Special-needs dependents subject of MetLife workshop

WUSTL’s Office of Human Resources invites all faculty and staff and their spouses/domestic partners to an annual workshop on “Planning for the Future of a Child or Other Dependents With Special Needs.”

A representative from MetLife’s Division of Estate Planning for Special Kids will conduct the workshop and discuss a service called MetDesk. MetLife underwrites WUSTL’s life-insurance coverage.

The topics that will be addressed are: eligibility for government benefits, guardianship/conservatorship and financial security and funding options.

“Parents of children with special needs, no matter what the child’s age or disability, may have many serious questions about how best to provide for their child’s future,” said Tom Lauman, director of benefits.

“We realize that some employees face unusually difficult planning decisions regarding the welfare of their child, and the most important of those is probably how to provide for ongoing care after their death,” Lauman said.

These workshops will provide important information about developing a personal plan.

Lauman said that even though a MetLife representative will be making the presentation, employees are under no obligation to use a MetLife estate planner.

The schedule:

• April 21, Medical Campus, Farrell Learning and Teaching Center, Room 214 A&B, noon;

• April 22, Danforth Campus, North Brookings Hall, Room 222, noon;

• April 23, West Campus, West Building, Human Resources, Conference Room 150, noon.

Reservations are not required. For more information, contact 935-5931 for Danforth employees or 362-4929 for School of Medicine employees.