Sometimes Ben Manna’s job takes him not only into people’s homes, but into their grief too. It’s never easy, yet the comfort ACIRT provides makes the choppy waters of heartbreaking loss a little easier to navigate. ‘I’ve been dealing with one family for a while, the guy passed away a few months ago and we’ve been working through their death benefit claim,’ Ben says.
‘It can be difficult going into those situations, hearing about how the person died, seeing the state the family’s in – there’s a young child and it’s their father who you’re doing the benefit for. ‘It can be hard, but you get a good feeling that you can get their money to them quickly.’
As the world has continued to ride the uncertainty of the COVID-19 wave, Ben has seen a trend towards members leaving their ACIRT balance to quietly build for an even rainier day, rather than dipping into it every time they find themselves between jobs. ‘Even with people who are getting put off at the moment, they’re holding off on claiming the money,’ Ben says. ‘They’re more concerned about it being there for the bad times, rather than every time they change jobs they claim their money.’