Disability Insurance
Disability insurance. Do you have it? New studies are showing that it could be more beneficial for employers to offer auto-enrollment plans similar to auto-enrolling into a 401k plan. Keep reading the blog post below to learn more. Read more
5 myths about returning to work after a disability
Many employers, human resources professionals and benefits experts have misperceptions about return-to-work and the accommodations that are used to make programs successful. Read this blog post for five myths about returning to work after a disability.
Carl was 58 when he found out he needed a hip replacement, and the environmental services worker was told he’d be out of work for three months to recover.
But less than eight weeks after his surgery, Carl was back on the job. It wasn’t because he couldn’t pay his bills without a paycheck — his short-term disability insurance through his employer helped with that. Instead, it was for two reasons: One, he was eager to get back to his normal life, and two, his employer was willing to support a plan for a gradual transition back to his usual duties. With his doctor’s approval, he worked half-days for two weeks as he built back his endurance and work stamina, and soon was working full-time again.
The result: Carl’s transition back to work over a 14-day period got him back on the job 40 days earlier than expected, based on initial estimated date. The transition plan also allowed him to return to work without needing to tap into his long-term coverage. At the same time, his employer was saved the cost of hiring and training replacement staff or paying overtime to other workers.
With a win-win like this — and it’s just one of thousands of examples I could share — you’d think all employers would be on board with return-to-work strategies. Instead we’ve found a surprising number of employers, human resources professionals and even benefits experts have misperceptions about return-to-work and the accommodations that can make it successful. And it’s hitting them and their employees hard on the bottom line.
Here are five of the most common myths about returning to work after a disability. See how many you mistakenly believe.
1. It’ll create a workers’ compensation claim. Some employers are afraid an employee who’s had a disabling injury will be a safety risk, getting reinjured on the job and creating a costly workers’ comp claim. The reality is a gradual transition back to full-time work makes employees safer as they regain strength and rebuild skills.
2. We don’t have to provide accommodations unless the injury happened at work.
This one’s not true, either, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Council. Employers legally can’t differentiate between employees who suffer a disabling injury at work and those who’re injured at home or elsewhere. Smart employers focus on getting a valuable employee back to work, not the injury or illness and where it happened.
3. Employees must be 100% or they can’t perform productive work.Employers willing to be creative often find there are many tasks a skilled, knowledgeable employee can perform during a transition period. True, some jobs have more rigid requirements than others. For example, a nurse might not be physically able to go straight back to patient care. But if you’re like most of us, you have a stockpile of back-burner projects that would benefit your business. A transitioning employee could have the perfect skills to take those on. In other cases, simple, inexpensive accommodations can help an employee perform better: An assembly line worker who can’t stand for an eight-hour shift could use a leaning stool for support and be just as productive.
4. Customer care or service will be negatively impacted. This one might seem logically true, but it really isn’t when you crunch the numbers. Accommodating a returning employee with part-time hours or different duties for a period of time has less impact on service and productivity than hiring, training and ramping up replacement staff. Routinely cross-training employees in other jobs also gives employers the flexibility to move resources where they’re needed at any time.
5. Other employees will also want “light duty.” This may not exactly qualify as a myth, as some employees really might want what they perceive as easier work. The issue is the term light duty itself, which is both loaded and vague. Effective communication is essential here: Consistently refer to new, alternate or modified job tasks, be transparent, and make sure employees understand return-to-work options. Having a return-to-work program where employees feel valued impacts the morale of the whole team, boosting productivity.
How to make return-to-work work well
Helping your valued employees rejoin your team doesn’t have to be costly or difficult. Here are a few tips to make it successful.
Communicate early and often. Meet or talk with the employee before the leave and stay in touch while on leave. Talk before the return to work to set expectations.
Be flexible. Consider a graduated return-to-work plan to allow the employee to ramp up to full time. Allow work at home for part of the day or week, if possible. Make hours flexible to allow for medical appointments.
Be welcoming. Meet with the employee upon return, and ensure the manager conducts regular one-to-one meetings with the employee. Allow the employee time to reintegrate, perhaps with the aid of a mentor.
