Employers can help employees who are disabled and are caregivers plan for the future through employer-offered permanent life insurance

Voya’s new Lifetime Life Insurance* workplace offering — a group life insurance solution designed to last a lifetime — could be meaningful coverage for both employees with disabilities as well as those who are caregivers. Offering this employee benefit can also help employers be more mindful of the needs of their own employee populations.

Voya’s new solution is designed to complement conventional term life insurance through the workplace by offering enrolled employees two layers of protection designed to last a lifetime: both a death benefit and an accelerated benefit for qualified Long Term Care (LTC) services. In addition, coverage is 100% portable, allowing employees who leave employment or retire to take their coverage with them and choose a convenient payment plan that works for them.

Three features, in particular, may appeal to employees who are disabled or are caregivers:

Guaranteed issue: In some instances, employees with disabilities may have opted to forgo electing life insurance coverage because insurers may have considered overall health and medical history — including a disability and how it affects life expectancy — in determining whether to approve them for coverage.

Lifetime Life Insurance is available as guaranteed-issue coverage, meaning it doesn't require a medical exam or health questions as part of the application process.** In addition, premiums for base coverage will not go up.+ As a result, Lifetime Life Insurance may be considered accessible and cost-effective permanent life insurance coverage available to employees and their eligible spouses and children.

Spouse coverage: An employee’s lawful spouse is eligible for coverage. As a result, employed caregivers with a spouse who has a disability may be able to obtain this permanent life insurance coverage for them with no underwriting — up to a designated amount that does not exceed the employee’s amount of coverage. Additionally, this group coverage could provide cost effective, permanent life insurance for an employee’s spouse who is a full-time caregiver and not employed outside of the home.

Funding for a special needs trust: If an employee has a beneficiary with a disability, they may wish to consider creating a special needs trust designed to receive proceeds in the event of their passing and to help the beneficiary remain eligible for means-tested government benefits. If the beneficiary or survivor who is eligible to receive proceeds has a special needs trust established, benefit proceeds will be paid to that person's trust instead of to the person directly. An added advantage of life insurance proceeds as a trust-funding vehicle is that contributions made to a special needs trust from life insurance tax-free.

By simply naming the trust as the life insurance policy beneficiary, the trustee will be able to collect, manage and give out the policy’s death benefit upon the death of the covered individual. The trust can even be named as a contingent beneficiary so that another loved one can be the primary beneficiary.

Lastly, through this offering—and available through a collaboration between Empathy and Voya—we’re offering Empathy LifeVault™, an online platform that brings key details and documents together in one seamless, secure experience. Individuals can create, store and share important documents like a last will and testament and power of attorney, further aiding individuals in preparing for their financial future.

This combination of Voya’s group insurance offerings with Empathy's human-centered technology offers comprehensive support for employees, including those with disabilities, caregivers and their families.