How much does disability insurance pay?
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Disability insurance is designed to provide financial protection if you become unable to work due to illness or injury. Who needs disability insurance? Anyone that relies on their income to pay living expenses. Disability benefits can make up for some of your lost income and help you to handle living expenses while you are out of work. However, it’s important to note that there’s no one answer to “How much disability will I get if I’m out of work?” The dollar amount of benefits can vary significantly from plan to plan, and in the case of private disability insurance, even among different policies from the same provider. Given that, here are general guidelines for approximately how much you can expect with different types of coverage including:
Social Security Disability Insurance
The average monthly SSDI benefit at the end of 2022 was $1,358 per month.1
Commonly called SSDI, this type of disability insurance is included in your Social Security coverage, and the premiums are paid for by a portion of your federal payroll taxes. However, unlike other types of coverage that pay for temporary disabilities, SSDI only pays benefits for injuries or illnesses that are expected to be permanent and make you incapable of doing any work of any kind. That’s one reason why many people choose not to rely on SSDI alone. There are also other limitations.
The fact that you pay social security taxes doesn’t necessarily mean you’re eligible for benefits: you first need to earn a sufficient number of Social Security work credits – based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income – which typically takes about 10 years. When it comes time to make a claim, the application process is quite complicated, requiring extensive documentation that can take months to complete. And, only about 35% of initial SSDI applications are approved.2
Monthly SSDI benefits, which average under $1400 per month, tend to be relatively low compared to the disability benefits available from many private insurance policies. On the positive side, SSDI has a generous “benefit period”, which is the length of time benefits can last: if approved, benefit payments last until age 65 (unless your disability resolves itself earlier), at which point you should qualify for Social Security retirement benefits and in some cases, you may also qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
To see how much you could qualify for, try the Online Benefit Calculator from the Social Security Administration.
Short and long-term private disability insurance
Short-term disability insurance typically pays between 40-70% of your gross income until you return to work or until the end of your benefit period.3 Benefits periods typically last 13-26 weeks and not more than 1 year.
Also called STD , this coverage is for temporary disabilities (usually six months or less) that are not covered by SSDI or long-term disability insurance (see below). STD plans are often provided by employers as a low- or no-cost group benefit to employees, and premiums may be paid at least in part by the employer. Importantly – and unlike worker’s compensation – STD plans pay benefits for covered illnesses and injuries whether they are job-related or not.
If your employer doesn’t offer STD – or you’re self-employed – you may be able purchase a policy for yourself, but individual coverage tends to be costly; it may make more financial sense to purchase long-term coverage and rely on savings for short-term savings for income replacement if you suffer a temporary illness or injury.
Long-term disability insurance usually pays you between 60-80% of your gross income for the length of your benefit period.4 Your benefit period can be as short as two years, or it can go all the way to retirement (or until you recover from being disabled), depending on the policy.4
Also called LTD, this coverage is designed to replace a portion of your income if your disability is expected to last for an extended period. Like STD, benefits are paid whether or not your injury or illness is related to your job. Many employers offer group long-term disability insurance benefits, generally as a “voluntary” (optional) employee benefit. If your employer’s base plan doesn’t offer enough coverage to maintain your lifestyle in the event of a prolonged illness or injury, you can apply for supplemental disability insurance as an individual to round out your protection. Similarly, if your employer doesn’t offer disability benefits at all, or you are self-employed, you can apply for individual disability insurance from a number of providers, including Guardian.
State disability insurance plans
As of January, 2023, five states offered short-term disability insurance: California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island5. This state-sponsored coverage is separate from the Federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program which provides coverage for long-term disabilities.
It’s important to note that employees in these states must pay into the state program via payroll tax deductions, and if an employer doesn’t withhold taxes, their employees likely won’t qualify. This also means that in most cases, independent contractors, freelancers, and individuals paid in cash or off-the-books will not qualify for disability benefits.
The benefit amounts and benefits periods for these state disability insurance programs are as follows:
California State Disability Insurance. Benefit: 60-70% of wages to a maximum of $1,620 per week. Benefit period: Up to 52 weeks.5
Hawaii State Disability Insurance. Benefit: 58% of wages to a maximum of $765 per week. Benefit period: Up to 26 weeks.5
New Jersey State Disability Insurance. Benefit: Up to 85% of wages to a maximum of $1,025 per week. Benefit period: Up to 26 weeks.5
New York State Disability Insurance. Benefit: 50% of wages to a maximum of $170 per week.5
Rhode Island State Disability Insurance. Benefit: 4.62% of wages, with a minimum of $121 per week and a maximum of $1,007 per week. Benefit period: 30 weeks.5
Worker's compensation disability
Workers' compensation plans provide benefits to workers who are injured on the job or have a work-related illness. These programs are state-administered, and each has different rules for which injuries or illnesses are covered, as well as the level of disability benefits offered. However, benefits typically include medical treatment for work-related conditions as well as cash payments that partially replace lost wages.
For example, New York State Workers’ Compensation Disability calculates the weekly benefits as follows: 2/3 of the average weekly wage multiplied by the percent of disability.6 So, if your average weekly wage was $1,000 and you were partially disabled (50%) you would receive $333 per week. If you were fully disabled (100%) you would receive $666 per week. However, if you work in another state, your benefit amount will likely be different.
How much disability coverage do you need?
Learn about how to think about your coverage needs and estimate how much disability income you would have to replace to support your family and maintain your lifestyle.
How much does LTD cost?
Take a minute to answer a few basic questions and Guardian will provide you with an instant estimated monthly cost.
Why do so many people choose Guardian for individual disability insurance.
Investopedia named Guardian the Best Overall Disability Insurance Company for 2023 because of our wide range of plans and options to meet the needs of individuals and businesses.7 And the fact is, we have more experience than most: Guardian has been helping families protect their financial well-being for over 160 years. With high scores for financial soundness from independent rating agencies,* our 12 million customers can trust us to be there when they need us most.8
If you are interested in getting long-term disability coverage or need assistance with an existing policy, please speak to a Guardian financial professional. Here’s how to find someone near you: