Create a Voluntary Life Plan - Knowledge Base | BerniePortal

How to Create a Voluntary Life Plan

After you create a Voluntary Life plan, set premiums on the Premiums tab. When creating the plan shell, select Voluntary Life (or Voluntary Life (2) / Voluntary Life (3) if those types are available) as the Benefit Type. To create the plan shell first, follow How To Create Plans in BerniePortal.

Who this is for

Employers with Benefits enabled, Brokers, Agencies, General Agencies, Benefit Providers, and Service Team Members with write access can create Voluntary Life plans and set premiums on plans they can edit.

To set Voluntary Life premiums:
  1. Create a Voluntary Life plan, or open an existing Voluntary Life plan from BenefitsPlans. After you save a new plan, BerniePortal opens the Premiums tab. For an existing plan, open it and select Premiums.
  2. Under Purchase Dependency, answer Should employee be able to purchase this benefit on their spouse or children without buying it themselves? (Yes or No).
  3. Complete Premiums: for the employee (age-banded rates).
  4. Optionally enable AD&D: for the employee and complete that age-banded table.
  5. Complete Spouse Premiums:, then optionally enable spouse AD&D:.
  6. Complete Children Premiums:, then optionally enable children AD&D:.
  7. Complete Employee Benefit Reduction Levels and Spouse Benefit Reduction Levels.
  8. Complete AGE CALCULATIONS.
  9. Complete Purchase Maximums and Purchase Minimums.
  10. Complete Guaranteed Issue, including uploading each EOI document required to buy more (PDF) for Employee and Spouse when the upload fields appear.
  11. Select Save Changes.
Purchase Dependency

Answer Should employee be able to purchase this benefit on their spouse or children without buying it themselves? with Yes or No.

Premiums:

Enter employee age-banded rates:
  • Purchase increment (costs per)
  • For each Age Range row, enter Premiums (values are entered per month). Use Add new age range as needed
  • Optionally enable Gender Premiums (Male / Female columns)
  • Tobacco Premiums appears when the plan is set so tobacco use affects rates; when enabled, enter Non Tobacco and Tobacco values
Enter premiums for the purchase increment. For example, if the purchase increment is $10,000 and the carrier rate is $0.09 per $1,000, enter $0.90 ($0.09 × 10).

AD&D:

Enable employee AD&D: when the plan includes AD&D, then complete the same style of age-banded table (Purchase increment (costs per), age ranges, and premiums; Gender Premiums / Tobacco Premiums when those toggles apply).

Spouse Premiums:

Enter spouse age-banded rates the same way as employee Premiums: (Purchase increment (costs per), age ranges, premiums, and optional Gender Premiums / Tobacco Premiums).

Optionally enable spouse AD&D: and complete that age-banded table.

Children Premiums:

Enter:
  • Purchase increment (costs per)
  • Premium
Optionally enable children AD&D:, then enter that section’s Purchase increment (costs per) and Premium.

Employee Benefit Reduction Levels

Answer Are spouse reduction rates based on Employee age? (No or Yes). Enter each Age Range and Percentage Reduction row. Use Add new age range as needed.

Spouse Benefit Reduction Levels

Enter each spouse Age Range and Percentage Reduction row. Use Add new age range as needed.

AGE CALCULATIONS

Complete age settings for:
  • EmployeeActual age or Current year - Birth year, plus How should a new hire's age be calculated? (Age at effective date or Age at most recent renewal date)
  • SpouseActual age, Employee age, or Current year - Birth year, plus the new-hire age rule
Purchase Maximums

Enter limits for each covered party:
  • EmployeeSpecific Amount and/or % of Salary
  • SpouseSpecific Amount and/or % of Employee election
  • ChildrenSpecific Amount and/or % of Employee election
Purchase Minimums

Enter Specific Amount for Employee, Spouse, and Children.

Guaranteed Issue

For Employee and Spouse:
  • Enter the Guaranteed Issue Amount
  • Select Allow additional coverage after year 1 without EOI (No or Yes)
  • If Yes, answer How much additional coverage is allowed?Up to original GI amount or Set additonal amount (and enter the amount when that option is selected)
  • Upload EOI document required to buy more (PDF) on this Guaranteed Issue section of Premiums when the file field appears
After employees have elected the benefit, Guaranteed Issue settings are locked. If the GI amount is 0, you can adjust that amount one time.

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