LONG-TERM DISABILITY VS. SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INSURANCE WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
If ever you find yourself out of work for a period of months or years because of an injury or illness, you may have a few different disability insurance options to make sure you can still pay your bills and provide for your family. The two most basic categories of disability insurance you should know about are Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) and long-term disability insurance (LTD). Depending on the nature of your injury, your job, and your level of income, either one of these options could be right for you. You could even potentially use both at the same time. So, it pays to know a little bit about both kinds of disability insurance. SSDI is a government-funded program for disabled workers, and it doesn’t cost anything to be eligible to receive it, but you do need to have a certain amount of time spent working in order to be eligible. SSDI is what we call an “entitlement” program, which means you pay into it as a tax while you are working, and it’s there if you need to use it. You also receive it for as long as you’re disabled, but it will be converted at retirement age to Social Security retirement. Long-term disability is not provided by the government. It is a form of disability insurance that is usually provided by your employer as an employee benefit (or you can purchase your own personal disability policy) and is usually governed by a federal law, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Long-term disability benefits are provided by insurance companies, like The Hartford, Mutual of Omaha, Guardian, and others. If you are sick or can't work because of an injury or illness, you have to apply for long-term disability benefits (and your job will have the basic info on how to apply). If you’re awarded benefits, these will replace the majority of your income while you are out of work. Unfortunately, both types of disability benefits can be hard to get, even though you have a legitimate illness or injury and can’t work. Both insurance companies and the Social Security Administration deny legitimate cases every day, because they know that some people won’t go through the hassle of filing an appeal, even if they could win it.
It’s hard to find good lawyers willing to fight insurance companies these days — that’s why we started helping people with long-term disability claims last year. People who had worked hard and done the right thing were getting screwed through no fault of their own. While Donahoe Kearney doesn’t handle SSDI cases, we do partner with a couple of great firms in town that do. So, if you need to apply for SSDI, we can get you connected with them. For ERISA long-term disability insurance, if your claim gets denied for some reason or you want more info on this type of insurance, just call us. We’ll review the denial letter for free, and we’ll help you make a plan for the next steps. Bottom line — we’re here to help you and your family with whatever you need.
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