Retired members of CWA Local 1103 who were employed by NYNEX - Verizon two very important benefits are payable upon death, if eligible, in addition to many other benefits you may also be eligible for.
Basic Life Insurance
If you retired before 2008 and were eligible for a service pension, your beneficiary may receive a benefit equal to your Benefit Bearing Wage (BBW) at the time of your retirement. Please note that this benefit reduces by 10% each year from age 66 to 70, reaching 50% of your initial BBW at age 70.
If you retired after 2008 and were eligible for a service pension, your Basic Life Insurance benefit was frozen at the Benefit Bearing Wage in effect in 2008. This benefit reduces by 10% each year from age 66 to 70, resulting in a benefit equal to 50% of the 2008 BBW at age 70.
Sickness/Pensioner Death Benefit (Sickness Death Benefit)
Under the Verizon Pension Plan for New York & New England Associates –
If you were hired on or before December 31, 1986, were employed continuously by Verizon on and after this date and die from an illness or an off-duty accident (as defined in the Verizon disability program), your beneficiary may receive a sickness death benefit. This benefit is equal to one year of your basic rate of pay that was in effect on December 31, 1986, plus all differentials paid to you in the 12-month period ending on December 31, 1986. (If you were a part-time employee as of that date, the benefit is based on your normal part-time scheduled hours on December 31, 1986.) You must remain employed continuously by Verizon. Employees who are hired or rehired after December 31, 1986 are not eligible even if they are covered under the Mandatory Portability Agreement and have a net credited service date prior to January 1, 1987. There are three exceptions to this rule: Eligible associates who left with a service pension before December 31, 1986 and are rehired after December 31, 1986, Employees on rotational assignment at Bellcore on December 31, 1986 and who transferred back after December 31, 1986, Shared Services employees who transferred back after December 31, 1986 and before the end date specified in Divestiture Interchange Agreement.
First Mandatory Beneficiaries - Your beneficiary for the death benefit is limited to one or more of the following: Your spouse, if he or she is living with you when you die. Your unmarried, dependent children under age 23 (unmarried, dependent children age 23 or over qualify as beneficiaries if they are disabled and incapable of self-support). A dependent parent, if he or she is living with you or is living in a separate household you provide. If you have more than one mandatory beneficiary at the time of your death, the Verizon Employee Benefits Committee (“VEBC”) will use its discretion in determining how to administer the benefit.
Death Reporting Process for Retirees
When a retiree passes away, the Verizon Benefits Center (855-489-2367) should be contacted to report the passing. Once in the system the caller can simply speak “report a death” to be transferred to the Beneficiary Support Team (BST).
The notifying party can be a family member or friend (known as the “handler”); however, when it is time to review any potential benefits, the BST will need to speak with a family member directly, for example, a surviving spouse.
The BST representative will need the following information to authenticate the account:
• Retiree’s name
• Last 4 of the retiree’s SSN
• Retiree’s date of birth
Beneficiary Support Team (BST) Actions:
The Beneficiary Support Team will assign a single point of contact for the family, who will take the “death start” call, including the family “handler’s”contact information and address, review the account for benefit eligibility and then reach back out to the family to discuss the status of all applicable benefits including: Health & Insurance, Pension, 401k, Basic Life Insurance, and Pensioner Death Benefit. The BST will contact the family to complete the benefit review, then the benefit letter will be mailed to the family for their records. The BST sends notification of the death to Prudential, along with benefit enrollment so the life insurance claim number can be produced within 24 hours. BST will reach out to the handler to provide the life insurance claim number and warm transfer
the handler to Prudential for assistance with the life insurance claim. BST will monitor the claim until it pays out.
Verizon has informed the Union that Life Insurance amounts and Beneficiary information are never disclosed by BST or the Verizon Benefits Center. The family will be instructed to contact Prudential directly; however, if the person calling Prudential is not the beneficiary on file, Prudential will not be able to assist them. Therefore, it is important to review your Beneficiaries on file today, keep your records in place that is accessible to them and provide instructions for them, perhaps this email, to follow upon death.
The CWA Local 1103 Executive Board has researched these topics extensively and the content contained in this email is based upon a comprehensive review of available pension plan documents, benefit plan documents, and collective bargaining agreements. This email does not alter or override the formal provisions found in the plan documents and associated rules. This email is presented for informational purposes only and is believed to be accurate, but we are not liable for any errors or omissions.
