Will Long-Term Disability Payments Continue After Termination?

Going onto long-term disability (LTD) may be stressful. Your stress levels may increase further if your employer terminates your job while you are receiving LTD benefits. In this situation, you may wonder if your LTD payments may continue after termination.

The Effects of Termination on Long-Term Disability Benefits Payments

If you’ve been diagnosed with a serious illness, sustained a debilitating injury, or developed a severe mental health condition that prevents you from completing the duties of your job for a substantial period of time, you may be eligible to collect long-term disability benefits. These resources may be provided through your employer’s group insurance plan, a private insurance policy you’ve purchased, or the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Depending upon how you receive benefits payments, you may face different outcomes if you are let go from your job while on long-term disability leave.

If your employer’s insurance policy covers long-term disability and your medical condition prevents you from returning to work, you may continue to receive benefits payments from this insurance policy even after your employment has been terminated, so long as you were employed when you received the qualifying diagnosis.

Likewise, your long-term disability benefits may continue after your employment is terminated if you receive compensation through a private policy.

Ontario employers are not legally allowed to terminate your employment solely because you have been diagnosed with a disability. If you believe you were fired because of your disability, legal options to regain your employment may be available to you. However, if you have been unable to perform the duties of your job for more than two years because of your disability together with confirmation that your medical condition will not improve, your company may have legal recourse to terminate your employment based on the doctrine of frustration.

Long-Term Disability Benefits Payments Following a Job Termination

Even though your benefits may continue after your employment is terminated, the payments you receive throughout your period of long-term disability leave will most likely not be the full amount of your regular wages. Most long-term disability plans cover between 60-70% of a recipient’s normal income.

The amount of benefits available to you will most likely not increase if you happen to collect payments from secondary sources, like the CPP. Instead, the combined payment amount will account for the total salary percentage to which you are entitled.

Consider the Impact of Termination on Your Health Insurance

Although employees who are unable to work because of their medical conditions may be able to continue collecting long-term disability benefits payments even after their employment has been terminated, losing their jobs may prevent them from accessing their regular health and dental insurance coverage.

As long as you remain employed, you may be able to continue using your company’s group health and dental insurance coverage.

Reasons Your Long-Term Disability Benefits May Be Discontinued

Even though eligible recipients of long-term disability benefits may continue collecting payments after being let go from their jobs, these benefits may not be available indefinitely.

In some situations, eligibility requirements for benefits may be reassessed after two years. While you may have initially qualified for long-term disability benefits because your medical condition prohibits you from performing the duties of your current job, after two years, in order to continue receiving payments, you may be required to prove that your condition prevents you from performing the duties of any job. In these situations, if your insurance provider believes you are able to work in another capacity, even if it is unrelated to your current occupation, they may decide to terminate your benefits payments.

Benefits may also be terminated when recipients sufficiently recover from their condition in a manner that allows them to return to work, even in a modified capacity. Insurance companies issuing long-term disability benefits payments may require recipients to submit to regular medical checks to assess their health and recovery progress to determine when they are able to begin working again.

Contact Preszler Injury Lawyers Today

Your long-term disability benefits payments may continue after you’ve been let go from your job, but these payments can still be terminated by your insurance company for a number of reasons. If your long-term disability payments have been terminated even though you’re still unable to return to work, Preszler Injury Lawyers may be able to offer useful assistance and advice. For a free consultation, call Preszler Injury Lawyers today at 1-800-JUSTICE.