Does The Standard Require You to Apply for SSDI? What Disability Claimants Need to Know

If you're receiving short-term or long-term disability benefits through The Standard (formally, Standard Insurance Company), you may have noticed language in your policy requiring you to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance. This isn't unusual — and it's not optional. Understanding why insurers build this requirement into group disability policies, and how it intersects with the SSDI process, can help you avoid costly surprises.

Why Private Disability Insurers Require SSDI Applications

The Standard is a private insurance company that administers group disability plans, typically through employers. Their policies — like most long-term disability (LTD) policies — include what's known as an offset provision.

Here's how it works: if you're approved for SSDI, Social Security pays a portion of your monthly benefit. The Standard then reduces (offsets) its payment by that same amount. Your total income stays roughly the same, but The Standard's cost goes down.

Because of this financial incentive, most group LTD policies contain a clause requiring policyholders to:

• Apply for SSDI benefits
• Pursue the claim through the appeals process if initially denied
• Report any SSDI award to the insurer

Failing to comply with this requirement can result in The Standard assuming you would have received SSDI — and reducing your LTD benefit by that estimated amount anyway, even if you never actually filed.

What "Pursuing" SSDI Actually Means Under Most Policies

The Standard's policy language typically doesn't just require a one-time application. It usually requires you to actively pursue your SSDI claim. That can mean:

• Filing the initial SSDI application
• Requesting reconsideration if denied at the first level
• Requesting a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) if denied again
• Continuing through the Appeals Council if required

The SSDI process has four main stages:

Timeframes vary significantly based on your state, hearing office backlog, and case complexity. These are general ranges, not guarantees.

The Offset Calculation: How It Actually Affects Your Check

When The Standard offsets your LTD benefit, they're typically reducing your payment dollar-for-dollar by what SSDI pays. Here's a simplified example of the structure (not actual figures):

• Your LTD benefit: $2,500/month
• Your SSDI award: $1,400/month
• What The Standard pays after offset: $1,100/month
• Your total: $2,500/month (same as before)

This is why claimants sometimes feel blindsided — they expected SSDI to add income, but instead it shifts the source of payment. The total may not increase, but Social Security benefits often come with other advantages, including Medicare eligibility after a 24-month waiting period from your SSDI entitlement date.

SSDI Eligibility Is Separate From Your LTD Approval ⚠️

A common misconception: being approved for LTD benefits through The Standard does not mean you'll be approved for SSDI.

These are entirely separate determinations made under different standards:

• The Standard evaluates whether you can perform your own occupation (or any occupation, depending on your policy terms and duration).
• SSA evaluates whether you can perform any substantial gainful activity (SGA) — any job in the national economy — given your age, education, work history, and Residual Functional Capacity (RFC).

SSA's standard is considerably narrower. Many people approved for LTD benefits are denied SSDI, particularly at initial and reconsideration stages. The reverse also occurs.

Key SSDI eligibility factors SSA considers:

• Whether you've earned enough work credits (generally 40 credits, 20 earned in the last 10 years, though this varies by age)
• Medical evidence establishing a severe, long-term impairment
• Whether your condition prevents SGA — in 2024, that threshold is $1,550/month for non-blind individuals (this figure adjusts annually)
• Your RFC — what physical and mental tasks you can still perform
• Your age, education, and past work experience

What Happens If You're Denied SSDI

If SSA denies your claim — which happens to the majority of applicants at the initial stage — The Standard typically still expects you to appeal. Policies vary, but many require pursuit through at least the ALJ hearing level before the obligation to continue is waived.

If you reach a point where further appeals are deemed futile (sometimes documented by a legal or medical opinion), some policies allow for an exception. The specific terms of your policy govern this. 📋

The Estimated Offset Problem

If you don't apply for SSDI — or abandon the claim prematurely — The Standard may calculate an estimated SSDI benefit based on your earnings record and deduct it from your LTD payments regardless of whether you ever receive it.

This estimated offset can be substantial and may be applied retroactively if The Standard determines you weren't cooperating with the requirement.

Variables That Shape Individual Outcomes

How all of this plays out depends on factors specific to each claimant:

• Your policy language — "own occ" vs. "any occ," offset provisions, cooperation clauses
• Your medical condition — whether it meets SSA's definition of disability, how well-documented it is
• Your work history — whether you have sufficient work credits for SSDI (SSI has no work credit requirement but has strict income and asset limits)
• Your age — SSA's grid rules favor older workers in certain circumstances
• Where you are in the SSDI process — initial application vs. ALJ stage
• Onset date disputes — the date SSA establishes as your disability onset affects both back pay and Medicare eligibility

The intersection of private LTD policies and SSDI is one of the more complicated areas in disability benefits. The rules are set by two entirely separate systems — a private insurer operating under contract law, and a federal agency operating under statute — and they don't always align neatly. Where your situation falls within that complexity is something no general guide can map out for you.