Employer FAQ

An employee may exercise their conversion privilege to continue the life insurance plan by calling a local Prudential Agent. The employee will need to take the Conversion Application Form and a copy of their policy with them. If they cannot locate a local agent they may call Prudential at 1-800-524-0542. Download the Conversion Application Form on the Forms page.

Check your administration manual for the form entitled “NCPERS Group Life Insurance”, Appendix C. The forms are retained at Member Benefits and WRS is notified that the premium is to be deducted from the retirees pension benefits. The process takes approximately 30 to 90 days to complete. Therefore, the retiree will notice a one-time adjustment for unpaid premiums.

Employees on a leave of absence are allowed to keep their insurance for up to a year, at which time they must either return to work or exercise their conversion privilege.

Employers are eligible to enroll in the NCPERS Group Life Insurance program if the employer is an active member of WRS and the employer agrees to the payroll deduction.

Employees are eligible if they are an WRS participant, actively at work and enroll within 90 days of employment or during open enrollment. Open Enrollment is during October through November every year.

When Coverage Begins: Newly hired employees become insured on the first day of the month following the first full payroll deduction. Coverage begins for employees joining during open enrollment on the first day of the month following the first full payroll deduction after open enrollment, January 1.

When Dependent Coverage Begins: Dependent coverage begins when the member coverage becomes effective, except if a dependent is confined for treatment. Coverage becomes effective when a doctor releases the dependent from confinement.

Termination: Coverage will end if payments are discontinued, members cease to be of the eligible classes, or if the plan is discontinued.

The NCPERS Group Life Insurance program sponsors an Annual Open Enrollment period of October 1 – November 30.

Your employees who did not sign up within 90 days of hire can join during open enrollment. Health questions or medical exams are not required if the eligible employee enrolls during the open enrollment period. The employee only needs to be actively at work for the insurance to become effective.

Coverage for employee’s eligible dependents are included in the employee’s premium. See the plan brochure for a definition of eligibility and when coverage becomes effective.

Participation is completely voluntary and no minimum number of participants is required to make the coverage effective. The plan allows you to offer important and valuable benefits to employees through convenient payroll deductions.

NO! All employees added to your billing will be at the $16 premium. Employees on the $9.00 or $12.00 plans are not eligible for the $16 plan, because they waived the upgrade at the time it was offered to them. If an employee formerly had coverage, but terminated, he or she is considered new, and must submit a new enrollment card, and pay the $16 premium.

Certificates for participants added during open enrollment are mailed between February 1 through March 31.

Payments are due in the lock box by the 1st of the month of coverage and are considered to be late by the 10th. If you are on a schedule, which makes it impossible for you to make this deadline, changes you make to your statement will not be reflected on the very next billing statement, as your payment will have missed the cutoff date of the 10th.

New employees are added to the billing system the first of the month following their 90 days eligibility period. If you begin payroll deductions sooner, add them to your billing statement and adjust your “current months charges” to include their premium. We will adjust our records to show the correct effective date based on payment.

Many enrollment cards have been missing important information or the WRS unit number. Without the name of the employer, we do not know what group to enter the participant into. Other pertinent information needed to process the enrollment are; “Date of Hire”, “Occupation”, “Social Security Number”, “Date of Birth”, and “Beneficiary Designation”. This information is required to process enrollment; it is also required information when completing death claim forms and applications for waiver of premium. Finally, make sure the employee signs and dates the enrollment card.

If an employee does not have a deduction made by payroll deduction during the month for any of the following reasons, note the reason on your Billing Statement. If an Employee is not receiving a payroll check because of disability, leave of absence or no earnings, payment must still be received for continued coverage. The Employee can submit a personal check to the Employer Unit for the period of time during which the Employee will not be receiving a check from the Employer Unit. This payment should be submitted with the normal premium payment. The Employer Unit can also make a double deduction during the pay period prior to or subsequent to the absence and note it on the billing statement using the following codes:

T = Terminated
C = Death
Q = No earnings paid this month
D = Disability
P = Leave of Absence
R = Retired

Member Benefits cannot process a name change from the billing statement. Please use the Change/Update Contact Information Form on the Resource Library page to make any type of member contact changes.

Highlight the employee name on your billing statement and place a “T” – Terminated, “R” – Retired, “D” – Disabled or “C” – Deceased, in the billing code. Reduce you current month charge by that employee’s premium, then process your payment for the new amount.

Partial payment or partial month coverage cannot be accepted. If an employee retires, terminates or is deceased before a full month’s premium has been deducted, do not send the partial month deduction. This should be refunded to the employee as part of their final paycheck. Adjustments for partial payments sent in error are the responsibility of the employer unit making payroll deductions. If checks are automatically printed from the payroll system, simply void the check and reissue two manual checks, one for the employee and a check for the remaining balance, which you mail with your billing statement.

In the event that you are assisting an employee to file a claim, please help them complete and return the Death Claim Form on the Forms page.

Death claims are usually paid within 4-6 weeks from receipt of complete claim information. Incomplete information will delay the claim.

Subject to applicable state law, Prudential’s Alliance Account^® is the standard settlement option for death benefits of $5,000 or more.¹ We will establish an interest-bearing account in the beneficiary’s name. Beneficiaries earn interest as long as the account remains open. They can withdraw the full amount immediately, write drafts2 against the balance, or leave the funds in the account to collect interest. For death benefits of less than $5,000, claims will be settled via a lump sum check.

The following settlement and payment options are available as an alternative to the Alliance Account:

• Lump Sum: The beneficiary may receive the full death benefit in a single lump sum check or receive the full amount via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
• Payment for a Fixed Period: The death benefit plus interest may be paid over a fixed number of years (1 to 25) either monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually.³
• Payment in Installments for Life: The death benefit may provide monthly payments in installments for as long as the beneficiary lives.
• Payment of a Fixed Amount: The beneficiary may choose an income payment of a stated fixed amount either monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually.
• Interest Income: All or part of the proceeds may be left with Prudential to earn interest, which can be paid annually, semiannually, quarterly, or monthly. The minimum deposit is $1,000.

To file a claim, contact the Member Benefits at 1-800-525-8056, email NCPERS@memberbenefits.com, or use the downloadable form linked above.

¹Beneficiaries may wish to consult a tax advisor regarding interest earned on the account. There are fees for special services, such as stop payment requests. Prudential’s Alliance Account is a registered trademark of The Prudential Insurance Company of America.
²Alliance Account drafts are considered checks under federal law for certain purposes.
³Interest rates may change.
The Bank of New York Mellon is the Administrator of the Prudential Alliance Account Settlement Option, a contractual obligation of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, located at 751 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102-3777. Draft clearing and processing support is provided by The Bank of New York Mellon. The Bank of New York Mellon is not a Prudential Financial company. Alliance Account balances are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). All funds are held within Prudential’s general account, which is not FDIC insured because is not a bank account or bank product

Member Benefits is responsible for administering the NCPERS plan.