Distinction between “Dependants” and “Beneficiaries” / How to add beneficiaries?

• A dependant - When referring to the benefits platform, a dependant is a family member -your partner/spouse, children (including your partner’s children or adopted children) and, in some rare cases, your parents - that you wish to have covered added under a benefit scheme, i.e. Private Medical Insurance. To add a dependant, please refer to this article.
• A beneficiary is the person or entity entitled to receive the claim amount and other benefits upon the death of the benefactor or at the maturity of the policy.

The main difference lies in the fact that a dependent is a person who must be eligible to be covered under these plans. A beneficiary can be a person or legal entity that is designated by the employee to receive a benefit, such as Life Assurance.

Adding beneficiaries:

Through the benefits platform, there are different ways on how a person or legal entity can be designated as a beneficiary:

1. Through a designated benefit on your benefits platform that allows you to select each beneficiary. In this case, the beneficiaries may be called “Dependants”, which means that you can only add a beneficiary after you add them as a dependant on your benefits account.

1. Through an Expression of Wish form which allows you to designate beneficiaries by completing the form and sending it to the required address which you can find on the form.

1. Through separate category under your “Profile” section called “Beneficiaries”. Usually, this resembles the above-mentioned Expression of Wish form, but it is held directly on your benefits account.

Things to consider:

• Beneficiaries can also be allocated for Pension schemes if:
  • The scheme allows for beneficiaries to be nominated.
  • The Pension scheme is selectable via the benefits platform.
• In some cases, nominating beneficiaries for Pension is linked to the Life Assurance beneficiary nomination. To find out how to nominate your beneficiaries for the Pension scheme, make sure to read the “More Info” section of the benefit. You can check this article for further details.
• Nominated beneficiaries are not limited to people (beneficiaries can also be a charity, trust, estate).
• A dependant can also be a beneficiary.