Know About Disability And Health Insurance Before You Retire

 Insurance can be there to help protect you when something unexpected happens like that prevents you from working. 

Among different types of insurances that protect you, and your loved ones, there is disability insurance Kitchener.

Protecting Your Income With Disability Insurance Kitchener

If you and your family get sick or injured and can no longer work in the way you were able to before, disability insurance helps. Disability insurance Kitchener can get some amount of your income to help you and your family when you cannot work and earn.

However, we tend to not put much thought into disability insurance, especially if you are receiving coverage through work. However it’s important to have disability insurance Kitchener to protect your income, and it’s equally as important to have a good understanding of the coverage you’re receiving.

Check your plan to find out:

If you have long-term or short-term disability insurance?

What salary does it cover and will it be enough? 

Does the insurance cover any job or is it covering your specific job?

Even when you have disability insurance through the work, it’s recommended to get their own coverage. For instance, if the work policy is only covering half of the salary, it is difficult to live with it.  But if they also have their own policy, they could leverage it to supplement the 50% coverage from the work policy.

Two Reason to get Your Own Disability Insurance Kitchener 

In addition to the work coverage you get, there are two other main reasons to get your own disability insurance Kitchener : 

Taxes

If you’re getting disability insurance Kitchener through your work, you’re usually not paying for it. That means the money you get, you’ve never paid taxes on it — and you’ll have to. You receive half and also pay taxes on that half amount you get 

Therefore, it can be beneficial to get your own coverage as a way to make sure you get a good amount in your pocket. With your own coverage, it’s your own money being used that you’ve already paid taxes on, so it comes back to you tax-free.

Own Occupation Vs. Regular Occupation

Work-provided disability insurance comes with coverage only for regular occupation rather than own occupation coverage. 

With own occupation coverage, if you can no longer do the job you were doing when you were injured or got sick, then you’re covered. This is because this coverage sees that if you don’t do a specific job, you need help with your bills regardless of any other type of work you may take up afterward.

On the other hand, regular occupation believes that if you can do any job after the disability, then you don’t need as much monetary help. Even though you’re likely not making as much as you were when in the last job.

When you buy disability insurance Kitchener on your own, it usually comes with the option for you to have your own occupation coverage, it tends to be more expensive, but better, than work’s insurance policy. It says that if your illness does not let you do  your specific job then you’re covered completely - you won’t be forced into a different job to continue earning for yourself

Main Disability Insurance Terms

Elimination Period

Your elimination period is like a time-based deductible. It’s the length of time that must pass before your benefits begin. 

Benefit Amount

The benefit amount is how much you are paid by the company 

Benefit Period

The benefit period is the period of time in which benefits are paid out. Your benefit period might be more short-term, like six months or two years, or it can be more long-term, like over 10 years. Sometimes policies offer a benefit period that lasts until you reach retirement age.