The Power of Storytelling and Its Connection to Disability Insurance
By Ted Norwood, General Counsel & Director of Representation, Integrated Benefits Inc.
SSDI has poor resources for vocational rehabilitation or job placement, and no resources at all for claimants during the wait for a decision. This makes it harder for people to recover and get back to work.
Because of the long wait, many claimants miss out on vital windows to improve their chances of recovery and return to work. By the time the SSA awards disability payments, many claims are permanent due to the effects of such a long layoff and the lack of rehabilitation resources.
Certainly, SSDI can provide income to your disabled employees, but relying on it leaves them with a long wait and long odds, making it less likely they will be able to rejoin your team or find alternative work.
SSDI is not all bad news for employers
Although SSDI does not do much for employers on its own, it is certainly better than nothing. It does eventually provide Medicare and annual cost of living adjustments (COLAs) for disabled claimants.
Those are important benefits, as many employees lose their health insurance during the wait for SSDI. Annual COLAs help people with disabilities keep up with the economy. Every bit matters once workers are on a fixed income.
Despite its problems, the SSDI program is a successful program designed to help protect American workers. Still, there is one more major advantage SSDI provides to employers.
SSDI acts like a subsidy to group long-term disability insurance, making disability policies affordable and an excellent value.
Group long-term disability policies protect employees from the disadvantages of SSDI.[1]
- These LTD policies usually start with an own-occupation period of two years, allowing the employee to receive benefits immediately.
- Group LTD policies can be structured to pay higher benefits than SSDI does.
- Group LTD policies have better opportunities to provide vocational rehabilitation and return to work services.
- Plus, most insurers will provide a lawyer for claimants to assist with their SSDI applications.
Although claimants often cannot double dip LTD and SSDI, SSDI still provides them with health insurance and cost-of-living adjustments. These benefits are the real opportunity SSDI provides for employers.
[1] https://www.consumerslife.com/EmployersCLIC/Products-for-Employers/Group-Long-Term-Disability-Insurance.aspx ; https://www.policygenius.com/disability-insurance/learn/long-term-disability-insurance-faqs/
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