Key Information

For residents of:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

Benefits-at-a-Glance

Long-Term Disability (LTD) Brochure

Long-Term Disability (LTD)

Statistics show one in five Americans between the ages of 35 and 65 will experience a disability lasting three months or longer.¹ Many people assume if they become disabled, they can simply rely on Social Security benefits. What they don't realize is that not every disabled person automatically qualifies for Social Security. And, those who do fit the Social Security program's strict criteria can find the monthly payments fall far short of the income they're accustomed.

That's where Long-term Disability (LTD) Insurance steps in; it can help offset financial burdens caused by an insured employee's disability.

Whatever your needs, EPIC offers a long-term disability group insurance program that's flexible enough to meet them. Our programs are designed to manage employer risks, reduce lost-time costs, and provide the support and encouragement employees need to return to work. We offer a full array of benefits and innovative features, all of which can be tailored to meet an employer's unique needs. We offer several funding options, as well; our LTD programs are available as employer-paid, employer/employee-paid, and voluntary/employee-paid.

Standard Plan Provisions

Benefit Percentage -- You, the employer, select what percentage of the employee's monthly lost income will be paid out under the plan on your employer application form when you apply for coverage. Options are:

2-9 lives:	60%
10+ lives:	40% 50%, 60%, 66 2/3%

Maximum Monthly Benefits -- This is the maximum monthly benefit any one person who's covered under your group can receive:

2-9 lives:	$6,000
10+ lives:	$10,000

Minimum Monthly Benefit -- There is a $100 monthly minimum benefit, regardless of the amount of other benefits an employee may receive from other benefit sources.

Elimination Period -- The elimination period is the period of disability that must pass before benefits are payable. No benefits are payable during the applicable elimination period. The insured may return to work during the elimination period for up to a specified number of days without having to begin a new elimination period. Elimination Period options are:

2-9 lives:	90 or 180 days
10+ lives:	90, 120, 150, 180, 270, or 365 days

Benefit Duration -- The Benefit Duration determines how long an insured employee receives benefits. Choose from:

2-9 lives:	Five year or reducing benefit duration (RBD) to retirement.
10+ lives:	Two or five years, or reducing benefit duration (RBD) to retirement.

The chart below outlines our standard RBD to Retirement:

Age When First Disabled	Benefit Duration
Prior to 63	To normal retirement age or 42 months if greater
63	36 months
64	30 months
65	24 months
66	21 months
67	18 months
68	15 months
69+	12 months

Definition of Disability - Our standard group policy's "Definition of a Disability" is:
During the elimination period and for the next 24 months the insured is prevented by (a) accidental bodily injury (b) sickness (c) mental illness (d) substance abuse or (e) pregnancy from performing one or more of the essential duties of his/her occupation, and as a result his/her current monthly earnings are no more than 80% of their pre-disability earnings.

After benefits have been paid for 24 months the employee must be so prevented from performing one or more of the essential duties of any occupation.

"Any occupation" means an occupation for which you're qualified by education, training, or experience, and that has an earnings potential greater than an amount equal to the lesser of the product of your pre-disability earning and the benefit percentage and the maximum monthly benefit shown in the Schedule of Insurance.

The insured employee's failure to pass a physical examination required to maintain a license to perform the duties of his/her occupation doesn't alone mean that he/she is disabled.

Benefits will be payable for a qualified disabling condition resulting from a mental illness or substance abuse, as long as the insured is confined in a hospital or qualified facility. If the qualified condition doesn't require confinement, there is a two-year lifetime maximum for all such conditions.

Other Definitions of Disability may be available from EPIC at the time you apply for LTD coverage, depending on your group's industry and case characteristics; your EPIC professional can provide you with details.

Integration With Other Income Benefits -- If an insured receives income from other sources, the monthly LTD benefit will be reduced according to the type of integration you select, subject to the minimum monthly benefit.

Family Integration -- Here, the LTD benefit is reduced by the amount of benefits the insured and his/her family receives from other qualified sources as the result of your disability.

Primary Integration -- Available to groups of 10 employees or more, the LTD benefit for this option is reduced solely by the amount of benefits the disabled insured employee receives from Social Security and other sources, without taking the family's benefits into account.

Examples of other benefits that will reduce the LTD benefit payment are:

Primary and family Social Security benefits
Workers' Compensation and similar benefits
Disability benefits from any other group insurance plan or any compulsory benefit law
Benefits from the employer's retirement plan

Examples of other benefits that will NOT reduce the LTD payment are:

No-fault automobile insurance benefits
Individual disability income policies
The portion of retirement benefit attributable to employee contributions
Retirement benefits from another employer
Military disability benefit

The following benefits are automatically included in your EPIC LTD group insurance policy at no additional charge:

Survivor Benefit - If an employee has been disabled and receiving benefits under the policy for at least 180 consecutive days, in the event of the insured employee's death during that period of disability, the spouse or dependent children will receive a lump sum benefit equal to three times the last monthly LTD benefit paid for that employee's disability.
Return to Work Incentive with Residual Disability - Within our definitions of disability, the elimination period may still be satisfied and benefits may still be payable when the employee returns to work part-time. Receiving residual benefits encourages partial return to work (when full-time is not appropriate) at any time without impacting benefit eligibility. For the first 12 months, your partial wages and LTD benefit will equal up to 100% of pre-disability earnings.
Work Modification - To assist an employer with possible workplace modifications necessary to accommodate a disabled employee's return to work, benefits are available that reimburse an employer for reasonable expenses related to the modifications. Eligible expenses can be reimbursed up to an amount equal to an employee's monthly benefit.
Family Care Credit - Disabled employees participating in an approved rehabilitation program, and incurring expenses for family care services will have the cost of family care, up to the limits defined in your EPIC LTD policy, reimbursed through your LTD benefit.
Maternity is covered the same as any other illness.
Pre-existing Conditions Limitations -- If an insured has a medical condition, including a sickness or accidental bodily injury, that exists on the effective date of your EPIC LTD group insurance policy, and he or she becomes disabled due to that condition, coverage for that person's disability will be based on the Pre-existing Conditions Limitation provision contained in the group policy. When our LTD group policy replaces your group's previous LTD coverage, benefits will be paid for a pre-existing condition that's otherwise a covered accidental bodily injury or sickness if the pre-existing waiting period or similar period contained in that prior policy or plan has been satisfied considering continuous time insured under both policies/plans. Pre-existing conditions limitations are:

2-9 lives:	12/24
10+ lives:	3/12

Other options may be available; your EPIC professional can provide you with details.

Participation

Number of Lives	Participation Requirement
2-5 Lives	100% Participation Required
6-9 Lives	Non-contributory: 100% Participation Contributory: Only one employee may waive coverage, all others must participate
10+ Lives	Non-contributory: 100% Participation Contributory: 75% Participation

This program only provides LTD benefits for insured employees who are eligible under the EPIC LTD group insurance policy, but not for disabled dependents of those employees. Benefits are limited for persons who are disabled due to mental illness and/or substance abuse. Also see the information on the pre-existing condition limitations and exclusions from coverage.

Group Size Requirements for EPIC LTD Plans

With other EPIC or WPS coverage: Minimum two lives

Stand alone: Minimum ten lives

¹ Source: LIMRA International