Tom Murphy
RedwoodAge.com
Can you live on $1,000 a month? If you're among the 30 percent of boomers who'll suffer a disability before retirement, you might have to.
The public benefit available in most cases is about $1,000, or $12,000 a year, according to American's Health Insurance Plans. That's a little higher than the $10,210 federal poverty line, which means you wouldn't qualify for many public support programs that exclude people with income above the line.
"Baby boomers believe they have more disability income protection than they actually do, giving them a false sense of security against the financial risks of disability," said Karen Ignagni, CEO of the trade group.
The group funded a study by Harris Interactive that found a quarter of boomers admitted they have no clue what the requirements are for disability. Almost half incorrectly thought workers would quality for disability insurance if they were unable to work at their current job, but could still work at a job that pays less money.
More than a third thought disabled workers would qualify if they worked no more than 20 hours a week.
Few knew that workers are ineligible for benefits if they can do any work that pays $1,000 or more a month. And only one in five knew the average benefit was also about $1,000 a month.
A Long Wait
Most people didn't know it takes an average of 17 months to qualify for claims, or to get a rejection, including appeals.
"Baby boomers know very little about the public disability safety net available for workers who suffer a disability," said Humphrey Taylor, Chairman of the Harris Poll.
There was substantial confusion about workers compensation, too. Many people believe it covers disabilities that aren't related to work; it doesn't. Only one in four knew that worker's comp provides two-thirds of the workers' regular pay.
A prior survey by the organization found that most boomers didn't even understand the nature of "disability" itself, which can include medical crises like heart attacks or cancer, not just physical injuries.
