ERISA

ERISA is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. This may seem like a daunting name at first until you know it helps regulate retirement plans and other employee benefit plans like disability and life insurance offered by private employers. In other...

Insurance never seems very important until you need to make a claim. Your employer offering a company-sponsored disability policy was likely less of a factor in your decision to accept the job than the salary, paid time off and work schedule offered. However, once you...

If you're dealing with a disability and trying to file an ERISA or individual disability claim, one part of this process is simply defining your disability. Many people imagine that disabilities tend to be physical (ie, picture persons in a wheelchair), but this is...

Cancer – of any kind – is a devastating disease, so it’s only natural that a diagnosis throws your entire world in disarray. You probably have tons of questions. Eventually, however, your mind is bound to turn to the most practical concern of all: Can you keep working...

Many of us learned at a young age that you should work hard when you’re young so you can retire early and enjoy the fruits of your labor when you’re older. It is oftentimes the case, however, that as we approach retirement age, we experience the challenges of illness...

The ERISA system can be very confusing, especially when it comes to disability claims. You know that cannot work and that you need the financial benefits to compensate for your inability to earn. But it’s difficult to know where to start, and more than a little...

We’ve talked before about how getting your doctor’s support for your disability claim will make a big difference if and when you apply for your benefits. Now, let’s address how to have that all-important conversation. Roughly Many people admit that they have lied to...

It is somewhat common for there to be a bit of a disagreement between individuals and insurance companies regarding whether or not those individuals are disabled. A person may claim that they are now disabled and will never be able to work again, but the insurance...

If you are filing a claim because you believe that you are disabled, there are a lot of factors to consider. You need to know the exact definition of a disability in your policy, you need to know how to get the medical records to prove that you're disabled, you need...

As you know, ERISA is supposed to protect employees covered under disability insurance and other employee welfare benefit plans provided by an employer. The Act also establishes the minimum standards for plan administration. As an ERISA participant, you have rights,...