New York Life announces expansion of company bereavement benefit

New York Life | January 25, 2021

Industry-leading Policy Offers 15 Days of Paid Time Off and Empowers Employees to Define a ‘Loved One’

NEW YORK — Recognizing the company’s commitment to both offer competitive benefits and to support bereavement, New York Life announced an expansion of the company’s bereavement policy, which provides paid time off for employees to grieve the loss of a loved one.

“Supporting families during times of grief is at the heart of New York Life’s mission,” said Carla Rutigliano, Senior Vice President, Head of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, New York Life. “Through the New York Life Foundation’s focus on childhood bereavement, we know that building resiliency among children starts with the caring adults in their lives. This update is a natural extension of the New York Life Foundation's focus on bereavement and our commitment to supporting those who are grieving – including our employees.”

Available to all employees immediately, the expanded policy offers up to 15 days of paid time off and enables employees to independently define who they would consider to be a “loved one.” The previous policy allowed up to five days paid time off tiered by relationship. New York Life will also provide training for managers and resources for employees on how to support grieving colleagues.  

“We believe the expanded policy reflects our culture and allows our employees to recognize the relationships in their lives,” added Ms. Rutigliano. “The definition of family has evolved, and we trust our employees to determine which relationships they value most. We believe this expansion will better meet the needs of a more diverse and changing workforce and ensure New York Life remains a leader in making the health and wellbeing of its employees a priority.”

Although data from Willis Towers Watson suggests that bereavement leave is a benefit that is valued by employees, three to five days of bereavement leave continues to be the benchmark across most industries and there has been little to no movement to expand the time available or the definition of a loved one in recent years.

About New York Life

New York Life Insurance Company (www.newyorklife.com), a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life has the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any U.S. life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies**

*Based on revenue as reported by “Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual),” Fortune magazine, 5/18/20. For methodology, please see http://fortune.com/fortune500/.

**Individual independent rating agency commentary as of 10/15/2020: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor’s (AA+).