Seven Pre-priced Short-Term Disability Plans Available
The National IAM Benefit Trust Fund offers seven pre-priced short-term disability plans. Covered employees can participate in a Benefit Trust Fund short-term disability plan if they also participate in a Benefit Trust Fund medical plan.
To be eligible for coverage, the short-term disability plan, along with the medical plan, must be negotiated into a group's applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement between the IAM and an employer. Benefit Trust Fund short-term disability plans provide benefits for employees only—they do not cover a spouse or children.
Short Term Disability Benefits
Short-term disability plans provide benefits to covered employees who cannot work due to disability caused by an illness or an accident that is not work-related. Benefits are paid for up to 26 weeks.
Benefit Trust Fund Short Term Disability plans pay 70% of an employee's gross weekly wages, up to a maximum weekly benefit amount that ranges from $200 to $1,000, as specified under each plan.
All Benefit Trust Fund Short Term Disability plans have a seven-day waiting period. A waiting period is the number of unpaid leave days that must elapse before benefit payments can begin.The waiting period starts when a covered disability, as certified by a physician, results in the first day of unpaid leave. The waiting period ends after seven consecutive unpaid days. Benefits begin on the first day of unpaid leave after the waiting period, while you remain totally disabled, provided you were eligible for Short Term Disability benefits on the date the waiting period began.
For a list of the Fund's short-term disability plans, view or download a sample Schedule of Benefits (PDF), or contact the Fund Office.
Short Term Disability Summary Plan Descriptions
When a disability plan is negotiated, the Short Term Disability plan language is added to the associated medical plan Summary Plan Description. For details about how the plans work, including information about enrollment and benefit payment, refer to the applicable medical plan SPD. You can also view or download disability language for a sample disability plan below.
Sample Short Term Disability Plan Language—$500 Maximum Weekly Benefit (PDF)
Short Term Disability Summary of Material Modifications
Whenever a change is made to your STD plan, the Fund Office will send a Summary of Material Modification (SMM). SMMs should be retained in your Summary Plan Description for future reference. All changes made to a Short Term Disability plan since the last printing of the Summary Plan Description will be included when the booklet is revised and a new edition of the SPD is issued.