short term disability ?

mamatohne · August 2014

Does anyone know how short term disability works? What you have to do to qualify for it? Is it through my job or ss or the gov? I won't be able to work for at least 10 weeks after my c section. I'm curious if this is something I would possibly qualify for but I don't even know how/where to apply.

ssstephanie214 · August 2014

in my understanding, short term disability is a type of insurance that would be included in your work benefits package. i don't think it parallels to FMLA or another type of "leave" like you're thinking. but..........i could be wrong.

absolutelymaybe · August 2014

It's insurance offered through your employer as a benefits package. Not all employers offer it, but some do. The standard is 6 weeks STD for a vaginal birth and 8 weeks for a C section, but my employer said it depends on what the doctor prescribes (I was worried about me being put on bed rest prior to birth, which is also included in my STD).

It is not part of FMLA or any other maternity leave legislation.

morrkim · August 2014

It's part of work benefits and pregnancy is considered a pre existing condition. I just started a new job and my new disability insurance won't cover maternity leave. I don't know how we are going to cover bills. DH is working only part time right now and my Dr was talking about pulling me out of work at 32-34 weeks. That could pull me out of work for 2 to 3 months . I was hoping the sick leave pool would help, but maternity leave doesn't count either. (Sorry this turned into a vent).

pennyandandy · August 2014

Mine is an add-on insurance through my work. I pay in a certain amount every month, and then when I have the baby they pay me back for every week that I am off work. Since I get 8 weeks for my c-section, they will pay me 8 weeks worth of my salary. It was pretty sweet last time-the money I got back covered my c-section and Dr.'s bill. You will have to check if they will take you now with a pre-existing condition or not.

runningmama14 · August 2014

Ditto what others said. I didn't have any options through my work, so I looked into private options a few years ago. With the waiting period and high rates, I would have had to get pregnant within 2 months of starting ttc in order for it to pay off. Otherwise I would have paid more in premiums than I would get paid out (unless I ended up having some major complication that justified a longer payout).

carcrashheart · August 2014

Ditto others. It's through your employer, not all offer it. You can seek out an individual policy, but it would be too late to do that now. STD isn't usually 100% of your salary-it's usually 60-80-% of it, but I guess some might offer 100% STD salary coverage.

I signed up for an individual hospitalization plan through Aflac in February 2011 while we were TTC. They don't offer the plan anymore, which I only found out when I called to cancel it after I had DS. Since I couldn't sign back up we kept it and figured out how long we could TTC for before paying for the plan was no longer worth it. We pay $46/mo. Aflac pays out something like $500 for the birth and $100 every day you're in the hospital, I forget exactly. With DS we were billed $375 for two weekends and two inductions and one actual birth. I filed a claim for both hospital stays and got $2700 back. If you plan to have more babies in the future it might be worth finding out what a hospitalization policy might cost you.

Sorry, there aren't any govt plans that provide supplemental income while out of work except for unemployment. FMLA holds your job, but doesn't pay $.

mamatohne · August 2014

Thanks for the information ladies.

stacyslo · August 2014

It depends on what state you live in as well, in California for example, all women are given paid 4 weeks prior to due date and 6-8 weeks after birth depending on vaginal or c section as part of our state disability. It runs concurrently with any FMLA you may be eligible for.

NunyaBennis · August 2014

One addition to what has already been said: my policy has a waiting period of 30 days before it will start paying 60% of my salary, so I have to take 4 weeks of PTO (if I want paid) prior to claiming STD.

kikimeemee · August 2014

absolutelymaybe said:
It's insurance offered through your employer as a benefits package. Not all employers offer it, but some do. The standard is 6 weeks STD for a vaginal birth and 8 weeks for a C section, but my employer said it depends on what the doctor prescribes (I was worried about me being put on bed rest prior to birth, which is also included in my STD).

It is not part of FMLA or any other maternity leave legislation.

Agreed. And many plans have a waiting period of several days you need to be off work bc of illness/ disability. STD can run concurrently with FMLA

Lilwatz · August 2014

PPs have said most of what I would say. Everyone is different. My HR department told me all about mine. If your work has it, they should be a good resource. Also, mine is either 66 or 70% (can't remember) and there is a one week waiting period and I get it for a total of 6 weeks.

kikimeemee · August 2014

stacyslo said:
It depends on what state you live in as well, in California for example, all women are given paid 4 weeks prior to due date and 6-8 weeks after birth depending on vaginal or c section as part of our state disability. It runs concurrently with any FMLA you may be eligible for.

