Supplemental Life Insurance
2012–2013 Benefits Open Enrollment
Currently, if the combination of your basic and supplemental life insurance coverage is more than $500,000, you must provide evidence of insurability (or proof of good health) to the insurance company. As of July 1, 2012, evidence of insurability will only be required for supplemental life insurance coverage greater than $500,000—it’ll no longer be combined with basic life insurance.
You can purchase Supplemental Life Insurance of up to five times your
benefits base salary in addition to your Basic Life Insurance. You may elect
Supplemental Life Insurance in increments of one-half your benefits base salary.
Your Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance combined cannot exceed $1,000,000.
It’s important to note that you can elect up to five times your benefits base salary in Supplemental Life Insurance at the time that you are hired or become newly eligible for full-time benefits, but afterwards you may only increase your Supplemental Life Insurance by one times your benefits base salary per benefits plan year (July 1 - June 30). For example, if you elected to purchase two times your base salary in Supplemental Life Insurance at the time that you were hired, it would take three years for you to increase that amount to the maximum of five times your base salary. Please take this into account when considering your Supplemental Life Insurance choices.
You are eligible for Supplemental Life Insurance if you are a full-time member
of the University faculty or staff in a benefits eligible position.
Upon appointment. If you were hired on or before the 15th of the month, your Supplemental Life Insurance coverage is effective the first day of the following month. If you were hired on or after the 16th of the month, your Supplemental Life Insurance coverage is effective the first of the month following thirty days of employment.
During your new employee eligibility period or the annual Open Enrollment period, you may enroll for Supplemental Life Insurance online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at Penn’s online benefits enrollment site. You may also be eligible to make specific changes to your coverage at other times as the result of an employment status change or a qualifying life event change, such as a change in marital status or the arrival of a new child. You can update your beneficiary information online at any time through the same site. If you have questions about Penn’s Supplemental Life Insurance options, or about how to make your benefits elections online, please contact the Penn Benefits Center at 1-888-PENN-BEN (1-888-736-6236).
Note: Your Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance combined cannot exceed
$1,000,000. If you elect combined coverage over $500,000, you will have to
provide evidence of insurability (EOI) to the insurance company. You may choose to limit your coverage to $500,000 so you don’t have to submit EOI.
You pay for Supplemental Life Insurance with after-tax dollars. The cost is
based on your age and salary.
| Age as of July 1 |
Rate Per $1,000 of Coverage |
| Less than 30 |
$0.050 |
| 30 - 34 |
$0.067 |
| 35 - 39 |
$0.075 |
| 40 - 44 |
$0.083 |
| 45 - 49 |
$0.124 |
| 50 - 54 |
$0.191 |
| 55 - 59 |
$0.354 |
| 60 - 64 |
$0.537 |
| 65 - 69 |
$1.031 |
| 70 - 74 |
$1.868 |
| 75 and over |
$2.060 |
For more detailed information about the rules governing Supplemental Life Insurance, please see the relevant section of the Health and Welfare Summary Plan Description [pdf].
Note: The provisions of applicable collective bargaining agreements
govern the Health and Welfare benefits of employees in collective bargaining
units. Click here for more information.