{"id":4419,"date":"2017-11-24T09:39:20","date_gmt":"2017-11-24T17:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/?page_id=4419"},"modified":"2026-03-10T13:18:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T20:18:03","slug":"long-term-disability-insurance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hr.uw.edu\/benefits\/insurance\/other\/long-term-disability-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-term disability insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re currently healthy, disability insurance may seem unnecessary. Becoming disabled, however, is more common than you might think — the Social Security Administration estimates that just over one in four people will become disabled at some point before reaching age 67.<\/p>\n

While everyone hopes to avoid a debilitating illness or injury, there could come a time when you\u2019re unable to work and earn a paycheck. Should this happen, long-term disability (LTD) insurance protects you and your family by paying you a portion of your income until you can get back to work.<\/p>\n

While enrolling in LTD insurance is automatic, understanding how it works can be tricky. Use these pages as a guide to your LTD benefits, and contact us if you need further help.<\/p>\n

Enroll<\/h4>\n

All eligible UW employees<\/span> are automatically enrolled in employer-paid LTD and employee-paid LTD. <\/span><\/p>\n

Employer-paid LTD insurance<\/strong> costs you nothing; coverage is part of your benefits package. Employer\u2013paid LTD coverage insures 60 percent of the first $750 of your monthly pre-disability earnings, up to a maximum benefit of $450, depending on your pre-disability earnings and any other deductible income.<\/p>\n

Employee-paid LTD insurance<\/strong> provides additional coverage beyond the employer-paid LTD insurance. You will be automatically enrolled in the default coverage, which is 60 percent of your pre-disability earnings, with a salary cap of $16,667 per month. You have the option to reduce your coverage to 50 percent of your pre-disability earnings or you can waive employee-paid coverage at any time.<\/p>\n

Coverage isn\u2019t additive. Your insurance payments may be reduced if you have other sources of income. These sources are called \u201cdeductible income\u201d or \u201coffsets,\u201d and they are defined in the insurance plan booklet (PDF)<\/small><\/a>. For example, if you receive Social Security while you\u2019re disabled, then your LTD benefit payments will be reduced by the amount of your Social Security benefit.<\/p>\n

How much does employee-paid LTD insurance cost?
\n<\/b>You pay a <\/span>monthly premium <\/span><\/a>equal to a percentage of your monthly salary. The cost of the premium depends on the percentage of coverage you choose, and which retirement plan you participate in. Employees with the UW Retirement Plan (UWRP) pay a slightly higher percentage than employees enrolled in a DRS retirement plan (PERS, TRS, LEOFF, PSERS) or employees who aren\u2019t enrolled in a retirement plan.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
2026 Cost (as a percentage of monthly salary)<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coverage Level<\/b><\/th>\nUWRP plan<\/th>\nPERS\/TRS\/LEOFF\/PSERS\u00a0<\/strong> or no plan<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n
60% Coverage<\/span><\/td>\n0.50%<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a00.39%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
50% Coverage<\/span><\/td>\n0.30%<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a00.24%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

To calculate your monthly premium use the formula:<\/span><\/p>\n

Monthly gross earnings x employee rate = monthly premium.<\/span><\/p>\n

Return to top<\/a><\/p>

Waiting period<\/h4>\n

Both employee-paid and employer-paid LTD have 90-day waiting periods. After you suffer a debilitating illness or injury, the waiting period is the length of time between when you stop working and start receiving benefits after your approved claim. In other words, it\u2019s how long you have to wait before the insurance company begins paying you.<\/p>\n

During the waiting period you won\u2019t be working, so you won\u2019t be receiving a typical paycheck. You may still be paid, though, if you\u2019ve saved up some sick leave (or another type of leave).<\/p>\n

Benefits start after the benefit-waiting period, which is the longer of:<\/p>\n