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Human Resources
Division of Administration
  2. Benefits
  3. Short-Term Disability
  4. Receiving Short-Term Disability Benefits

Receiving Short-Term Disability Benefits

When you receive income from a source other than your MetLife disability benefit, such as workers' compensation or Social Security Disability Insurance, it may be deducted from your total disability benefit. You will not receive payments from PTO, legacy sick, and short-term disability insurance at the same time.

If you are enrolled in the buy-up option for the short-term disability plan, you are not required to use up your legacy sick time or PTO before short-term disability benefits can begin.

If you are only enrolled in the base short-term disability plan (you are not in the buy-up option), you must first use all your legacy sick time before the short-term disability benefits can begin. Please refer to the Legacy Sick Time and FMLA and TMLA Leave policies regarding important information about how and when you can use legacy sick time in conjunction with short-term disability insurance.

It may happen that your two-week (14 calendar day) waiting period is complete and MetLife has not yet made a decision on your claim. If this happens, there will be a gap of time while eligibility is being determined. During this 'gap of time' you will be placed automatically in an unpaid leave status, unless you request, in writing, to be paid using accrued time.

'Gap of time' examples:

  • If you elect to go on unpaid leave during the gap of time and MetLife later determines that you are eligible, the benefit will be retroactive to the day the waiting period was met. For example, you become disabled on November 2. Your waiting period would end November 16. However, MetLife doesn't determine whether this disability is covered until December 8. In this example, you have chosen to go on unpaid leave during those three weeks. When the determination is made that this claim is eligible for short-term disability insurance payment, MetLife will pay you retroactively, back to the eligibility date of November 16.
  • If you elect to be paid during the gap of time by using your accrued time (PTO or legacy sick), and MetLife later determines that this claim is eligible for payment, the short-term disability income benefit will begin on December 8. You cannot 'give back' your time taken and ask that the payments be made retroactive to November 16.