NTGDIS invalidity retirement benefits

To become eligible for invalidity retirement, you must go through the invalidity retirement process. At the end of this process, the request for invalidity retirement must be approved by the Commissioner of Superannuation (the Commissioner) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the agency in which you work.

In some circumstances, despite being approved for invalidity retirement, you may not be eligible for additional invalidity retirement benefits from NTGDIS. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, you being over the age of 60 or you being in receipt of workers compensation benefits.

If your treating doctors believe that you should be retired on medical grounds, you should discuss this with your Human Resources unit. They will arrange for you to be examined by an approved health practitioner (AHP).

An AHP is usually a general practitioner (GP) who is not your treating doctor. In addition to the AHP’s examination, you will also have to be examined by a specialist.

The results from these consultations and any other supporting documents that you may have should be sent to the Northern Territory Superannuation Office (NTSO), attention the Commissioner of Superannuation.

If the recommendation is that you are incapacitated as described in the Superannuation Act 1984, and therefore should be retired on medical grounds, this recommendation will then be sent to your Human Resources unit. The CEO of your agency will write to the Commissioner and seek approval to retire you on the grounds of invalidity.

If this request is approved by the Commissioner, your agency may complete an Instrument of Retirement and you may be eligible for an invalidity retirement benefit.

As part of the invalidity retirement process, an assessment of your capacity to perform some form of paid work, including in a different role, may be conducted. This medical assessment is referred to as a fitness for continued duty assessment. If it is determined that you have capacity to undertake any available work for which you are reasonably qualified by education, training or experience with any employer covered by the NTGDIS you will not be entitled to an invalidity benefit from the NTGDIS.

If you are entitled to payments under workers compensation legislation or a workers compensation agreement such as a Hopkins agreement, any NTGDIS benefit will be reduced by the amount of the workers compensation payments.

In most cases, the NTGDIS benefit will be completely offset by the workers compensation payment.

Applications for invalidity retirement for members who are terminally ill are processed with priority.

If you meet the requirements for invalidity retirement and the AHP and the specialist state in their reports that you are terminally ill and not expected to survive 24 months, then your invalidity benefit will be paid as a lump sum free of tax.

Your benefits are calculated according to a formula. This formula takes into account your nominal retirement age, which is 65 for most Territory Government employees.

Should you retire on the grounds of invalidity while covered by NTGDIS, your benefit will be equal to:

• 17.5% ×
• your benefit salary (your actual salary and approved allowances at your exit date) ×
• a multiplier based on your age at exit date from employment:
  1. if you are 60 or over, the multiplier is zero
  2. if you are between 55 and 60 years of age at exit date, the multiplier is the difference between your age and 60
  3. if you are between 50 and 55 years of age at exit date, the multiplier is the difference between your age and 65, minus the difference between your age and 50
  4. if you are, on the exit date, less than 50 years of age – the multiplier is the difference between your age on the exit date and 65 ×
• 1 (if you are a full‑time employee) or your part‑time ratio (if you are a part‑time employee).

Note: part of a year in b., c. or d. is expressed as a decimal fraction.

Example 1

Michael was a full-time Territory Government employee. He retires on grounds of invalidity at age 57. He has a benefit salary of $65 000. The calculation for his invalidity retirement benefit is:

17.5% × $65 000 × (60-57) × 1 =

17.5% × $65 000 × 3 x 1 = $34 125

Example 2

Gary was a full-time Territory Government employee. He retires on grounds of invalidity at age 52. He has a benefit salary of $65 000. The calculation for his invalidity retirement benefit is as follows:

17.5% ×$65 000 × (65-52-2) × 1 =

17.5% × $65 000 × 11 × 1 = $125 125

Example 3

Mary was a full-time Territory Government employee. She retires on grounds of invalidity at age 48. She has a benefit salary of $65 000. The calculation for her invalidity retirement benefit is as follows:

17.5% × $65 000 × (65-48) × 1 =

17.5% x $65 000 x 17 x 1 = $193 375

Find more examples on the page Northern Territory Government Death and Invalidity Scheme.

Enquiries about the progress of your assessment should be directed to your Human Resources unit.

We cannot provide personal financial advice. If you require assistance, you can seek the services of a qualified professional.

The MoneySmart website provides advice on how to choose a financial advisor.

For general information, email ntsuperannuation@nt.gov.au.

Information privacy

NTSO will use any information provided by you during the invalidity retirement assessment process, including your medical information, in accordance with our information privacy statement. This means that we will keep your information as confidential as possible. However, we may need to liaise directly with your Human Resources unit, GP, other AHPs, or the Territory Government.

Generally, we cannot disclose the contents of any medical reports to you. If you would like to have them disclosed to you, you will need to send a request to us in writing and we may disclose the information to your GP.

NTSO will retain copies of your documents and the originals will be returned to your Human Resources unit.

Disclaimer

The material on this page is provided for information purposes only. It does not take into account your personal circumstances and should not be relied upon for making financial commitments.

The Commissioner of Superannuation and the Northern Territory of Australia accept no responsibility for any losses arising from any use or reliance upon the information or conclusions reached using the information.