CSS Death and Invalidity Benefits

Invalidity benefits

Contributing members

If you're a contributing member and under age 65, you're eligible for invalidity benefits. Your benefit payout is calculated as if you continued working right up to age 65.

Deferred members

If you’re no longer a contributing member, you're still eligible for invalidity benefits. Your Invalidity benefit is based on the value of your CSS benefit at the time you claim.

Retrospective invalidity retirement

You can also apply to be considered for retrospective invalidity retirement if you believe you should have been retired on invalidity grounds when you left your CSS employer. For more information, see the Retrospective invalidity retirement guidelines.

Death benefit

Who receives Death benefits?

Death benefits are paid to your eligible spouse and/or eligible children if you die:

• when you're a contributing or deferred member; or
• after you've retired and were receiving a CSS pension.

If you don’t have an eligible spouse and/or eligible children when you die, your CSS benefit is usually paid to your estate.

For more information on how Death benefits work, see our Death benefits page. For full explanations and examples of how payments are calculated, download the Death and Invalidity benefits booklet.

Invalidity benefit

Invalidity retirement benefits vs Partial invalidity

Invalidity retirement benefits support you if your employer retires you on invalidity grounds and your CSC claim is approved.

Generally, to be approved for invalidity retirement you must be totally and permanently incapacitated, which means that a physical or mental condition makes it unlikely you can work again in an occupation you're reasonably qualified by education, training or experience to perform, or, in a role you could be retrained to do.

You may receive pre-assessment payments while we review your claim. These payments help provide income after your sick leave ends and before we make a decision.

A partial invalidity pension is a form of income maintenance. We pay this benefit if, through the claims process, we decide that your salary is permanently reduced because a medical condition means you’ve been downgraded or need to work fewer hours.

Faster access if you're terminally ill

If you’re terminally ill, we’ll prioritise your claim and process it as quickly as possible. For more information, see CSS terminally ill members.