DISABILITY PLANS
Memphis-Shelby County Schools offers disability benefits administered by MetLife. We offer both short-term and long-term disability policies. If an employee is unable to work and earn income due to an illness or injury, the disability plans provide a cost-effective way to protect the employee’s income while the employee focuses on the most important thing…their health.
Eligibility and Enrollment Information:
- Full-time permanent employees (working 30 hours or more per week) will automatically be enrolled in STD (30 day) and LTD coverage within 30 days of their hire date (30 days for a re-hire).
- Employees who want to waive these disability coverages must do so within their first 30 days of employment by disenrolling online at https://www.mybentek.com/mscs.
- Employees who waive the coverage when hired, must provide Evidence of Insurability (EOI) if they decide to enroll at a later time.
- Coverage is effective the first day of the month after the completion of 30 days of employment.
- Employees can only make changes to their disability benefits during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a qualifying life event (example: marriage, divorce, birth/adoption of a child, loss of other coverage, dependent loss of other coverage, etc.).
- Available sick days may impact your weekly benefit amount (see the certificate of coverage for additional details)
- You must submit your claim and supporting documents to Metlife within 90 days after the end of the elimination period (which is based on your elected disability plan - 7 days or 30 days)
Short-Term Disability Benefit Overview:
Short-term disability provides weekly income protection if an employee becomes disabled for a period of time not to exceed 26 weeks. Employees have a choice between two different short-term disability plans. An overview of the plans is provided below. For a more detailed description of the plan benefits, please review the short-term disability plan summary (insert here).
- Plan Options: MetLife offers a choice of two plan options: a 7-day waiting period plan and a 30-day waiting period plan. Employees will be automatically defaulted to the 30-day waiting period plan unless the employee chooses the 7-day option during the enrollment period or waives coverage entirely.
- Benefit Amount: The weekly benefit will be 60% of the employee’s pre-disability earnings, subject to the plan’s maximum weekly benefit amount of $1,500.
- Benefits Waiting Period: If a claim for short-term disability benefits is approved by MetLife, benefits become payable after the employee has been continuously disabled for either 7 days or 30 days (based on the plan chosen). Benefits can continue up to a maximum of 26 weeks. Benefits are not payable during the benefit waiting period.
- Coordination of Benefits: MetLife does not coordinate with any other short-term disability plan.
- Pre-Existing Conditions: There is no pre-existing clause for short-term disability. However, if an employee declines coverage upon his or her initial eligibility and then wants to elect coverage during a later enrollment period, the employee will have to provide evidence of insurability (EOI).
Long-Term Disability Benefit Overview:
Long-term disability provides monthly income protection if an employee suffers a disability lasting more than 26 weeks. An overview of the plan is provided below. View a more detailed description of the plan benefits here.
- The monthly benefit will be 60% of the employee’s pre-disability earnings, subject to the plan’s maximum monthly benefit amount of $6,500.
- Benefits Waiting Period: If a claim for LTD benefits is approved by MetLife, benefits become payable after the waiting period, also referred to as the elimination period. The waiting period begins on the day the employee becomes disabled and is the number of consecutive days the employee is disabled before being eligible to receive benefits. The waiting period for LTD is 180 days. Benefits are not payable during the benefit waiting period.
- Pre-existing Condition Exclusion: Treatment for an illness or injury 90 days prior to your insurance effective date will be excluded from coverage for a period of 12 months.
For additional information on the disability plan offerings, please visit the links below.
- Short-Term/Long-Term Product Overview
- Short-Term/Long-Term Disability Insurance FAQs
- MetLife Online Disability Claim Access Flyer
- Met Life App Information
- 7-Day Short-Term Disability Certificate of Coverage
- 30-Day Short-Term Disability Certificate of Coverage
- Long-Term Disability Certificate of Coverage
After reviewing our website, if you have specific questions regarding the disability plans or claim status, you may contact MetLife directly at 1-833-622-0135.
For questions, please feel free to call (901) 416-5304 or email us at [email protected].
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