Disability – SC
State Classified
In the event of illness, injury, surgery or pregnancy, CSU understands it’s important to have financial security for you and your family.
Short term disability coverage, through Unum, provides you with a portion of income replacement if you are unable to work due to a non-occupational illness or injury. You are automatically enrolled in STD at no cost to you. Coverage is effective the first day of the month following your date of hire.
You may purchase optional long term disability (LTD) coverage as a new hire or during Open Enrollment.
Contact Human Resources at (970) 491-6947 as soon as reasonably possible to start your claim application if you are expecting to be off work for more than 30 working days.
Forms
Contact Human Resources to request an STD Application.
Quick Resources
Contact
- Email: MyHR@colostate.edu
- Fax: (970) 491-6302
- Phone: (970) 491-6947
- Unum: (866) 679-3054 | Account Login
Short Term Disability
STD pays 60% of your weekly pre-disability earnings following a required 30 calendar day waiting period. You must use leave through the waiting period, but may elect to save other accruals.
Make Whole: Employees may choose to use leave accruals to make their salary whole in an amount closest to the different between the STD amount and the employee’s gross pay (excluding pay differential). If employees choose to be made whole, sick leave is used first, then annual and compensatory time (8/1/2020).
You may be eligible for a maximum of $3,000 per week, for up to 150 days during any 12 month period.
There are Actively at Work provisions that indicate coverage for employees absent from work on the effective date of coverage will be deferred until the employee commences or resumes active work.
Weekly Benefit: 60% of weekly earnings to a maximum benefit of $3,000 per week. Your payment may be reduced by deductible sources of income and disability earnings. Some disabilities may not be covered under this plan.
Payments: Weekly payments are sent directly from Unum for applications that are approved. Employees will not received any salary or payments from CSU.
If you are receiving STD payments and receive salary in error from CSU (your department should place you on leave without pay when you are approved for STD payments) you will be required to re-pay the salary paid in error.
Maximum Period of Payment: There is a 150 day maximum in a rolling 12 month period. This includes all periods of disability during that period.
Unum will stop sending payments and your claim will end on the earliest of the following:
- when you are able to work in your own job on a part-time basis;
- the end of the maximum period of payment;
- the date you are no longer disabled under the terms of the plan, unless you are eligible to receive benefits under Unum’s Rehabilitation and Return to Work Assistance program;
- the date you fail to submit proof of continuing disability; the date your disability earnings exceed the amount allowable under the plan.
The STD application is available from HR by emailing MyHR@colostate.edu or calling (970) 491-6947.
You are encouraged to notify Unum or your department HR Professional of your need to apply claim as soon as possible so a claim decision can be made in a timely manner. Per Unum, notice of claim should be sent within 30 days after the date your disability begins. In addition, you must send Unum proof of your claim no later than one year after the date your disability begins.
You must complete an STD claim form, have your department complete the Employer Sections, then provide it to your health care provider. Your provider should fill out their section of the form and return it to your department, CSU Human Resources via fax at (970) 491-6302 or directly to Unum.
You must notify Unum immediately when you return to work in any capacity.
When you are on an STD, you are eligible to continue some or all of your university benefits. Since you will be on leave without pay and only receiving payments from Unum, you must make cash payments directly to CSU for your benefit premiums (with the exception of flexible spending (FSA), health savings (HSA) and retirement accounts). Please contact Human Resources at (970) 491-6947 if you need to verify your monthly premium amounts.
A healthcare provider must indicate an end date and medical release for an employee to return to work following STD or FML, in most cases. If an employee returns to work prior to the approved end date, they must contact Unum to end STD benefits.
An employee who is unable to return to work following the maximum duration of STD, may contact PERA for disability options (if they are PERA vested) or Unum will contact the employee with long term disability options, if the employee is enrolled.
Optional Long Term Disability
Employees who regularly work at least 30 hours or more each week are eligible to enroll in optional long term disability (LTD) insurance. The LTD plan pays up to 60% of your monthly pre-disability covered earnings up to a maximum monthly benefit of $10,000 per month, following the required LTD benefit waiting period of six months.
You may enroll in LTD during two periods:
- New Hire: You do not have to provide proof of good health. The coverage you elect will be effective the first day of the month following your date of hire.
- Open Enrollment: You do have provide proof of good health to Unum for approval before coverage begins.
The monthly premium rate is a percentage of an employee’s monthly covered compensation and can be found on the State’s website.
Premiums for LTD will not appear in BenefitSolver, but will be deducted from your CSU salary on a post-tax basis.
Premium Calculation Example: If you are vested in the PERA Defined Benefit (DB) Retirement Plan, age 42, with a monthly covered compensation of $4,000, your monthly premium will be $6.00 per month (the age 42 PERA Vested premium rate is .0015, multiplied by monthly covered compensation of $4,000 = $6.00 per month).
Benefit: 60% of weekly earnings to a maximum benefit of $10,000 per month. Your payment may be reduced by deductible sources of income and disability earnings. Some disabilities may not be covered under this plan.
Payments: Payments are sent directly from Unum for applications that are approved. Employees will not received any salary or payments from CSU during this time.
If you are receiving LTD payments and receive salary in error from CSU (your department should place you on leave without pay when you are approved for LTD) you will be required to re-pay the salary paid in error.
Taxation: The optional LTD benefits are not subject to federal taxation because an employee pays 100% of the optional LTD premium on a post-tax basis which means the optional LTD benefits are not included in the gross income of the employee.
To enroll in LTD coverage: visit the State’s online enrollment system at www.BenefitSolver.com to make an election and proceed through the evidence of insurability documents.
To apply for LTD benefits: If the employee is enrolled in LTD and the medical condition is eligible for continuation, then Unum will notify the employee following the required waiting period.
You must notify Unum immediately when you return to work in any capacity.
Pre-Existing Exclusion: An employee is not eligible to receive LTD benefits if they are considered to have a pre-existing condition, in which:
- the employee received medical treatment, consultation, care or services including diagnostic measures, or took prescribed drugs or medicines in the 3 months just prior to the employee’s effective date of optional LTD coverage; and
- the employee’s disability begins in the first 12 months after the employee’s effective date of optional LTD coverage.
The maximum LTD period of payment is as follows:
| Age at Disability | Maximum LTD Period of Payment |
|---|---|
| Age 61 or younger | To age 65, or 3 years 6 months if longer |
| Age 62 | 3 years, 6 months |
| Age 63 | 3 years |
| Age 64 | 2 years, 6 months |
| Age 65 | 2 years |
| Age 66 | 1 year, 9 months |
| Age 67 | 1 year, 6 months |
| Age 68 | 1 year, 3 months |
| Age 69 or older | 1 year |
When you are on approved LTD, you may be eligible to continue some or all of your university benefits (e.g. medical, dental, vision, etc.) while you are actively employed with CSU. If you are approved for LTD, benefit payments are sent directly from Unum. Therefore, you must make cash payments for your benefit premiums, as you generally will will not continue receiving salary from CSU (we are unable to accept cash payments for FSA, HSA and retirement).
If your employment ends with CSU, all benefits terminate at the end of the month in which you separate from service. See COBRA continuation benefits for more information.
This is intended to be an overview. Refer to the State of Colorado website for complete information. In the event the information on these pages differs from the plan documents, the plan document will govern.