Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
When you are unable to work for an extended period because of a non-work-related injury or illness (or because of pregnancy), you may be eligible for partial income replacement through disability benefits. There are two types of disability benefits:
- Short-Term Disability (STD) — After you’ve been unable to work for 30 continuous days, Short-Term Disability payments begin on day 31 or when your sick leave is exhausted (whichever is later). Short-Term Disability continues until you are medically able to return to work or for up to six months from your last day worked.
- Long-Term Disability (LTD) — Long-Term Disability benefit payments begin if you are still unable to return to work after six months.
Eligibility
All board-appointed employees with an eligible medical condition can receive disability benefits.
How to Apply
You will file your claim directly through The Standard, which administers disability benefits for University of Idaho employees. You may file online or download forms to submit via mail or fax. The Standard will work you to get the required medical documentation from your medical provider.
Contact The Standard within 30 days before or after you become unable to work (or as soon as reasonably possible). You may be asked for your University of Idaho plan number: 649326
If you are not already working with Benefit Services, please also contact benefits@uidaho.edu to inform them of your last regular day worked and that you have applied for disability benefits.
Compensation
The university provides basic disability coverage at no cost to you. Basic coverage will pay 50% of your salary, up to $500 per week for Short-Term Disability and up to $2000 per week for Long-Term Disability.
When you begin work for the university and each year during the annual enrollment period, you have the option to buy up on either or both STD and LTD to increase your coverage to 60% or 66.67% of your salary. Please see the Disability At A Glance chart for current contribution rates.
Once approved for disability benefits, you will receive payments directly from The Standard. Short-Term Disability is paid weekly. Long-Term Disability is paid monthly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Log in to your VandalWeb account and click on myBenefits (under employee tab) and view your benefit elections.
The Standard will begin processing your information to ensure there are no delays in receiving your long-term disability benefits.
You would not be eligible to receive short-term disability benefits. However, you may be eligible for long-term disability benefits if you are unable to work for six months or longer. Payments are offset by Workers' Compensation income benefits.
No, you must apply for Family and Medical Leave (FML) separately.
Yes, however, your short-term disability benefit will be reduced by the income you receive from your half-time salary.
Yes, you will be advised how many hours you can use when you are approved for short-term disability benefits.
The Shared Leave program is available for these situations.
The payments will be sent directly to you from The Standard. Short-Term Disability is paid weekly and Long-Term Disability is paid monthly.
You may also wish to review The Standard's Frequently Asked Questions About Filing a Disability Claim.