Superannuation Claims - Total and Permanent Disability
What is TPD and does it affect my superannuation account balance?
A TPD claim won't affect your superannuation account balance. It's a claim against your superannuation fund's insurer which is totally separate. It's also a separate claim from any workers compensation claim, whole injury damages (WID) claim or any other compensation claim you may have or had.
TPD relates to the amount of any applicable insured benefit in place as at the last day of work, following on from an injury or illness.
A person is considered to be TPD if as a result of injury or illness they have been absent form work for a consecutive period of at least 6 months, although the time required may vary depending on the applicable policy, and are unlikely to ever return to an occupation for which they are qualified to perform by reason of their education, training or experience.
To be sure you are classified as TPD you'd have to contact lawyers so they can check your fund as the specific wording varies between funds and they would have to request the relevant fund to forward the trust deed and related amending deeds so they can closely examine the definitions. It may be a €light or a €hard€ definition.
So, does it matter where in Australia I live and where my lawyers are located?!
TPD is nationally recognised and PK Simpson Compensation Lawyers have been making successful TPD claims for Australians for over 15 years! Amongst compensation law firms they are one of the few to specialise in Total and Permanent Disability claims. They actually have solicitors dedicated to TPD claims. Not many law firms can say that. Their primary office is located in Sydney making them central to all happenings in the insurance / compensation industry. They make use of technology very well to keep costs down and stay connected to clients all over Australia. In fact many TPD clients talk to their solicitor via skype or telephone and are amazed at the efficiency of the law firm. Their ability to build and prove a case to insurance companies and make sure swift action is taken astounded my partner and me.
Anything else worth knowing?
There is a bit of a grey area in which the insurers and lawyers argue about. There has been some discussion on what constitutes €work€ in Total and Permanent Disability. Luckily the courts have settled this issue. Up until September 2011, the generally held view, which was debated between the parties was that:
€ If a person was off work for at least 6 consecutive months, and subsequently returned to light duties work of up to 20-24 hrs pw, they were arguably still TPD, as the return to part-time Light or alternate duties was categorised as a €return to work trial€
€ Despite the funds / insurers being of a different philosophy on this, nevertheless cases of this type, often got either approved, or settled by way of compromise, because the case law was split evenly down the middle as to holding support for the opposing views about €work€
However, in September 2011, a Court of Appeal case by the name of Manglicmot - v- The Commonwealth Bank, became widely publicised and known across the industry. That case looked at specifically, for the first time, at what constituted €work€ in this context, and dealt with the scenario of a person who was off work for the required 6+ months, but went back to work with his employer, doing part-time light duties. The Court decided the issue that had for so long been hidden in the shadows, and stated emphatically, that a person who is working part-time light or alternate duties IS NOT TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY.
Some subsequent decisions of the Court of Appeal have confirmed this view.
These cases are, for the time being, the main and leading legal authorities on the issue.
On a practical level, we have found that, whilst these issues are regularly raised by the funds and their insurers, in most cases, it does not prevent reasonable and often fruitful settlement discussions, or in the appropriate case, an approval of the claim.
How do I start?
It's all done online and over telephone and skype. That's the beauty of it. They've figured out a very effective and efficient process which means all I had to do was fill out a few documents and fax it back.
1. Have a teleconference with you to confirm the following details:
(a) Date of injury
(b) Employment history following injury and work performed
(c) Start dates of employment
(d) Your last day at work
(e) Details of your super fund(s)
2. Following on from that, the lawyers will make enquiries with your super fund(s) to ascertain whether you had insurance cover for TPD at the applicable dates.
3. In the event that you do have insurance cover, to ascertain the amount of that cover, which typically can range from $10,000 to $250,000
4. Once they have established that information, they will seek your further instructions as to whether you wish to proceed with a Total Permanent Disability claim.
A TPD claim won't affect your superannuation account balance. It's a claim against your superannuation fund's insurer which is totally separate. It's also a separate claim from any workers compensation claim, whole injury damages (WID) claim or any other compensation claim you may have or had.
TPD relates to the amount of any applicable insured benefit in place as at the last day of work, following on from an injury or illness.
A person is considered to be TPD if as a result of injury or illness they have been absent form work for a consecutive period of at least 6 months, although the time required may vary depending on the applicable policy, and are unlikely to ever return to an occupation for which they are qualified to perform by reason of their education, training or experience.
To be sure you are classified as TPD you'd have to contact lawyers so they can check your fund as the specific wording varies between funds and they would have to request the relevant fund to forward the trust deed and related amending deeds so they can closely examine the definitions. It may be a €light or a €hard€ definition.
So, does it matter where in Australia I live and where my lawyers are located?!
TPD is nationally recognised and PK Simpson Compensation Lawyers have been making successful TPD claims for Australians for over 15 years! Amongst compensation law firms they are one of the few to specialise in Total and Permanent Disability claims. They actually have solicitors dedicated to TPD claims. Not many law firms can say that. Their primary office is located in Sydney making them central to all happenings in the insurance / compensation industry. They make use of technology very well to keep costs down and stay connected to clients all over Australia. In fact many TPD clients talk to their solicitor via skype or telephone and are amazed at the efficiency of the law firm. Their ability to build and prove a case to insurance companies and make sure swift action is taken astounded my partner and me.
Anything else worth knowing?
There is a bit of a grey area in which the insurers and lawyers argue about. There has been some discussion on what constitutes €work€ in Total and Permanent Disability. Luckily the courts have settled this issue. Up until September 2011, the generally held view, which was debated between the parties was that:
€ If a person was off work for at least 6 consecutive months, and subsequently returned to light duties work of up to 20-24 hrs pw, they were arguably still TPD, as the return to part-time Light or alternate duties was categorised as a €return to work trial€
€ Despite the funds / insurers being of a different philosophy on this, nevertheless cases of this type, often got either approved, or settled by way of compromise, because the case law was split evenly down the middle as to holding support for the opposing views about €work€
However, in September 2011, a Court of Appeal case by the name of Manglicmot - v- The Commonwealth Bank, became widely publicised and known across the industry. That case looked at specifically, for the first time, at what constituted €work€ in this context, and dealt with the scenario of a person who was off work for the required 6+ months, but went back to work with his employer, doing part-time light duties. The Court decided the issue that had for so long been hidden in the shadows, and stated emphatically, that a person who is working part-time light or alternate duties IS NOT TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY.
Some subsequent decisions of the Court of Appeal have confirmed this view.
These cases are, for the time being, the main and leading legal authorities on the issue.
On a practical level, we have found that, whilst these issues are regularly raised by the funds and their insurers, in most cases, it does not prevent reasonable and often fruitful settlement discussions, or in the appropriate case, an approval of the claim.
How do I start?
It's all done online and over telephone and skype. That's the beauty of it. They've figured out a very effective and efficient process which means all I had to do was fill out a few documents and fax it back.
1. Have a teleconference with you to confirm the following details:
(a) Date of injury
(b) Employment history following injury and work performed
(c) Start dates of employment
(d) Your last day at work
(e) Details of your super fund(s)
2. Following on from that, the lawyers will make enquiries with your super fund(s) to ascertain whether you had insurance cover for TPD at the applicable dates.
3. In the event that you do have insurance cover, to ascertain the amount of that cover, which typically can range from $10,000 to $250,000
4. Once they have established that information, they will seek your further instructions as to whether you wish to proceed with a Total Permanent Disability claim.
Source...