Disability Benefits don’t have to be taxing

If you became disabled through illness or injury, would you be able to survive financially? Would your personal savings provide sufficient resources to pay for items like food, rent, and everyday expenses?

If you’re like most Canadians, your savings would not maintain your standard of living for very long. And even though the federal government provides disability benefits through the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), the average payment is just under $800.00 a month. That’s probably not enough to live on, especially if you have dependents. Consequently, an illness or injury could cause a catastrophic financial impact on your life, in addition to the emotional and physical effects you may suffer.

The Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan offers a Long Term Disability (LTD) benefit that provides 24 hour coverage for you and your employees. An income is paid to employees who face lengthy absences from work due to an injury or illness. The benefit also includes Posaction Plus, a confidential counseling service for employees, and Coach-tel, a confidential telephone service that helps owners and managers address human resource issues. If your firm offers LTD benefits, or you are considering adding it to your plan, you should think about tax consequences. If you, the employer, pay any part of the LTD premium, the employee will be expected to pay tax on LTD benefits they receive. As a result, most firms arrange to have employees pay the premium. If you choose this option, make sure your employees are aware that the reason they are paying the full cost for this benefit is to protect them from taxes if they need to use it.

LTD is a benefit many people are not aware of until they need to use it. So take a few moments to review your benefit package and protect your firm, today and in the future.