It can be difficult or impossible to return to work you could previously do after suffering an injury or illness. If you’ve suffered an injury or illness that prevents you from returning to work, you may be entitled to a total permanent disability insurance payout through your superannuation fund.
Total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance is an insurance policy within your superannuation fund that you may hold, without even realising that you have it! It is common that people are unaware that they have TPD insurance and that they may be eligible to make a TPD insurance claim(s). In fact, if you have multiple superannuation funds and TPD cover with those funds, you can make multiple claims.
This TPD guide explains all the information you need to know about how to claim a TPD payout from a superannuation fund, how much is a TPD payout, what happens after a TPD insurance payout and how our TPD Lawyers can help you make a TPD claim.
Do I have TPD insurance, and can I get a superannuation disability payout?
You can identify whether you hold TPD insurance by looking at your most recent superannuation member statement(s). We would recommend contacting our TPD Lawyers to double check you are not eligible as it could have been on a previous statement of when you last worked.
So, if you hold a superannuation TPD benefit, whether or not you are eligible to make a claim will depend on your circumstances and whether they meet the eligibility based on your superannuation policy. Different superannuation policies have different definitions to make a TPD claim and therefore, reviewing the superannuation policy to see whether you qualify to make a claim with each superannuation fund you hold, is essential.
Generally speaking, if you’ve been unable to return to work for a prolonged period of time (usually 3-6 months) due to injury or illness, and cannot return to work that you are suited by education, training or experience, you may be eligible to claim a superannuation insurance payout.
Our TPD lawyers can assist you to identify whether you have TPD insurance in your superannuation, whether you qualify to make a TPD claim and whether you are eligible to make a TPD insurance claim with multiple superannuation funds, just call our office on 1800 952 898 for a FREE claims assessment.
For a step by step guide on how to make a TPD claim, click here.
How much is a TPD payout?
The TPD payout amount you receive will depend on how much coverage you hold which is specified on your superannuation member statement.
Typically, the average TPD payout ranges between $70,000 to $2,000,000.
If you make a successful TPD claim, you may be given the option to withdraw your balance from your employers superannuation contributions. It is important, however, to recognise that there may be financial/tax implications depending on specific factors. Although our TPD lawyers are unable to provide you with financial advice, we can assist you in ensuring you get the right advice prior to withdrawing your TPD benefit. If you would prefer to read more about the tax and Centrelink implications you can click here.
How long does it take to get a TPD payout
In most cases, it takes 6-12 months for a TPD disability payout however, in some cases it can be sooner or later.
The length of the TPD claim process is dependent on a number of factors including its’ complexity and how much information is required. A straightforward claim is more likely to be finalised sooner, however, the more complex claims often take longer than 6 months to make a decision.
Our TPD lawyers deal with hundreds of TPD claims on a regular basis and are familiar with the requirements of each fund to speed up the process of submitting your claim and having the best chance of making a successful TPD claim. Contact our TPD lawyers on 1800 952 898 to give you the best chance of receiving the maximum TPD payout sooner. Our TPD lawyers do a free claim check for you and will only talk to you about our No Win No Fee policy upon checking you have TPD Insurance.
Tax on TPD payout
When your TPD claim is approved, it will be paid into your superannuation account and will accumulate with your account balance. At this stage, there is no tax payable on your permanent disability payout.
If you are over 60 years of age, there is no tax payable.
Although a TPD payout is not classed as taxable income, if you are under 60 years of age, and you withdraw your TPD payout in a lump sum from your superannuation fund, you will pay tax. The tax rate will vary and the amount of tax payable will vary from person to person and with each fund
Do TPD payouts affect Centrelink?
Centrelink is complex and obtaining further advice is highly recommended. In short, approval of a TPD claim will not impact your Centrelink entitlements as it will initially be paid into your superannuation account. However, if you withdraw a TPD lump sum from your superannuation, the withdrawal may affect your Centrelink entitlements, depending on your financial position.
It is important to obtain professional advice prior to withdrawing a lump sum TPD payout to ensure that you are not impacted without knowledge. Our TPD Lawyers can assist you in that regarding, without providing financial advice.
Can you work after a TPD payout?
You may be asking yourself can you return to work after receiving a TPD payout? In short, yes, you can often return to work after receiving a lump sum TPD insurance payout without having to repay the money.
To claim a superannuation disability payout, you need to demonstrate that you are no longer able to work within your occupation, education training and experience. To do this your medical practitioners (treaters) complete a medical statement that certifies that you are, in their opinion, unfit to return to work in your usual occupation, or one that you have training, education and experience. That is, your treater at the time of completing the statement is of the view that you will be unable to return to work. However, treaters although professionally qualified, cannot predict the future so, if your condition improves and you feel as though you might be able to retrain and return to work or retrain to do other work, than you may return to work.
Contact our No Win No Fee TPD Lawyers today for a Free claim Check
Our TPD Lawyers will do a free claim check for you and come back to you with whether or not you have TPD Insurance and whether you could be eligible to claim prior to you moving forward any further. Contact us today and find out how our No Win No Fee TPD Lawyers can help !
Issa Rabaya
• Bachelor of Laws
• Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice
• Approved Legal Service Provider to the Independent Review Office
• Member of the Law Society
