The income we earn is a cornerstone for our personal financial well being. Our earnings go to lifestyle expenses such as family, rent/ mortgage, food, gas, etc. If, due to an accident or sickness, one of your employees was unable to work how would they manage? Access short-term savings? Borrow from family or friends? As a compassionate employer you may keep the employee’s income going for a few months but not likely much longer than that.
The number of working Canadians requiring disability coverage is rising. Are your employees adequately covered? It may be worth us taking a closer look with you at your plan design to ensure it is sufficient. Read on to learn more about this very important issue.
Number of working Canadians requiring time off for disability rising
Benefits Canada
May 30, 2019
Though only half (50 per cent) of Canadians have disability coverage, 68 per cent have required time off work because of a disability, according to a survey by RBC Insurance Services Inc.
The study, which looked at Canadians with coverage through their workplace benefits or personal insurance, found 67 per cent of working Canadians said if they suffered a disability that meant not being able to work for three months they’d encounter serious financial implications.
“It’s troublesome to see an inverse trend between the number of Canadians who need to take time off for a disability, and those who have the coverage in place — or the finances — to do so,” said Maria Winslow, senior director of life and health at RBC Insurance. “With half the working population without disability coverage, many Canadians are exposing themselves to financial risk.”
When faced with recovery for a disability, Canadians said the keys are support from family and friends (92 per cent), having proper financial assistance (91 per cent) and workplace support (87 per cent).
However, more than half (56 per cent) of respondents said they were forced to go back to work sooner than desired because of financial reasons, and 45 per cent said their workplace pressured them to go back earlier, a significant increase from the 33 per cent who said the same in last year’s survey.
______________________________________________________________________________
If you’d like to discuss this topic in greater detail or have any questions, please reach out to a member of your Arbutus Financial Team.