Keeping your fringe ('extra-legal') benefits

Leaving your employer shortly? Then take a careful look in advance at what will happen with your fringe benefits. Do you know, for example, what you can or may do with the already accrued amount of your group insurance? And will you continue to be insured for hospitalisation?

This guide can already get you started.
What happens to your group insurance?
leaving employer
Your accrued reserves remain yours if you change employer.

75% of employers offer their employees group insurance. In so doing they help employees build a nice nest egg for when they retire. You can read all about the group insurance in the key moment "I want to save for a comfortable retirement"

For many employees it is not always clear what happens with their accumulated group insurance savings when changing job. Regularly people think that the accumulated amount is lost. Not so. So no need to worry: The accrued pension amount (= accrued reserves) remains yours. Only in a few cases does your group insurance not provide this. We advise you to check for these exceptions in your pension scheme rules or ask your employer.

End of employment letter

On leaving your employer you receive a letter. This tells you exactly what you can do with your accrued pension reserves:  

  • Option 1: you leave the built-up reserves in your previous employer's group insurance with AG Employee Benefits (= 'sleeper')

    This is the default choice. If, on leaving your employer, you do not take specific steps to transfer your acquired reserves elsewhere, your contract simply remains. No new premiums are paid in, but you retain the advantageous interest rate on the already accrued reserves. 

    When you reach pension age, this accrued amount will be paid out to you.

    Careful, on leaving your employer, in some cases the death in service coverage of the life insurance stops.  If you do not make an express choice or leave your reserves in your former employer's scheme (option 1), there is a danger that your beneficiaries will have no reserves paid out to them if you die before pension age. Your letter will mention whether or not the death in service cover remains. Again, check carefully with your personnel department (and also examine option 2).

 

  • Option 2: you keep the accrued reserves in your former employer's group insurance with AG Employee Benefits, and you choose a death in service cover whereby the acquired reserves are paid out in the event of early death (= 'sleeper' with death in service cover)

    This option follows the principle of option 1, but with death in service now included. If you die before you reach retirement age, the amount of the acquired reserves will be paid to your beneficiary(-ies). This also means that the cost of this coverage will reduce the amount paid out at retirement age.

    If you choose this option, there are certain limits to be respected.
    • After receiving your letter, you have 30 days to choose this option. If you make no choice, your accrued reserves remain insured in option 1.
    • After these 30 days, you have a further period of 11 months in which to choose this option.

Once the period of 11 months has expired, you can no longer select option 2. After this you can also choose, up to pension age, to transfer your accrued reserves to a hosting structure at AG Employee Benefits (option 3), your new employer's pension institution (option 4) or a pension institution that limits the costs and distributes the total profits among affiliates (option 5).

  • Option 3: you transfer the accrued reserves to a hosting structure at AG Employee Benefits

    The amount of your complementary pension is moved to a 'hosting structure', which means that it is no longer managed according to the rules of your previous employer's pension scheme.  You do, however, retain your interest guarantee.

    Important: the 'death in service' guarantee continues to apply. If you die before your retirement age, the accrued reserves will be paid to your beneficiary(-ies).

 

  • Option 4: you transfer the accrued reserves to your new employer's pension institution (e.g. AG Employee Benefits)

    If your new employer also offers group insurance, you can choose to transfer your accrued reserves from the old contract you had via your former employer to your new employer's pension institution. From then on naturally the terms and conditions of the new pension institution apply, and it is possible that your original interest rate guarantees may no longer apply.

     
  • Option 5: you transfer the accrued reserves to a pension institution which distributes its total profits among its affiliates and limits the costs, as determined by Royal Decree of 14/11/2003

    Once the acquired reserves are transferred to such a pension institution, your contract with AG Employee Benefits ends and the terms and conditions of the new pension institution apply. It is possible that you will no longer enjoy the same interest guarantees.

    AG Employee Benefits may also act as such a pension institution.

 

Within which deadline must you make your choice? 

If you make no express choice within 30 days of receipt of the end of employment letter, the accrued reserves remain insured in the original insurance combination (option 1). As mentioned, it is possible that your accumulated savings may not be paid out if you die before retirement. If you make no choice, AG Employee Benefits always guarantees a death in service benefit equal to the accrued reserves for the first three months.   

To remind you: if you want to keep your death in service coverage, you can choose option 2 (explicit choice within the year) or option 3 (selection possible until your retirement age). You also have the possibility, in addition to the hosting structure, of transferring your reserves to your new employer's pension institution (option 4) or a pension institution that limits the costs and distributes the profits (option 5).

 

Pension benefit statement

If you leave your employer, you will receive, as well as your end of employment letter, a pension benefit statement containing a summary of the key figures, such as your accrued pension amount.

leaving employer
Make your choice in good time, in order to retain your death in service coverage.
Income protection insurance
leaving employer
The income protection insurance stops when you leave your employer.

If you are unable to work for a long period, for example after an accident or childbirth, you will receive, via your income protection insurance, an additional income on top of your statutory benefit. This is one of the best known risk covers. It stops when you leave your employer. 

Only if you are already disabled and your employer decides to dismiss you will you continue receiving your disability benefit up to the final date set in your pension plan (generally up to age 65).

You can continue your income protection insurance - just like your hospitalisation insurance - on an individual basis. In the next section you can read more about this individual continuation.

Does your hospital insurance continue? And what about your family members?

If you leave your employer (e.g. retirement or resignation), you may lose your corporate-sponsored hospitalisation insurance. No problem: the chances are that you will get hospitalisation insurance again with your new employer. If, however, you still are without insurance, for example on resignation or when you retire, you always have the right to continue the corporate-sponsored insurance on an individual basis.   

Your (former) employer is required to inform you within 30 days of losing your corporate-sponsored insurance of the possibility of continuing your insurance on an individual basis. From then you have 30 days to request a continuation from your insurer. These timings are important if you are to maintain the coverage that you had before.

Caution: do not forget that your family members may also be affiliated through your employer. The information on an individual continuation also applies to them.  

The premium for such an individual continuation can be high. This can be avoided by concluding a 'waiting policy' while you're still insured through your employer. In this way you will avoid any nasty surprises and you have certainty about your future coverage and your premium.

 

To learn more about such a waiting policy 


Do you require a certificate of insurance? You can easily request it through the MyAG Employee Benefits platform or app. For additional details, please refer to this 'How to'.​

leaving employer
You can always continue your corporate-sponsored hospitalisation insurance on an individual basis.