HELLO Larry , I had been collecting SSDI benefits for 5 years .. Here is a complex question When I first became disabled , I had a long term disability policy thru my employer , that paid me roughly 60 percent of my salary about 4000 monthly thru a Prudential policy , However , once I was awarded SSDI about 2000 monthly the Prudential , pro rated their payment to 2000 , So I wasn't getting anything more than the 4000.0 And once I reached FRA the Prudential ceased their payment . SSDI was automatically changed to SS . So , since the Prudential ,pro rated their original obligation of that 4000 , to just 2000 because SS was essentially saving Prudential that 2000 monthly benefit . Essentially ripping of Social Security , Ive been trying just to get an explanation , I would be happy if the Prudential just to cover me thru the 67 FRA or to age 70 .I understand that I couldn't receive more than the original 4000 but I question why the Prudential ( or any other insurer ) would be able to use that 2000 monthly benefit paid by the SSA only to their benefit ??? 2000 times 12 is 24000 ..over 5 years ,is a whooping 120k that they , in my opinion ,robbing from the SSA . With the savings they received from my situation alone is perplexing . Both I and my employer paid deep premiums to the insurer . Also ,once my short term disability , converted to long term disability , I was no longer eligible for my employee benefits .Health insurance , etc , 401k , etc Perhaps you can shed some light for me .I'd greatly appreciate your effort .

sincerely , John

Hi John. My expertise is actually limited to Social Security benefits, and it doesn't sound like you had any problem in that regard. If you apply for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits and if your claim is approved, Social Security calculates and pays your SSDI benefits without regard to any long term disability (LTD) insurance you may have. Social Security then automatically converts SSDI benefits to regular Social Security retirement benefits when a person reaches full retirement age (FRA).

I don't have any special expertise regarding private insurance plans, but it sounds like your LTD policy had provisions requiring you to apply for SSDI benefits and to offset your LTD benefit rate if you qualified for SSDI benefits. Your policy apparently also had a provision that extended your payments until you reached FRA. Such provisions are commonly included in LTD insurance policies. In fact, I would guess that virtually all LTD policies offered by the larger insurance companies contain such provisions. I have no way of knowing what your particular LTD policy actually provided for, though, so If you don't have a copy of your policy to refer to you may want to contact the insurance company with your questions.

Best, Jerry