Your pregnancy and maternity leave should be a time of great happiness. Don't let the stress of work and financial concerns rob you of the joy, or imperial your health.
Short Term Disability Insurance for pregnancy and maternity leave can help you enjoy this time, without the worry.
- Create maternity leave pay;
- Spend more time bonding with your baby;
- Worry less about paying your bills
Your benefit for normal delivery may triple the premium you pay, creating up to eight weeks of maternity leave take-home-pay. You can also protect your family in case of:
- Pregnancy complications;
- Delivery complications;
- Premature birth;
- Accidents & illnesses
Follow these steps to make it happen for you and your family:
1 - Learn the general features and benefits of short term disability for pregnancy and maternity leave by following the links found below.
2 - Understand the importance of timing. Coverage must begin before conception - with at least a three month buffer for premature birth. There are policy restrictions related to time of conception, and time of delivery.
3 - Sign up to read our free case study that provides sample rates and benefit illustrations of eight weeks maternity leave take-home-pay. You can then request a personalized quote and illustration to estimate your maternity leave take-home-pay.
4 - Get started today by engaging us as your benefits advocate with your employer. You won't find the same benefits sold direct. You will need cooperation from your employer. But it's very easy - because you pay the premium via payroll deduction. There are no direct costs to your employer.
Maternity Leave Pay to Bond with Baby
Individual Short Term Disability Insurance
Short Term Disability Rates and Quotes
State Short Term Disability
Applying for Short Term Disability
Short Term Disability Benefits
Is Short Term Disability Taxable?
Maternity Leave Pay to Bond with Baby
Short term disability insurance
for maternity leave can provide income replacement that greatly exceeds
the premium you pay. A c-section delivery, which occurs one year after
the policy effective date may generate a maternity leave pay benefit
that is three times greater than premium paid.
This
excess benefit amount is paid directly to you, and provides you with
extra cash to help pay your bills while you bond with your baby. You
will feel less financial pressure to return to work.
The benefit period for normal childbirth is:
- Vaginal Birth - six weeks less the elimination period
- Cesarean Section Delivery - eight weeks less the elimination period
Sign up to get sample rates, and specific benefit examples that illustrate how your maternity leave pay may be three times premium paid, and enable you to stay at home longer to bond with your baby.
Plus Pregnancy Leave Disability Benefit for Complications
Each year almost 25% of expectant mothers will have one or more complications of pregnancy
not including c-sections. Pregnancy complications cause
many women to leave work well before their expected delivery date for a
pregnancy disability leave.
In addition, many women work in active occupations that require them to spend a great deal of time on their feet. Examples are nurses, dental hygienists, retail workers, food servers, etc. Your doctor may require you to stop working before your delivery date simply because your perfectly healthy pregnancy prevents you from performing your regular job duties.
Short term disability pregnancy plans provide
income protection, which becomes especially important if you have a
high risk pregnancy, or work in an active occupation. The same short term disability policy which
provides maternity leave income, will also pay an additional benefit to
cover your pregnancy disability leave.
Sign up to get a specific example of how a pregnancy leave disability for complications may pay benefits in addition to your maternity leave pay.
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Plus Extended Maternity Leave Pay for Delivery Complications
During childbirth, the delivery
may not always go as smoothly as hoped. Mother can be injured during
delivery when a birth accident occurs. The main birth injuries that can
affect the mother include vaginal tears, fissures, incorrect suturing
following an episiotomy or Caesarean, and infections.
These birth injuries may cause
you to miss more than the standard maternity leave of six to eight
weeks for a normal delivery. Short term disability will continue to pay
benefits up to the selected benefit period, provided you provide proof
that you remain disabled.
Sign up to gain access to sample rates, and a specific benefit example of an extended maternity leave disability due to delivery complications.
Plus Coverage for Pre-mature Birth
In addition to applying well
before your planned conception, you may also consider coverage that
pays benefits for your expected hospital stay. Hospital Indemnity
Insurance will pay cash benefits for your normal labor and delivery,
and may pay an additional benefit if your child is born pre-mature and
spends time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Multiple pregnancies often result in pre-mature birth. In these cases, Hospital Indemnity Insurance may pay an additional benefit for each child in the NICU.
Don’t miss the opportunity to get this important coverage in addition to your short term disability coverage.
Sign up to see what Hospital Indemnity Insurance costs, and how it pays benefits for maternity labor and delivery, and provides coverage for premature birth and multiple birth.
Both
short term disability and hospital indemnity insurance contain a 9
month birth exclusion. Even if you concevie after your policy
effective date, if your child is born premature, delivery may occur
inside the exclusion period. Don't delay.
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Plus Income Protection for Accidents & Illnesses
Very few parents can afford to
provide as well for their families as they would like on only one
income. If either parent were to lose time away from the job for any
reason, the entire family could easily suffer.
