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How Much Can You Expect for Your Long-Term Disability Benefits?
Sometimes, long-term injuries and illnesses can prevent workers from working in any capacity, at any job. When that happens, a worker is eligible to make a claim for benefits under a long-term disability insurance policy that he or she may have. If the insurance company accepts the worker’s claim for disability benefits, then it will pay the worker a portion of the wages or salary which he or she earned prior to the onset of the disability. The amount of those benefits varies, however, on a case-by-case basis.
The Texas long-term disability benefits lawyers at J. Price McNamara ERISA Insurance Claim Attorney will be able to determine if you are eligible to make a claim for long-term disability benefits. If so, our legal team can assist you in the claims-filing process and will help you pursue the maximum amount of disability benefits to which you are entitled.
Anticipated Amount of Your Long-Term Disability Benefits
The amount of long-term disability benefits to which you are entitled depends primarily on your disability policy and its terms. Generally speaking, most long-term disability insurance policies allow for an insured to collect somewhere between 50 percent and 80 percent of his or her monthly earnings (gross). However, other long-term disability insurance policies do not take a worker’s gross monthly earnings into account. Instead, the insurance policy provides for a fixed amount of compensation that the disabled worker will receive each month.
In order to determine the exact amount of the benefits offered by your particular insurance policy, you should speak with your employer’s human resources contact and/or take a look at the summary plan description for your insurance policy.
Factors that Have an Impact on the Amount of Your Long-Term Disability Benefits
There are certainly other factors that may have an impact on the number of long-term disability benefits you may receive. For example, if you are able to do some amount of work in a job where your earnings are significantly less than in your current job, you may be eligible to pursue partial disability benefits. If you obtain partial disability benefits, your monthly payment can be decreased proportionately, according to the quantity of work that you are able to perform.
Moreover, in some cases, a long-term disability insurance policy will account for a yearly COLA – or cost of living adjustment. In the event your disability insurance policy has a COLA provision, the number of benefits that you receive every month will be adjusted upward, according to inflation. The Consumer Price Index is used to measure inflation at a given point in time. Therefore, during the time period when you are receiving your benefits, you may see an increase of between one percent and three percent annually, which takes inflation into account.
Your long-term disability benefits may also be reduced if Social Security makes the determination that you are disabled. In that instance, your disability benefits may be decreased according to the monthly amount of social security benefits that you receive.
Call a Texas Long-Term Disability Benefits Lawyer Today
The legal team at J. Price McNamara ERISA Insurance Claim Attorney is committed to helping you pursue the long-term disability benefits you need. To schedule a Free Denial Review and legal consultation with a Texas long-term disability benefits attorney, please contact us online today.
J. Price McNamara
Attorney
Losing my own brother, then my father and sister after long, disabling illnesses just a few months apart drove a career change for me. Before that experience, I never truly understood the place you’re in. I never understood the dramatic impact that receiving (or not receiving) the disability and life insurance benefits you paid for and counted on can have on your life especially when you need to focus on family and healing. What I experienced with my own family now drives the way I view my clients and my work, and I will never forget it!
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