Focus on the job, not the illness or injury. Instead of asking the employee how he or she is feeling, ask how the company can better assist him or her in performing the essential functions of the job.
Be creative. Avoid making assumptions about what the returning employee can do. Flexible work arrangements, accessible technology or inexpensive adaptations can often help the employee do the job in alternate ways.
SOURCE: Ledford, M (5 June 2019) "5 myths about returning to work after a disability" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/myths-about-returning-to-work-after-a-disability
The big difference between long-term care and long-term disability insurance
Do you know the difference between long-term care and long-term disability insurance? These two types of insurance may have similar names, but they are very different. Continue reading to learn more.
The longer people live, the more likely they are to face illnesses that necessitate custodial care either at home, in an assisted-living facility, or in a nursing home. So it stands to reason that there’s a resurgence of interest in long-term care and long-term disability insurance.
While the two types of coverage have similar names, they’re very different. As an employer, it’s important to understand the difference and educate employees on why they’d need each type of coverage. Here is a rundown.
Long-term care insurance
Long-term care insurance covers the cost of custodial care if a person is no longer able to perform at least two activities of daily living. These activities include eating, bathing, dressing, moving from a bed to a chair (called transferring), using a toilet or caring for incontinence.
Most people think LTC insurance is for older people who need to turn to a nursing home for care near the end of their lives — which is also part of the reason more employees are asking for LTC insurance. But LTC insurance can cover anyone who requires extended care.
LTC goes beyond medical care to include living assistance for a severe illness or disability for an extended period of time. Although older people use the most LTC services, a millennial or middle-aged employee who has been in an accident or suffered a debilitating illness might also need long-term care. In fact, 40% of people receiving long-term care services are 18-64 years old, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans. Actor Christopher Reeve was 42 when he was thrown from his horse and was paralyzed. He received long-term care services for nine years before his death.
Most people believe something like that will never happen to them, but it’s important to plan for the possibility. While Reeve had financial resources to cover his healthcare, that’s not typically the case for the average person. LTC can be very expensive, depending on the level of services needed and the length of time the individual needs it. One year in a nursing home can average more than $50,000. In some regions, it can cost twice that amount.
When offering LTC insurance, employees choose the amount of the benefit — typically an amount granted each month — and the length of time the benefit covers — such as two years, three years or 10 years. Obviously, as the benefit amount or length of time increases, so does the premium.
LTC insurance premiums are based on a person’s age, which means the earlier employees buy, the lower the premiums. If a person first buys the insurance at age 32, they lock in a better rate than if they purchase the insurance at age 54. Rates may increase only by a class action that is approved by state insurance regulators. Finally, LTC insurance is portable, which means employees take the policy with them if they move onto another job, or retire.
Long-term disability insurance
Long-term disability insurance may sound somewhat similar to LTC insurance, but the two are very different and important in their own right. Most workers don’t believe they’ll ever become disabled and need LTD insurance. Unfortunately, more than one in four 20-year-olds will become disabled before they reach retirement, according to the Social Security Administration.
LTD insurance is an income-replacement benefit that kicks in when the employee loses income for an extended period of time due to a disability. LTD insurance can be used for living expenses, not just covering care.
LTD insurance starts after short-term disability ends, typically after three to six months. In most cases, it pays 50-60% of an employee’s salary until they can return to work or, in some cases, until they retire. The more working years an employee has in front of them, the more they need LTD. Unlike long-term care insurance, LTD is typically not portable unless the policy contains conversion privileges. It ends when the employee changes employers.
If you offer both types of insurance, make sure your employees understand the difference. These types of insurance will help them in different ways — both important and more beneficial to have at a young age, but for varying reasons.
As an employer, you’re likely employing multiple generations of workers right now. Offering a range of benefits, including long-term disability and long-term care insurance, can help employees prepare for the unexpected now and in the future.
SOURCE: Granfors-Hunt, L (24 August 2018) "The big difference between long-term care and long-term disability insurance" (Web Blog Post). Retrieved from https://www.benefitnews.com/opinion/how-long-term-care-long-term-disability-insurance-differ?brief=00000152-14a5-d1cc-a5fa-7cff48fe0001