Life Insurance

Loyola University Chicago automatically provides eligible faculty and staff with basic term life insurance equal to 1½ times your annual salary, with a maximum of the lesser of one and one-half times your annual salary, or $500,000.

• Loyola pays the entire cost of this coverage and the policies are currently administered through Reliance Standard. See below.

Imputed Income: There are some tax consequences to employees with employer-funded insurance coverage over $50,000.

• As mandated by the IRS, coverage amounts in excess of $50,000 are subject to imputed income whereby the cost of the life insurance coverage in excess of $50,000 is subject to federal income and Social Security (FICA) taxes. The taxable amount is included in your W-2 and is calculated using an IRS age-based table. 

Automatic Reduction of Basic Life:  For Insureds age 65 and over, the Amount of Basic Life Insurance is subject to automatic reduction. Upon the Insured’s attainment of the specified age below, the Amount of Basic Life Insurance will be reduced to the applicable percentage. This reduction also applies to Insureds who are age 65 or over on their Individual Effective Date. 

Please see the Benefits Booklet for additional information.

Employee: If you are benefit-eligible (University staff FTE .53 or higher; HSD Staff .50 FTE or higher), and interested in additional term life insurance coverage for yourself, you may purchase supplemental life insurance.

• This coverage may be purchased in amounts equal to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 times your annual salary, up to a maximum of $500,000
• The cost for this coverage is based on your age. The premium you pay for this coverage automatically changes when your salary or age changes

Spouse: If you are benefit-eligible, you may purchase life insurance coverage for your spouse if you elect employee supplemental life insurance for yourself. However, the maximum coverage for your spouse without Evidence of Insurability (EOI) is $25,000, only for a new hire. In addition, you may not purchase more life insurance on your spouse than you have purchased on yourself.

Automatic Reduction of Supplemental Life Insurance: For Insureds age 65 and over, the Amount of Supplemental Life Insurance is subject to automatic reduction. Upon the Insured’s attainment of the specified age below, the Amount of Supplemental Life Insurance will be reduced to the applicable percentage. This reduction also applies to Insureds who are age 65 or over on their Individual Effective Date. 

Child: If you are benefit-eligible, you also may purchase a flat $5,000 plan that covers your unmarried dependent children from age six months until age 26. You may cover newborns and newly adopted children if you enroll them within 31 days after their arrival. The coverage amount for newborns through age six months is $1,000.

Automatic Reduction of Basic Life & Supplemental Life Insurance Coverages: For Insureds age 65 and over, the Amount of Basic Life and Supplemental Life Insurance is subject to automatic reduction. Upon the Insured’s attainment of the specified age below, the amount Life Insurance will be reduced to the applicable percentage. This reduction also applies to Insureds who are age 65 or over on their Individual Effective Date.

MetLife will send you policy Port/Conversion information near your 65th birthday. Porting or Converting the policy is optional. Port means you would continue the insurance under the group policy, but you would be required to pay MetLife directly. Converting means you would end your current policy and open an individual policy under MetLife for the same or lesser amount. Converting means you would end your current policy and open an individual policy under MetLife for the same or lesser amount. You have 31 days to port or convert policy.

Statement of Health (SOH) is the process by which an insurance carrier determines that an employee or spouse is insurable at or above a certain dollar amount by requiring proof of good health.

• If employees are newly hired, they may elect supplemental life insurance up to 2x annual salary without an SOH, if they enroll within the first 31 days of employment. Any new election or increase to coverage made after a new hire enrollment period will require SOH.
• The Statement of Health (SOH) form is located on the Benefit Document Bookshelf.

Life insurance benefits are paid to the beneficiary on file when a life insurance claim is processed. You are automatically the beneficiary of any life insurance you choose for your spouse and children.

• Beneficiaries can be updated online anytime during the year by visiting Employee Self-Service, located in the Resources section (upper right)
• You are able to designate both a primary and secondary beneficiary for your own insurance plan

Dependents are determined as follows:

Your benefits may have changed because:

• You no longer work for your employer (this includes retirement).
• There was a scheduled decrease due to age reduction, change in annual salary, or end of coverage.
• Your dependent spouse’s or child’s eligibility changed (e.g., the child reached the plan’s age limit of 26, death of employee, divorce, or termination of domestic partnership).
• The employee class or plan eligibility changed.
• The group policy ended.

Life insurance ends on your last day worked. Dependent life insurance coverage terminates when your coverage ends or the individual ceases to be your eligible dependent.

• For life insurance purposes only, an unmarried dependent child who is eligible for life insurance benefits is covered up to age 26. If you are not sick or injured, you may have portability options to continue your life insurance. Portability permits a portion of your existing (group) coverage to be continued through the carrier after your University employment ends if you contact MetLife within 31 days of your last day worked

Alternatively, you can port or convert your current basic and optional life policies with MetLife. You must act within 31 days of your termination date to continue coverage under either option.

Active employees may also receive a letter from MetLife giving them the option to convert or port the portion of your policy that changed due to age reduction or a decrease in their annual salary which naturally will decrease the amount of their policy.

Port: To Port means you would continue the insurance under the group policy, but you would be required to pay MetLife directly. This is usually the cheaper option, so most people choose this route. If you keep the same benefit amount, you do not need to have a medical exam. You can increase coverage, but that would be subject to a medical exam. 

Convert: Converting means you would end your current policy and open an individual Whole Life policy under MetLife for the same or a lesser amount. To find out what the rates would be for this, you will need to contact MetLife and speak to an advisor as they will be starting from scratch creating a new Life insurance policy. Conversion is the more expensive option and requires a medical examination, completed forms, and payment of premiums within the election period. Please note that you cannot convert Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage.

• To obtain an application for either option, you may contact MetLife. Please see below.

Please direct life insurance continuation questions to MetLife Transition Solutions at 833-622-0135 or 877-275-6387 Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern time or Online at metlife.com/mybenefits.

Revised: 7/27/16, 12/16/16, 12/29/16, 12/31/16, 4/4/19