That is why short term
disability coverage is so important in two income households. Either
parent could become sick and/or injured and miss time at work. In the
event that this happens to you, your short term disability policy will
replace a portion of your income during the time you are unable to work
- up to your selected benefit period.
If you are planning a
pregnancy, you have an extra reason, and extra urgency, to buy short
term disability coverage. You are planning to use the benefit for your
maternity leave.
Sign up to find specific examples of income protection for accidents and illnesses.
Individual Short Term Disability Insurance
You saw above how your
maternity leave pay could be triple premium paid. This is a bad bet for
the insurance carrier. Now add in the extra coverage for pregnancy
complications, delivery complications, premature birth, accidents, and
illnesses. A bad bet is now an awful bet. So insurance carriers won't
sell these policies direct to the general public.
Individual short term
disability insurance policies with pregnancy and maternity leave
disability coverage are only available through your employer - sold as voluntary employee benefits.
You will own your policy, and pay for it yourself via convenient
payroll deduction. The policy is portable, so you keep your coverage
even if you separate from your employer.
Sign up to see examples of the total benefit you may realize compared to the premium cost, and understand why individual short term disability with maternity leave and pregnancy coverage is only available at work, and begin the process to get your employer on board.
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Short Term Disability Rates and Quotes
Short term disability insurance
rates, cost and quotes will vary based upon your state of residence,
age, industry of your employer, your occupation, and the insurance
policy benefits you are applying for: monthly benefit amount, length of
benefit period, and elimination period.
Sign up to find sample short term disability rates and quotes.
State Short Term Disability Insurance Falls Short
State maternity leave insurance
is not available for most women working in the United States. In the
U.S. only five states mandate short term disability maternity leave
coverage: California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.
If you work in one of these states pay attention to these key factors:
- Your state disability pregnancy benefit may be limited.
- Percentage Caps: Each state replaces a percentage of your income - ranging from 50% to 66%
- Hard Dollar Caps: Each state caps the weekly benefit amount - ranging from $170 per week to $865 per week.
- Government employees
are not included. If you work for the federal, state, county, or
municipal government, you may not have coverage.
- Teachers are
government employees. This means there is no pay for teacher maternity
leave – a predominately female work population. Get your teachers
maternity leave pay by applying for individual short term disability at
work.
- Coverage applies to
people who work in the state. If you reside in one of the five states,
but commute to work in one of the 45 states without a mandated plan you
are not covered.
- If you live in New Jersey and commute to work in New York, you will have a much lower level of coverage.
- The benefits may be taxable. Each state varies.
- Cash workers: People
working in cash businesses may see lower state disability maternity
benefits - because they may report lower income. Food servers,
stylists, etc. work on their feet and may be more prone to a disability
for pregnancy.
Sign up to see what it costs to supplement your state short term disability insurance maternity benefits.
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Applying for Short Term Disability
The optimum time to apply for
short term disability protection is three months prior to conception.
Short term disability policies contain a 9 month exclusion for giving birth
as the result of a normal pregnancy. When you conceive three months
after the policy effective date, and your pregnancy goes full term,
your maternity leave income will still yield 2.7 times what you paid
into the policy. Don’t get greedy by trying to time both your policy
effective date with your conception date.
Plan ahead! 12% of all babies
are born premature. When you conceive three months after the effective
date, and your pregnancy does not reach full term, your delivery date
will likely fall comfortably outside the nine month exclusion period.
Delays happen. If you are planning to get pregnant very soon – don’t wait.
Sign up to take your first step toward applying for short term disability.
Dont' delay. Get started before you conceive.
Short Term Disability Benefits
Short Term Disability Insurance
provides income protection if you become unable to work because of a
covered illness or injury. You can select the level of coverage that
best suits your individual needs:
- Monthly Benefit - Up to 70% income replacement
- Benefit Period – Up to 24 months
- Elimination Period
- How quickly benefits are paid. The optimal elimination period for
women planning a pregnancy is 7 days for sickness. This allows you the
greatest level of benefit during your maternity leave.
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Is Short Term Disability Taxable?
The answer to “will you pay a short term disability tax?”, depends upon how you paid the premium.
- If you paid the
premium entirely yourself using after-tax dollars, then your benefit
will be tax free. This is a great way to replace more than 66% of your
take home pay. Short term disability will replace 66% of your pay –
before tax considerations. If your regular pay is reduced by 33% by
taxes, your net take home pay will remain the same during your
maternity leave!
- If you pay the
premium with pre-tax dollars, your benefit will be taxed. Many women
planning a pregnancy opt for after tax payments in order to maximize
maternity leave pay. When the odds are stacked in your favor, maximize
your bet.
- If your employer
shares in the cost of your disability premium, the benefit is taxed.
This frequently occurs with state short term disability programs.
