Other Disability Benefits:

When you become disabled there are not only disability benefits to concern yourself with but other benefits that come with working for an employer. Typically an employer that has more than 50 employees provides many other benefits of working there. It could be life insurance, it could be dental benefits, medical benefits, vision benefits, 401(k), pension, vesting of stock options. There’s a lot involved here. When you become disabled you need to understand what benefits now are at risk and what benefits do you take with you while you’re on disability. That is based on the policy and the plan, and that’s why it’s so crucial early on for you to obtain a copy of the plan and the policy. In fact, our federal government through statute requires that an employer provide to you, within 30 days of asking for it, a complete copy of the plan in effect for you. And if they don’t provide it to you, there’s a penalty assessed against them, a financial penalty, that if you had to go to court on that issue you might obtain penalties. So the employers know that within 30 days of your request to provide this plan.

In the plan you need to understand, come to understand what benefits are now at risk that you’re disabled. Will you still have your medical benefits or will you be placed in COBRA? And that’s medical benefits that the company has to entitle you to receive during a certain period of time when you become disabled. So there’s a lot at risk. And once you understand what benefits you will take with you and which you lose, then you’ll be able to plan accordingly.