In this day and age of starkly divided political views many see “leaving work” because of MS as yet another way in which too many people are grasping at a government entitlement and suckling from the public teat. Others see SSDI as an insurance plan into which they have paid and, like any other insurance policy, when they need it they expect it to be there for them.
There are many, many problems with the entire “disability” system (for lack of better terminology, that is how I’ll refer to it from here on in this post) and we only have so much room to try to bring them all to the fore. I anticipate a heady debate and airing of many feelings in the comments section on this topic. I, as always, beg you to be courteous to one another even if you disagree with a person’s views. We’re all in this together, it’s not an easy decision (or process) and the last thing anyone going through it needs is to be belittled for their thoughts or concerns.
Disability insurances can be separated into two general categories, private and public.
Private programs are usually attached to other insurance programs your employer may offer. There are long-term and short-term policies and they all differ on what they pay, when and for how long. One important thing to check is to see if you pay for any part of your private disability insurance. If not, any potential benefits you receive would be taxable. If you pay for the premiums or pay a tax on the benefit than disbursements will likely be tax-free.
Public disability programs come from the Social Security Administration and, save for SSI (a low-income security net) are based on the amount you earned — thus paid into the program — during your working life.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payment amounts are calculated on the last several years of working income, so people who taper off their full-time employment (by working fewer hours, reducing responsibility/position or shifting to part-time work) are penalized in the amount of benefit they will receive once approved.
The SSDI process is far from easy, as many of you will attest. One doesn’t simply get diagnosed with MS, call their employer and say “I can’t work anymore” and start getting Social Security checks deposited into their bank account.
Doctors (yes, plural), review boards, face-to-face meetings and many other (often demeaning) obstacles lie in the path of someone who has come to the difficult conclusion that they can no longer work. There is a very long approval process which can leave many near destitution as they scrape together COBRA payments for health insurance, prescription medications and everyday expenses while not working (and not yet receiving SSDI).
Short-term private disability insurance can sometimes help, but short-term benefits are usually very low (relative to one’s former compensation) and long-term benefits usually don’t kick in for at least six months after one leaves the workforce.
The psychological fallout from the process has sent more than one strong person to the counseling sofa. Then (and here’s where my sensitivity at this weekend’s comments comes in), there is the impression that people who can no longer work full-time — and have had to make the difficult choice to proceed with and the even more difficult task of getting approved — feel or are made to feel like they are no longer a vibrant part of society.
We are a culture who define ourselves by “what we do.” When that job or career is taken away it is natural for us to feel at a loss for who we are. We’ll do enough of that to ourselves; we surely don’t need anyone else saying that all we do is lie about and watch the soaps!
The Social Security Administratioun has initiated a “Ticket to Work” program to try to help people regain some of the independence and self-worth that we achieve through work, but the system is cumbersome and fraught with complicated rules. Many who have cognitive issues due to MS find the whole bloody mess too much to handle.
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