4 weeks prior? That's wonderful! Illinois gives ya squat. But we are also in serious debt in the state so no need to stamp my foot for a benefit that will cost us IL tax payers even more. Political rant over! :-)

carcrashheart · August 2014

I think CA is the only state that does that.

mb314 · August 2014

aragosta said:

Most STD coverage (like Aflac) have a pre existing clause. So pregnancy is a pre existing condition and at least with mine I had to have it for a year before giving birth. Mine is through work.

This. With mine, I had to work for my employer a year, and have already signed up for the STD before getting pregnant. I got 6 weeks of partial pay (it's either 60% or 66%, I can't remember), although I think the first week was a wait period, so it was more like 5 weeks. I think it could have been extended for 8 weeks, for things like a c-section.

Taxes didn't come out of my STD pay, but I did have to declare that income.

missnacholover · August 2014

It is typically through your employer or private company (Aflac).

For me, my plan started the first day of employment and I could've gotten pregnant right away. I have a 7 day waiting period before it kicks in and then I get 2/3 of my salary, depending on type of delivery and what the doctor says. I'm lucky in the sense that my company pays my premium. At previous places of employment it's supplemental where one has to elect to have.

sparklingwhit · August 2014

In AZ it's all dependant on what your employer provides or if you have private STD. It runs concurrently with FMLA. FMLA protects your job so you can't be fired, STD gives you money for a specified period of time. Normally dependant on how long you have worked for a company. With mine, I get paid 70% for 12 weeks and my employer actually covers the remainder for 4 weeks every year you have been with the company after 3 years.

stacyslo · August 2014

kikimeemee said:

stacyslo said:
It depends on what state you live in as well, in California for example, all women are given paid 4 weeks prior to due date and 6-8 weeks after birth depending on vaginal or c section as part of our state disability. It runs concurrently with any FMLA you may be eligible for.
4 weeks prior? That's wonderful! Illinois gives ya squat. But we are also in serious debt in the state so no need to stamp my foot for a benefit that will cost us IL tax payers even more. Political rant over! :-)

Yep, you are a really only paid a portion of your your salary, but still. And if you don't use the 4 weeks prior, you can't roll it to after, so basically there is no point in working past 36 weeks if you live in California!

carafern · August 2014

stacyslo said:

It depends on what state you live in as well, in California for example, all women are given paid 4 weeks prior to due date and 6-8 weeks after birth depending on vaginal or c section as part of our state disability. It runs concurrently with any FMLA you may be eligible for.
4 weeks prior? That's wonderful! Illinois gives ya squat. But we are also in serious debt in the state so no need to stamp my foot for a benefit that will cost us IL tax payers even more. Political rant over! :-)
Yep, you are a really only paid a portion of your your salary, but still. And if you don't use the 4 weeks prior, you can't roll it to after, so basically there is no point in working past 36 weeks if you live in California!

THIS is not true for everyone! I live in California and don't qualify. Why? Because I'm a grad student and employed by UC (University of California) which happens not to pay into California disability through a loop-hole (I think most employers are required to do so). So I think people who work for the state…may not qualify? I don't know…but it certainly sucks for me.

MrsDL · August 2014

Like pps have said, check with your HR department, my experience with past and current employers as well as DHs is that in most cases, if you have it, it is an employer paid benefit so a lot of people have it and don't know about it because they never have to enroll.

In addition to the comments above, it can be pre-tax and post-tax which you'll want to know. If your employer (or you) pays for the benefit pre-tax, you'll be responsible for regular income taxes for the $$ paid-out. If the premium is post-tax, you won't.

Also, like pp said, they have standard approval lengths for various surgeries and conditions - it is 6 weeks for vaginal and 8 weeks for C-section. It doesn't matter if your physician certifies you won't be able to work for 10 weeks or 12 weeks, etc. unless there is a medical reason (complications) that arise outside of what is defined as "normal." They usually certify delivery ahead of time for the defined period, then if you have a complication tack some time on. If you are post-term you might get some extra time (but I imagine if you have a C-section it will be done at or before 40 weeks). With DS, mine was approved on my due date, so that is when it started. It was 6 more days until I delivered so I was approved for 6 weeks 6 days.

jillybean7582 · August 2014

I think most PP's have covered it. But for what its worth if your employer does not offer STD you can pretty much forget about getting any. Prior to having DS in 2012 we looked into getting a private policy and could not find any companies that still offer a maternity ryder privately. We could get private STD but pregnancy was specufically excluded from coverage. From our research we found the maternity ryder to only be offered through employer sponsered group coverage.

Maybe there are still companies out there that offer maternity std privately but we sure couldn't find any

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