Transferring to the Plum Personal Plan
Once your employer has told us that you’re no longer their employee and you’re a Plum Super member—you’ll be transferred to the Plum Personal Plan.
Leaving your employer, can be a busy and demanding time. The one thing you don't have to worry about is your super with us, because you may be able to keep your investments and insurance in the Plum Personal Plan (the Plan) or the Plum Pension.
What’s the Plum Personal Plan?
The Plum Personal Plan lets members stay with Plum Super after leaving their employer. This means you can continue to take advantage of the many benefits of Plum Super, even though you’ve left your employer.
Keeping your super in one account will mean you only pay one set of fees and you'll only have to deal with one set of paperwork.
Important information: You can find out more information about the fees, charges and insurance conditions in the Plum Personal Plan's Product Disclosure Statement.
Some of the key features of the Plum Personal Plan includes:
- no entry fees
- using BPAY® to make non-concessional contributions
- being able to continue to grow your super with employer or personal contributions
- access to a wide range of investment options
- continued 24 hour, 7 days a week access to your super account using the Plum website and automated telephone service.
® Registered to BPAY Pty Ltd ABN 69 079 137 518
Staying with us when you leave your employer
If you leave your current employer, we generally move your account balance into the Plum Personal Plan. If you have insurance cover when you leave your employer, you'll usually be able to keep it.
Considerations
- Fees and costs: The fees, costs, and insurance premiums are generally higher after you move. All charges will be deducted from your account and any employer subsidies will no longer apply.
- Insurance only: If you’re an insurance-only member, your insurance cover will cease.
- Death and TPD cover: If you’re 40 or older, from your next birthday, your Death and TPD cover transferred to the Plum Personal Plan will reduce each year by 5% (unless you choose to fix your amount of cover). We gradually reduce cover because most people don’t need as much Death and TPD cover as they get closer to retirement. If you want to keep your current amount of cover and avoid the automatic 5% reduction from your next birthday, you can apply to fix your cover by completing the Fix your Death and Total and Permanent Disablement cover form available by logging into your account.
- Death cover: Once your Death cover is reduced to $20,000, we’ll keep it at that amount until your cover ceases (ie ceases under the terms of the policy, such as the cover cessation age). If you’d like to change or cancel your cover, you can apply for it at any time. If your Death cover is already less than $20,000, it will remain fixed until it ceases or you apply to change it.
- TPD cover: Any TPD cover you have will reduce by equal instalments each year from age 61, until it ends at age 65.
No minimum sum insured will apply to any TPD cover you have.
Keeping your Salary Continuance Insurance
If you have any SCI cover when you leave your Employer, then:
• Between leaving your Employer and joining the Plum Personal Plan, you'll have SCI cover at the same level, with a 90-day waiting period and a maximum 2-year benefit payment period. This may be different to the Waiting Period and benefit payment period that applies to your SCI cover in the Plan.
• When we transfer your super account to the Plum Personal Plan, we’ll cancel any SCI cover you hold at the time.
• Premiums will be charged to your super account in the Plum Personal Plan based on the Plum Personal Plan rates between the date you left your employer and the date you joined the Plum Personal Plan.
• You’ll then be provided with 60 days to reinstate your SCI cover.
If any of the events set out in the Cessation of insurance cover section of your Employer Plan’s insurance guide occur before we transfer your super account to the Plum Personal Plan, your SCI cover will cease at that time and the Insurer will refund premiums back to the cover cessation date.
If you reinstate your SCI cover in the Plum Personal Plan, a default 90-day waiting period and 2-year benefit payment period will apply ― unless you previously applied and were accepted for a different Waiting Period and/or benefit payment period in the Plan. In that case, your Waiting Period and benefit payment period will be the same as you have in the Plan. Premiums will be payable from the date cover originally ceased.
If your SCI reinstatement request is received after the 60-day reinstatement period, you'll need to apply to obtain insurance cover and may need to provide Health Evidence and employment information as part of your application. If the Insurer accepts your application, cover will commence from the date of the Insurer's acceptance. Cover may be subject to different terms and conditions.
Before you reinstate your SCI it’s important to consider:
- The cost of your insurance will generally be different in the Plum Personal Plan (it’s usually higher).
- The cost of your insurance is deducted from your super account.
- The default 90-day waiting and maximum two-year benefit period will apply in the Plum Personal Plan, unless you applied and were accepted for a different waiting period and/or benefit period in your Plum Corporate Plan. If this applies to you, your waiting period and benefit payment period will be the same as what you had in your employer plan.
- Your SCI benefit will be reduced by benefits received or amounts that you’re expected to receive from other sources. This means that your total benefit won’t exceed the Monthly benefit that you’re entitled to. For more information about what payments may reduce your SCI benefit, please refer to the Insurance Guide.
- It’s important to make sure that you don’t have multiple SCI policies (also known as income protection) that you may not need or be able to claim on. If you have SCI or income protection cover elsewhere, it may impact your ability to claim benefits under any SCI provided here.
Applying for insurance in the Plum Personal Plan
If you don’t have insurance cover at the time you leave your employer, or if you’d like additional insurance, you can apply for it when you join the Plum Personal Plan. This insurance cover is provided by MLC Limited, which means that you may need to satisfy the insurer’s health evidence requirements.
Transitioning to Retirement?
If you’ve reached your ‘preservation age’, a Transition to Retirement (TTR) strategy may help you ease into retirement by allowing you to access some of your super whilst you’re still working. You’ve already reached your preservation age if you’re born before 1 July 1963. If you’re born on or after this date, your preservation age will be when you turn 59 or 60.
With a TTR strategy you can receive an income to maintain your living standard when winding back your work; and pay less tax. TTR pension payments attract a 15% tax offset between preservation age and 59, and are tax free1 at age 60 or over.
Get the advice that’s right for you
Determining when to retire and how to access your super requires careful planning. We recommend that you speak to your financial adviser before making any decisions.
1 Assume the TTR pension is commenced from a taxed super fund.
Things to consider
Insurance cover and costs
Log in to your online account to see your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Insurance Guide for more detailed information and considerations.
Cost of premiums
The cost of your insurance will generally be different in the Plum Personal Plan (it’s usually higher).
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