On January 1, 2022, retirees at AT&T had their company sponsored life insurance radically reduced. That very same day, 120,000 Dupont retirees had their life insurance completely cancelled. It’s a horrific scenario for anyone to experience.
Over 220,000 retirees who had given their entire professional lives to AT&T were left with drastically reduced life insurance – with payouts capped at $15,000 and death benefits at $25,000.
For Dupont retirees, all life insurance policies guaranteed by or acquired through the company, were terminated at the end of 2021. Each Dupont retiree who had their life insurance taken away, received $10,000 towards buying a private life insurance policy.
This nightmare scenario was the jump off point to a lively debate on life insurance and long-term care policy protections, at the Bear Mountain Retiree Summit.
Moderator Don Trudeau, President of Benistar Administrative Services, was joined by wealth strategy expert Michael Roberts, elder law attorney David Dorfman, legal consultant Lori Epstein, and Eric St. Pierre, also of Benistar.
As panelists spotlighted, life insurance and estate planning are vital for everyone, but more critical as we age and face illness or long-term care scenarios.
“The rate of death is 100%,” said attorney Lori Epstein.
What happened to those 340,000 AT&T and Dupont retirees was abhorrent. They dedicated decades of their lives to those companies, believing that they would be taken care of, only to have the rug pulled out from under them when they are older with fewer replacement policy options.
Taking necessary steps to prevent being blindsided by a former employer concealing and how to replace those benefits was a core focus of the panel discussion.
In the coming weeks the BellTel Retiree YouTube channel will be posting video of this panel for our members to view.
Apple Podcasts
Spotify