees effective Jan. 1, 2002.
