Protecting your income
For most of us, work is how we cover the cost of living. If you have lifePLUS Income Protection and you are injured or sick, we’ve got you covered. It’s one less thing to worry about.
'Income Protection' is only applicable to PSSap members. For more information on Insurance and Cover for other schemes please see here.
Ancillary Membership
Ancillary memberships and accounts gives some of our customers’ access to more flexible contribution and investment options. Extra insurance cover may also be available through PSSap if applicable.
Find out morelifePLUS gives you protection when the unexpected happens. Getting injured or seriously ill is the last thing you want, especially when there are expenses and bills to pay.
With CSC, you can guard against the worst with two Income Protection options—lifePLUS auto, our default cover, or lifePLUS choice, insurance you can change to better suit your needs.
Key insurance points
lifePLUS auto—our default cover
PSSap Customers are generally covered from day one with lifePLUS auto. As a new PSSap Customer you're placed in this option automatically, subject to age-based and account-balance conditions, so you can get on with the things that matter to you.
If you're eligible, lifePLUS auto cover includes:
- Income Protection for permanent and casual employees for up to five years,
- Income Protection for employees on contract for up to five years or to the contract end date, whichever happens first, and
- maximum cover of $15,000 per month without having to go through a full insurance application process.
lifePLUS choice—take your pick
Everyone's different—from the work they do to the situations they find themselves in—which is why we’ve made lifePLUS choice available to you, in case you want to tailor your insurance.
Depending on your eligibility, you can:
- decrease or increase your Income Protection waiting period from the usual 60 days,
- decrease or increase your benefit payment period from five years to two, or vice versa,
- apply for more Income Protection cover, or
- transfer cover from another super fund or insurer to CSC.
Use our LIFEapp calculator to help you decide how much Income Protection insurance you may need. You’ll need to enter some personal and financial details to crunch the numbers.
And if you're a lifePLUS choice Customer, you'll need to make sure our record of your current, annual salary is up to date. Let us know of any changes using the lifePLUS Application and variation form.
Key benefits points
Your Income Protection benefit is based on your salary
We calculate your Income Protection benefits on your base annual salary at the time of your Income Protection claim or on the salary you advised us of, whichever is less.
If your employer doesn’t tell us what your salary is when you join PSSap, we’ll work out your Income Protection benefits using a base annual salary of $47,000. With this in mind, it’s important that your employer lets us know when your salary changes (for lifePLUS auto cover, this is your employer’s responsibility). You can always check if your annual base salary is correct in our system by logging into your account and going to the Insurance section.
If you're a casual employee who has opted in to lifePLUS auto cover, you must tell us what your salary is when you join, and also let us know if it changes using the lifePLUS Application and variation form.
If you’re a lifePLUS choice Customer, it’s your responsibility to let us know what your salary is and when it changes. Your recorded salary has an impact on your premiums and on your benefits—so it’s important to have an up-to-date figure recorded so you get the cover you need.
Your Income Protection benefit—how it works
How long is my benefit payment period?
Depending on your cover, you’ll either have a two- or five-year benefit payment period under your Income Protection cover.
If you have a two-year benefit payment period, you’ll be paid benefits for:
- two years if you’re a permanent employee, or
- two years or your contract end date—whichever happens first, if you’re not a permanent employee.
If you have a five-year benefit payment period, you’ll be paid benefits for:
How much will I receive?
If you have a two-year benefit payment period, you’ll get monthly payments of up to 90.4 per cent of your reported base annual salary (pre-disability), with 75 per cent going straight to you and 15.4 per cent going into your super account.
If you have a five-year benefit payment period:
- For the first two years (or on your contract end date if is before two years and you are not a permanent employee), you’ll get monthly payments of 90.4 per cent of your reported base annual salary (pre-disability), with 75 per cent going straight to you and 15.4 per cent going into your super account.
- For the next three years (or on your contract end date if it is before the next three years and you are not a permanent employee), you’ll get monthly payments of 65.4 per cent of your base annual salary (pre-disability), with 50 per cent going direct to you and 15.4 per cent going into your super account.
- After a year of being paid benefits, we’ll index your payments each year by either the consumer price index per cent or five per cent, whichever is less.
We might have to reduce your income protection benefits if you’re still receiving income from other sources. For example, if you’re receiving:
- workers’ compensation, transport accident compensation or similar payments that relate to your sickness or injury,
- income from your employer while also receiving benefit payments,
- income protection benefits from other insurers, or
- sick leave entitlements from other sources.
Partial benefits
You might be able to receive a partial disability benefit if you were totally disabled for 10 out of 14 consecutive days within your waiting period or if you meet the definition of ‘Partial Disability’ after the waiting period.
More information
When does my cover start?
When does my cover stop?
Your Income Protection cover stops on the date of whichever of the following events happens first:
- You stop being a PSSap Customer
- You turn 67
- You permanently retire from the workforce
- You stop working for an eligible employer and you don’t meet the conditions to keep your cover—like if you stop working because you’re sick or injured, or you’re receiving, eligible to receive or lodging a claim for income protection or terminal illness
- You die
- You tell us in writing that you want to cancel your cover or we terminate the policy with the insurer
- Your unpaid insurance premiums are 60 days overdue
- You’re not an Australian resident and you permanently leave Australia, or you become ineligible to work in Australia
- We don’t receive a contribution to your super account for a continuous period of 16 months (your account becomes inactive) and you haven’t written to us to let us know you’d like to keep your cover while your account is inactive
Can I cancel my lifePLUS cover?
You can choose to opt out of any lifePLUS cover you hold. Just remember, if you do decide you want to be covered again later on, you’ll have to reapply and undergo a full insurance application process. See the Insurance and your PSSap Super booklet for more detail.
To talk to us before cancelling your lifePLUS Income Protection cover, call 1300 725 171. We're here to help.
Or, if you’re ready to cancel your cover, download the Cancellation Request Form and email to us at members@pssap.gov.au
We focus as much on rehabilitation as we do cover
Work often means more than just getting a pay packet. For many, it gives us purpose and fulfilment, along with friends, colleagues and a sense of community. If you are injured or sick, we’ll do all we can to help you get back to work.
Learn more