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How to Calculate Your Long Term Disability Benefits and the Insurance Carriers Right to a Social Security Offset

CaveyLaw.com > Uncategorized  > How to Calculate Your Long Term Disability Benefits and the Insurance Carriers Right to a Social Security Offset

How to Calculate Your Long Term Disability Benefits and the Insurance Carriers Right to a Social Security Offset

Did you know that many long term disability policies are written so that the long term disability insurance company gets to reduce your long term disability benefits by the receipt of “other income” which can include your Social Security Disability benefits, your family member’s Social Security Disability benefits and even workers’ compensation benefits. But it’s worse! Not only does the short or long term disability insurance company get to reduce your monthly long term disability benefits by your monthly Social Security benefits, they will often sue you to recover your back long term disability benefits arguing that you have been “overpaid”.

How does this work?  Under most long term disability policies, you get a percentage of your pre-disability wage, so, for example, if you made $24,000 a year before you became disabled, your pre-disability income would be $2,000 per month. Many long term disability policies pay a percentage of your pre-disability wage which commonly is about 60%. In our example, the gross monthly long term disability benefits would be $1,200.

Now the deductions begin! If you receive Social Security Disability benefits in the amount of $600 per month and your child gets $300 per month in dependent benefits, that $900 will be subtracted from your monthly long term disability benefits. Your net long term disability benefits will only be $300 per month.

Unfortunately, it takes as long as two years to get Social Security Disability benefits. Long term disability carriers will ask you to sign a repayment agreement in which you agree that you will repay the long term disability carrier any overpayment as a result of the later receipt of Social Security Disability benefits. The long term disability carrier will let you collect your full long term disability benefits, but they want their money back immediately if you get your Social Security Disability benefits.

Many times the back balance is in actual policy.

Whether the long term disability carrier can get repayment for an overpayment varies from the United States District Court to district.

Here in the 11th Circuit in Florida, the court has ruled that if you have dissipated or spent the money, that you got for the overpayment that you do not have to repay the long term disability carrier in a lump sum. However, some of the courts in the district in the 11th circuit have indicated that nothing prevents the long term disability carrier from reducing your monthly benefits by the receipt of your Social Security Disability benefits and any pro-rider reduction to recoup the lump sum for overpayment that occurred when you got your back Social Security Disability benefits. In other words, it appears as if in the 11th Circuit, a long term disability carrier is going to get their money one way or the other.

7 Comments

  • Donna
    Reply July 13, 2017 at 11:50 am

    received ltd 24 mos for mental it ended july 2016. I was just aporoved ssdoli going back yo 2014. My question is if ltd wants money can they take funds from the months i was not eligible? Ended july 2016 so can they take for aug 2016 to june 2017? Also do they calculate from the award prior to attorney fees beibg deducted by ssdi? Or do they calculate the total after ssdi pays attorney? Or do they use the total after attirneys fees were deducted and then deduct the attorney fees again? Meaning attorney fees basically free?

  • Kimberley Hinkle
    Reply October 15, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    I need to know how much repayment will i have to pay if i was receiving 1000 from ltd a month. Say i am going to be getting 1200 a month for ssdi. How much will i have to repay them. And do i have to repay all the money at once

  • emma williams
    Reply May 11, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    i think it would $200 times the number of months sadi is back paying you for. Als remember to defuct the 5 month waiting period this right and it give you an idea. I am going through the same thind

  • Pami
    Reply June 4, 2019 at 11:25 pm

    Can you make payments to ltdi or do you have to payback all at once

  • Louise Johnson
    Reply July 16, 2019 at 7:49 am

    Hello did u get an answer yet to your question?

    • Law Office of Nancy L. Cavey
      Reply July 16, 2019 at 9:11 am

      Hello Louise! Give us a call at 727-894-3188 so we can help answer any questions you may have.

  • Santos Aguero
    Reply October 16, 2019 at 4:43 am

    Been on LTD for 3yrs now got approved for SSI was awarded a lump sum off 27,000 from SSI which I been reading up on this SSI takes 30 percent awarded to ADVOCATE LAWYER before transferring to your account..LTD assumed SSI would roughly award me only 1225 a month and LtD was paying me 1456 a month so rough all my lump sum would have to be returned
    for overpayment butt SSI AWARDED ME $1609 a month so with LTD paying me 1456 month means I was under paid so does LTD owe me the difference off 156 for the 3 yrs..

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