Long-term disability income insurance (LTD) can play an important role in providing financial stability for individuals who become disabled in the midst of their careers due to accident or disease. Many of these individuals are eventually able and eager to return to the workforce, but employment opportunities after long-term disability can be limited at first, especially if the condition that caused the gap in your résumé is not one you feel comfortable discussing in a job interview.
Careful planning can help you navigate returning to work post-LTD challenges. You may also find it helpful to speak with a career coach or similar professional to discuss options for mitigating the LTD impact on future job prospects, and if you expect to need workplace disability accommodations even after a period of recovery you may also wish to consider reviewing the legalities of your long-term disability future employment needs with a disability rights lawyer. Prepare to put your best foot forward, but never hesitate to advocate for yourself in the workplace, and stay in close communication with your healthcare team to ensure that pursuing employment opportunities after long-term disability does not jeopardize your medical recovery.
What Is the Longest You Can Be on Long-Term Disability?
The hard truth is that many people attempt to go back to work once their long-term disability benefits expire, and in some cases even sooner, because they are urged to do so by economic pressures, rather than because they have made significant strides toward recovery from the condition that led them to seek LTD benefits in the first place. Too many of these situations result in the individual further damaging their own mental and physical health while also adding a termination to their employment history because they truly are unable to stand up to the demands of daily work.
LTD Impact on Future Job Prospects: Mitigating Effects of Extended Benefit Periods
Some people on long-term disability may be fortunate enough to have policies that provide benefits until they reach standard retirement age. Usually this is defined as the age at which a covered individual becomes eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, as distinct from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, but some employee benefit packages may define retirement age in relation to the Rule of 75 instead, so always check the terms of your specific long-term disability insurance policy. Other individuals may have policies that are not explicitly set up to carry them into retirement, but whose benefit periods are long enough that, given their age at the start of their disability, those benefits may feasibly enable them to smoothly transition from long-term disability to retirement.
Returning to Work Post-LTD: Challenges and Strategies for When Return Is Not an Option
For the many people who do not enjoy either of these situations, a great deal of the picture for long-term disability future employment planning depends on the nature of their own medical condition and prognosis. If your condition is severely disabling, and your healthcare team does not expect you to make a full recovery given the nature of the diagnosis and the course of your symptoms and response to treatment thus far, then often one of the most important steps you can take for your long-term financial health is to begin the process of downsizing your life as soon as possible.
Reducing Expenses
Unless your current housing situation is airtight and free of debt, you will likely want to begin the search for cheaper alternatives without delay. If your condition limits your driving ability, put any vehicles you may own up for sale. If you can still drive, and your personal vehicle is not paid off, get an assessment of its trade-in value and evaluate whether exchanging your existing vehicle for a used model might lower your monthly payment. If you have hobbies that require the use of supplies, consider giving those up in favor of free or lower-cost options. If the supplies have resale value, you may be able to save space and add to your bank account by offering those supplies for sale.
Evaluating Options for Assistance
If you qualify for SSDI benefits, often the monthly SSDI benefit amount will be all you have to live on once your LTD benefit period expires, so take that number as your budgeting model and plan how to get your expenses under that amount. If you have been denied SSDI benefits, you may still qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a needs-based program that does not rely on work history in the same way as SSDI. Usually the SSI amount will be even lower than the potential monthly benefit from SSDI, so if you do not already own your home outright then you likely will need to find a roommate or establish a shared housing arrangement with family. Keep in mind that any food or shelter you do not pay for will count against your benefit allotment under SSI rules.
Long-Term Disability: Future Employment Options for Individuals Who Recover
In more fortunate scenarios, sometimes long-term disability benefits provide individuals with the financial stability they need to make a substantial recovery from the condition that caused their disability. This happy outcome can often be the case when an individual has suffered a significant injury that requires extensive physical therapy, or when someone has to undergo intensive, temporarily debilitating treatments for conditions such as certain types of cancer. Assuming all goes well during these medical processes, the individuals receiving long-term disability benefits may be able to seek re-entry into the workforce once or sometimes even before their benefit periods expire. If this scenario applies to your situation, communicate closely with the medical professionals overseeing your treatment, and consider working with a disability attorney to review the terms of your LTD policy for options that might provide residual benefits to support a gradual return to full-time employment.
What Happens to Your Job When You Go On Long-Term Disability?
Unfortunately, one of the most important factors affecting your employment opportunities after long-term disability may be entirely out of your control. The state of the job market when you attempt to re-enter the workforce can have a substantial, if not necessarily decisive, impact on shaping your returning to work post-LTD challenges.
Long-Term Disability Future Employment: Differences From STD
Although there is no inherent relationship between short-term disability insurance (STD) and the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the 12 weeks that constitute the maximum period of unpaid protected leave under the FMLA correspond closely to the benefit periods set out in many STD policies. As a result of this coincidence, individuals who take FMLA leave while they are out of work on STD benefits, and who are able to return to the workforce immediately at or even before their short-term disability benefits expire, often have jobs waiting for them. This means that many people who return directly to work instead of transitioning from STD to LTD are often able to pick up with their jobs, more or less where they left off.
Returning to Work Post-LTD Challenges: Navigating the Job Market
LTD claims, by contrast, are generally subject to a waiting period of at least 90 and in some cases 180 days. This timeline means that FMLA protections will normally have expired by the time an individual is eligible to file a long-term disability claim. Even though the long-term disability insurance policy may be through your employer, the company that provided LTD as an employee benefit is under no obligation to hold a place for you on their roster once any protected leave has run out and you have transitioned to long-term disability benefits. Businesses understandably have a tendency to “move on” and fill the positions left vacant by former employees who have to leave their work with the organization, to ensure that the company maintains adequate staffing to continue running smoothly.
The inconvenient consequence, in terms of LTD impact on future job prospects, is that returning to the workforce after LTD often means re-entering the job market. Depending on what the hiring climate looks like as you begin submitting applications, your long-term disability future employment prospects may be shaped as much by factors external to your situation as by anything related to your own résumé or your recovery from the condition that led you to file a claim for LTD benefits.
How To Return to Work After Long-Term Disability?
Returning to work post-LTD challenges can be discouraging. However, the LTD impact on future job prospects can become less daunting with a strategic plan of action. Always start by assessing your medical situation with the support of your healthcare providers. Work with them to develop a plan that outlines any ongoing support needs you may have and start identifying employment opportunities after long-term disability whose demands you would likely be able to meet. Consider also establishing a set of workplace accommodations that might make several types of jobs more feasible for your situation. After long-term disability, future employment can be challenging not just because of the job hunt but because you may not be certain of how complete your recovery is until working conditions put it to the test. Many LTD policies offer residual benefits to help individuals transition back to full-time work, so consider getting professional assistance in reviewing the terms of your policy to determine what types of support may be available to you.
