An important question to ask yourself: Could you pay your bills if an illness or injury prevented you from working? A reassuring thought: The Disability Program provides protection for you and your family from a loss of income if you become disabled. You also have the option to purchase a “buy-up” benefit during Annual Enrollment for additional protection.
Short-Term Disability (STD)
Who it’s for: Employees who can’t work and have missed more than seven days of work due to an illness, medical emergency, surgery, or childbirth (including pregnancy disability and postpartum recovery).
What you get: 60% of covered earnings for up to 26 weeks, at no cost to you. Additionally, you have the choice of electing from two levels of buy-up STD coverage: 70% or 80% of covered earnings for up to 26 weeks.
What else to know: Your short-term disability benefits start on the eighth calendar day of continuous disability due to disease or injury. Benefits will be retroactive to the first day of disability if your disability continues beyond day five. Disability benefits may vary depending on laws, your circumstances, and other factors.
Long-Term Disability (LTD)
Who it’s for: Employees who can’t work and have missed more than six months of work due to an illness or injury.
What you get: 60% of covered earnings, up to a max of $8,000 per month, at no cost to you. Additionally, you have the option to purchase buy-up coverage of 70% of covered earnings, up to a max of $12,000 per month.
What else to know: Certain restrictions may apply to your LTD coverage if you have a pre-existing condition that occurred up to three months prior to enrolling in the buy-up coverage. Disability benefits may vary depending on laws, your circumstances, and other factors.