Please note: this information is just an overview. For exact details please read the handbook and contact Johnson Insurance

Application Process

If a member is considering accessing the LTD program, they must first contact Johnson Insurance at 902-628-3537 and ask for the LTD forms for PEITF Teachers. The LTD insurance is provided through Sun Life. Your Doctor will be required to fill out the information and then Sun Life has their own doctors that decide if the claim will be accepted. If the application gets rejected, there is an opportunity to appeal. You will have to contact Johnson Insurance to begin the appeal process.

** Please note the insurance is not provided by Johnson Insurance, they are the insurance administrators/consultants and their role is to help through the process.

Elimination Period

If your application is approved, there is an elimination period, which is a period of time before you can start receiving the LTD benefits. The elimination period is the greater of 120 days or all of your sick leave. If you have more than 120 sick days, you must use all of them before you begin LTD, but if you have fewer than 120 sick days, you must wait 120 calendar days before you start receiving benefits. The 120 calendar days include using all of your sick days; therefore, only the days you are short of sick days will be without pay. Regardless of how many sick days you have, you should contact Johnson Insurance as soon as you feel that LTD may have to be accessed at some time in the future.

When your sick days run out you will be deemed to be on unpaid leave. Once that leave starts the Employer will pay out what money is remaining in your deferred bank, this means the money is paid out now rather than as your summer pay.  Be aware that depending on the time of year that bank will be different amounts.  Most of your summer pay is built up from mid April to June so you won’t get the amount you normally get and in fact depending on the time of year it may be negative which means it will have to be paid back

If you use some of your sick days and then return back to work, in many cases, you will have to start the elimination period again. There is an allowance for interrupted period of disability but you will have to contact Johnson Insurance to ensure your situation qualifies.

EI and LTD

Since our LTD plan has no association with the Employer. The payment is considered an insurance payment; therefore, it is possible to receive EI while you are either on LTD or through your elimination period once your sick leave runs out. Many times EI will deny the claim but we have had a teacher go through the hearing process and the outcome was that teachers on PEI can receive EI while on LTD or through the elimination period when their sick leave has run out. Still, many EI employees aren’t aware of the ruling and deny the claim. If that happens, you should contact Patrick MacFadyen at PEITF immediately at (902-569-4157) and the information
can be forward to inform EI of the ruling and should be able to get the EI approved. This has happened to several teachers who have been denied.

Many times EI says that they can’t pay teachers over the summer months, which may be true, but regardless of that decision, teachers should still be able to get the full 15 weeks either during the elimination period or while on LTD.

Payment of LTD

The LTD plan pays 60% of the gross salary. For the first year, teachers are not paid over the summer but the monthly amount is increased to offset this. The yearly amount is divided by 10 for your monthly amount. After the first summer, the yearly amount is divided by 12 to give the monthly amount.

Example

Yearly gross salary = $81,861
Percentage of salary = 60%

LTD for calculation = $49,116.60

For first year until summer = $49,116.60 / 10 = $4,911.66 paid once a month
* No payment over the summer
Starting back in September = $49,116.60 / 12 = $4093.05 paid once a month

These monthly amounts are not considered taxable income. You won’t have any deductions off the amounts and won’t pay EI, CPP, Union Dues, Pension Plan, Group Insurance, etc.

Even if you move up a step or certification your LTD amount is based on your salary at the time of the start of your elimination period for your disability. The amount only increases by 1% each January 1st for a cost of living adjustment.

Benefits

While you are on LTD, the Employer treats the leave as a “leave without pay.”

Pension – for the pension plan, as long as you are on a leave without pay you are able to buy back your pension at the end of the year by contacting the pension office at 902-368-4200 or by filling out the form called “Purchase of Service Application” on the following website: https://www.peitpp.ca/forms

This purchase of service can be applied for at the end of each year, but it must be done within two years.

If you apply more than two years after your leave you won’t be able to buy it back. The cost to buy it back is 2 times your missed contributions or your share plus the Employer’s share since they don’t cost-share while you are on leave.

Group Insurance – While you are on LTD the Employer does not cost-share the insurance. You will have to make arrangements with Johnson Insurance to pay for your insurance (Health, Dental, Critical Illness, etc). For the LTD and Life insurance, our plan has a waiver of premiums.

For the life insurance, you continue to pay, but after six months of LTD you don’t have to pay while you remain on LTD and you will get reimbursement for your six months of payment.

**** Please note **** if you have Critical Illness insurance through Johnson and your reason for going on LTD makes you eligible for Critical Illness, you will need to apply for the critical illness insurance right away. There is a one-year timeline to apply for the insurance, or it will be void.

Length of Time on LTD

The LTD plan has a two-year limit on own occupation. For the first two years to be on LTD you have to be disabled from working in your own occupation. After the two year period, in order to be eligible for LTD, you must be disabled for working in any occupation. If you are disabled from teaching but able to work in another occupation, the insurance provider will work with the teacher to prepare for work in a new occupation.

The insurer should be reasonable in the amount of salary and type of job you will be expected to go into. The new job is not required to pay at a teachers’ salary, but it should be at a reasonable wage (i.e. you would not be expected to work for minimum wage).

After a period of time on leave from working, the Employer may end the employment relationship. This depends on the length of the leave and the prospect of returning to teach. Your LTD may still continue but you will no longer be considered on leave. You may remain in the insurance plan but can no longer contribute to the Pension plan. If this happens, you should reach
out to the PEITF.

This summary is not the official LTD information, it is just a brief overview of LTD to help through the process but it does not include all of the information. For complete details, please contact Johnson Insurance.

If you have any questions on the above information, please contact Patrick at the PEITF.