Income Protection Benefits
Life insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D), and Disability insurance help to protect your and your loved ones from the unthinkable.
Basic Life Insurance
To protect those who depend on you financially, Shelby County Government provides you with Basic Life Insurance automatically through MetLife Insurance. This benefit pays 2x your annual salary in the event of your death.
Note: Upon retirement from the County, you receive a Basic Life Insurance benefit of 1x your annual salary. As an active employee, at ages 65 and 70, the benefit amount is reduced as provided below:
- Age 65–69: 65% benefit
- Ages 70 and over: 50% benefit
You pay 30% of the premium cost for Basic Life Insurance ($0.15 per $1,000 of coverage); the County pays the remaining 70% of the premium costs ($0.35 per $1,000 of coverage).
Voluntary Term Life Insurance
You can purchase additional life insurance coverage through MetLife Insurance at group rates.
- For yourself: Elect coverage in $10,000 increments up to a maximum of $400,000.
- For your spouse: Elect up to $100,000.
- For your child(ren) up to age 26 (married or unmarried): Elect up to $15,000 for each dependent child.
You must provide Evidence of Insurability (EOI) if:
- You want to increase your coverage by more than one coverage level.
- You want to elect coverage over the $150,000 Guaranteed Issue amount.
- Your election for spousal coverage is more than $50,000.
Submit your EOI application to MetLife Insurance for approval—do not send it to Employee Benefits.
Note:
- Your benefits will be reduced when you reach a certain age (65% benefit from age 65 to 69; 50% for ages 70 or over).
- There will be a change in the Voluntary Life premium when you move to the next five-year age band (e.g., from 30–34 to 35–39; 40–44 to 45–49, etc.) The change will be made January 1 of each year.
- Voluntary Term Life Insurance cannot be carried into retirement for employees but it can be carried into retirement for dependents.
Voluntary Whole Life Insurance for Employees
All active employees are eligible to enroll in Transamerica Voluntary Whole Life Insurance and elect coverage in the following increments:
- $25,000
- $50,000
- $100,000
- $150,000
Coverage is portable and permanent, meaning you can take into retirement. The premium for the coverage is based on your age at the time of enrollment.
Note: Spouses and dependents are not eligible for this benefit.
Voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
If you’re an active employee, you can enroll in coverage through MetLife Insurance for yourself and your dependents.
- For yourself: Elect coverage in $10,000 increments up to a maximum of $150,000.
- For your spouse: Elect 50% of your AD&D coverage amount to a maximum of $75,000.
- For your dependent child(ren) up to age 26: Elect 50% of your AD&D coverage amount to a maximum of $75,000.
Note: This coverage cannot be carried into retirement. Benefit amounts for employees reduces to 65% benefit from age 65–69 and a 70% benefit from age 70 on. Benefit amounts for spouses reduce to 65% benefit from age 65–69 and spouse coverage terminates when your spouse reaches age 70.
Disability
There are two types of disability coverage available through MetLife to help offer peace of mind if you are unable to work due to illness or injury:
Short Term Disability (STD)
This voluntary program replaces a portion of your income if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury for up to 26 weeks. You pay 100% of the premium.
The weekly STD benefit replaces 50% or 60% of your income, depending on the coverage level you select, after a waiting period. Coverage is available for covered pregnancies.
Here are some things to consider when deciding to enroll in STD coverage:
Waiting period before benefits begin paying
There is a 14-calendar day waiting period for sickness but no waiting period for injury. You are not paid STD benefits during the waiting period. You can use accrued leave during the waiting period.
Amount of accrued leave you have
You must use all sick and annual leave prior to receiving benefits from the STD Program. If you have 8 weeks or more of accrued leave, you may want to consider whether to continue your enrollment in STD.
Any accrued Leave pay that you receive from Shelby County Government will reduce your STD benefit. The minimum STD benefit is the greater of $25 or 10% of the STD benefit.
Example: STD scenario for a 14-calendar day waiting period + 26 weeks of STD coverage for an illness:
- Work week of 37.5-hours would equal 1,050 accrued Leave hours.
- The majority of STD absences are less than 28 total weeks of disability and should be considered when electing STD.
Evidence of insurability (EOI) requirement
Long Term Disability (LTD)
After 180 days of disability, all active full-time permanent and durational employees automatically receive coverage that replaces 60% of your basic monthly earnings. Benefits are provided until you reach normal retirement age or are no longer disabled. Shelby County Government pays the full cost of this coverage.