Company Paid & Voluntary Buy-up Short-Term Disability (STD)
The Company provides Short-Term Disability coverage to all benefit eligible teammates administered by New York Life. Teammates must opt in to the Voluntary Buy-Up STD plan.
Short-Term Disability (STD)
STD replaces a portion of your pay if you cannot work because of a non work-related injury or illness or pregnancy. The Company provides coverage of 50% of eligible earnings up to $3,500 per week. If you enroll in the voluntary Buy-Up option, you can receive 65% of eligible earnings up to $4,550 per week, up to a maximum of 26 weeks.
Enrolling in the Voluntary Buy-Up STD
If you elect STD buy-up coverage when first eligible, you are guaranteed coverage with no medical questions. If you decline this coverage when first eligible but chose to elect it later, you will be required to submit Evidence of Insurability (EOI) or Proof of Good Health to the insurance carrier before your coverage can become effective.
It is important to understand that approval for the buy-up coverage by the Insurance Company cannot be guaranteed after your initial eligibility window.
No Pre-existing Condition
Neither the Company paid nor the Voluntary Buy-Up Short-Term Disability have a pre-existing condition restriction. This means that once your coverage is effective, your claim cannot be denied due to a pre-existing medical condition.
Taxation of Coverage
Company paid STD: Benefits paid at the time of claim are not taxed. To offer this tax-free benefit, the IRS requires that taxes on the employer paid premium be collected from teammates’ paychecks.
Voluntary Buy-Up STD: This coverage is paid with after-tax dollars so that the benefit is nontaxable.
Since both options are paid with premiums that you pay taxes for, your total STD benefit at the time of claim is tax free.
| Company-Paid STD | Buy-Up STD | |
| Benefits Begin | After 14 consecutive days | After 14 consecutive days |
| Percentage of Income Replaced/Maximum Period | 50% of eligible earnings up to $3,500 per week | 65% of eligible earnings up to $4,550 per week |
| Maximum Period | Up to 26 weeks* | Up to 26 weeks* |
| Pre-Existing Limitation | No | No |
Your benefit payments will be reduced by other income you receive or are assumed to receive due to your disability
*This includes the waiting period.
Company Paid Long-Term Disability (LTD)
LTD provides income protection for a long-term disability resulting from injury or illness. Benefits begin after the later of 180 days or exhaustion of Short-Term Disability, and continue while you are disabled up to the maximum benefit duration. The company provides the LTD benefit at no cost to you.
LTD Imputed Income: You will pay taxes on the premium amount paid by the company and those premiums are reported on your W-2 as imputed income. Any LTD benefits paid, if you become disabled, will not be taxed and, therefore, will not be included as gross income.
Pre-Existing Condition Limitations and Other Limits
Your insurance limits the benefits you can receive for pre-existing conditions. In general, if you were diagnosed or received care for a policy, you will be covered for a disability due to that condition only if the following applies:
- You have not received treatment for the disabling condition during the three month period directly preceding the effective date of your insurance coverage.
Pre-existing condition means a sickness or injury for which a teammate has incurred expenses, received medical services including diagnostic measures, took prescribed drugs, or for which a reasonable person would have consulted a physician in the three months prior to the benefit effective date.
| Long Term Disability: All Other Teammates | Long Term Disability: VP and above | |
| Eligibility | All eligible teammates except VPs and above | Eligible Vice Presidents and above |
| Benefits Begin | After 180 consecutive days | After 180 consecutive days |
| Percentage of Income Replaced | 60% | 60% |
| Maximum Benefit | Up to $10,000 per month | Up to $15,000 per month |
| Definition of Disability | 2-year own occupation then any occupation to Social Security normal retirement age. | Own occupation to age 65 then any occupation to Social Security normal retirement age. |
| Pre-Existing Limitation | Yes | Yes |
