The Project
Troy was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. His wife, Liz was on maternity leave at the time caring for their 3-year-old son, Jacob. Troy had no insurance beyond coverage via his defined benefit account with a government superannuation provider.
At the time of engaging us, Troy had been given 6 months to live. For the previous 9 months he had been receiving an income protection payment from his defined benefit account. With the income protection payments to cease upon a TPD claim, a decision had to be made on the best option to ensure maximum benefit for Liz and Jacob.
We advised that the defined benefit TPD payment ( Insurance & account balance) be rolled over to an accumulation account where a Terminal Illness claim was then paid. Without this advice, the TPD benefit would have been reduced by $39K tax. This then allowed a terminal illness benefit of $487K to be paid tax free to repay their home loan and pay an ongoing tax free income stream to Liz & Jacob, totalling $18k pa.
The Outcomes
- Ensured 236k insurance payment was saved.
- Combined with 251k to draw death benefit.
- Debt free plus 18k pa tax free total pension.
- Broad insurance coverage going forward.
- Liz strong advocate of insurance.
There can be various issues around government and industry super funds that need to be considered. With Troy given a terminal diagnosis, it was important to ensure his limited coverage was maximised for Liz and Jacob’s benefit when he was gone. For Liz, it brought home the reality of how valuable insurance can be. Liz is now a strong advocate of insurance and has taken coverage to ensure her and Jacob’s financial security
