Income Protection

The UCD Income Protection (IP) Plan is designed to give employees the opportunity to protect their income against the possibility of long term illness. This section describes the scheme and how it can support you in the event that you exhaust your sick pay entitlement.

What is Income Protection?

The purpose of Income Protection is to supplement your pay in the event that you need to take long-term sick leave.

If you are a member of the plan, once your sick pay benefit has been reduced to half pay or you have exhausted your sick pay entitlement, the Plan steps in to pay a portion of your earnings. The aim is to provide you with a maximum income of 75% of your salary (less any Early Retirement Pensions/ Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration and / or Social Welfare benefit to which you’re entitled) while you are unable to work.

Who can benefit from Income Protection?

Membership is open to employees who meet certain criteria:

Each employee of the University who is under the age of 66 years, who is actively at work and in receipt of gross earnings of €17,000 or more per annum from that employment, and who is working at least 8 hours per week is eligible for membership under the Plan, provided that the employee is either:
- employed on a permanent and pensionable basis; or
- employed on a contract of indefinite duration; or
- employed on a fixed term contract for 9 months or longer, which commences before 1 January 2020; or
- employed on a fixed term contract for 6 months or longer, which commences on or after 1 January 2020

Please refer to your contract of employment or payslip to verify if you are included in the Income Protection Scheme. Detailed booklets for eligible members of staff are provided below.