Arizona Teachers’ Disability Insurance: LTD, Claims, and Gap Coverage

Arizona teachers disability insurance comes in two layers. Every active, contributing member of the Arizona State Retirement System is automatically enrolled in a long-term disability plan that pays two-thirds of monthly pay after a six-month waiting period.¹ Short-term coverage for that first six months is not part of ASRS and is not required by Arizona law, so whether a teacher has any income during the gap depends on their employer, a union plan they bought into, or their own accrued leave.

What ASRS Long-Term Disability Pays

The ASRS Long Term Disability Income Program is mandatory for all active, contributing members. Teachers don’t sign up and can’t opt out; contributions come out of each paycheck on a post-tax basis, split equally between employee and employer.¹

The monthly benefit is 66⅔% of the member’s monthly compensation at the time disability begins. That compensation is calculated from the six pay periods immediately before the disability date in the same fiscal year: the two highest and two lowest are thrown out, and the remaining two are averaged.² The minimum payment is $50 a month, and half of each payment is subject to income tax.¹

Payments do not begin until the teacher has been continuously disabled for six months. Once they start, they continue as long as the member meets the disability criteria, running until the member reaches normal retirement eligibility or for five years, whichever is later, with certain age-based exceptions.¹

Several other income sources reduce the LTD benefit. Offsets include a percentage of Social Security disability or retirement benefits, 100% of workers’ compensation payments, 100% of veteran’s disability payments for the same condition, 100% of employer-financed benefits (excluding non-ASRS retirement plans), and 50% of income from gainful employment. For disabilities commencing on or after August 2, 2012, total monthly income from all these sources plus LTD cannot exceed 100% of pre-disability compensation.²

Approved LTD recipients keep accruing service credit toward retirement while on benefits, and they become eligible for the ASRS Retiree Group Health Insurance program. Members with at least five years of credited service may also qualify for a premium benefit supplement toward health insurance costs; that supplement ends when LTD payments end. Teachers already drawing a monthly ASRS pension are not eligible for LTD.¹

How the Plan Defines Disability

The standard changes at the two-year mark. For the first 24 months of benefit payments (after the six-month wait), a teacher qualifies if they cannot perform all the duties or the full-time schedule of the occupation they held when the disability began. After 24 months, the test tightens: the teacher must be unable to perform any work for which they are reasonably qualified by education, training, or experience that would pay at least two-thirds of their pre-disability salary.¹ In both phases, the teacher must remain under the care of a licensed physician.

Unlike many private LTD policies, the ASRS plan does not appear to impose a 24-month cap on mental health or behavioral health claims.³

Exclusions and Pre-Existing Conditions

The plan does not cover disabilities resulting from intentionally self-inflicted injuries, war, or injuries incurred while committing a felony. Teachers whose ASRS membership began on or after July 1, 2008 face a pre-existing condition restriction: they may be ineligible if they received medical treatment for the disabling condition in the six months before their membership date, unless they have been an active member for 12 continuous months.²

Filing an LTD Claim

ASRS LTD claims are administered by Broadspire Services, Inc. Start by asking your district’s human resources or benefits department for an LTD claim packet. You complete the member section, your treating physician fills out the medical forms, and the packet goes back to your employer, which adds its portions and submits the whole file to Broadspire.¹

Claims must be supported by objective medical evidence: x-rays, laboratory findings, quantitative tests, and medical reports. You’ll need to see a provider who specializes in your disabling condition at least once a year, and your providers must complete progress reports whenever Broadspire asks. Initial claims must be filed within 12 months of the disability date, absent good cause for delay.² Once a claim number is open, status updates are available through the Broadspire Member Portal at myleavetech.com or by calling 877-232-0596.¹

The SSDI Requirement

If Broadspire decides you’re a candidate for Social Security Disability Insurance, you are required to apply and to pursue every level of appeal, including a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge if the initial application is denied. Broadspire provides access to advocacy firms to help. Any SSDI benefits you receive will reduce your LTD, because the plan is structured so that combined income doesn’t exceed the original target.¹

If Your Claim Is Denied

A denial notice must spell out the specific reasons and describe what additional information could support a successful appeal. You have 60 days from receiving the denial to send Broadspire a written request for review along with any new documentation. You can also ask for a copy of the Arizona LTD statutes and a further explanation of the program’s provisions.⁴

Bridging the Six-Month Gap

ASRS does not pay short-term disability, and Arizona has no state-mandated STD program.⁵ That makes the six months before LTD begins a real exposure. How you cover it depends on who employs you.

State and University Employees

Teachers who work directly for the State of Arizona or a state university and are enrolled through the Arizona Department of Administration have access to a voluntary short-term disability plan through The Hartford. Benefit-eligible employees are automatically enrolled, but the premium is fully employee-paid. The plan pays up to 66⅔% of weekly pre-disability earnings. Non-work-related injuries pay from day one for up to 26 weeks; illness pays for up to 18 or 22 weeks depending on the elimination period chosen; a normal birth pays up to six weeks and a cesarean up to eight. Sick leave, annual leave, and paid parental leave reduce the benefit dollar-for-dollar, though donated leave does not.⁶

This plan is for state and state university employees. Teachers working for independent school districts or charter schools generally cannot enroll in it.⁷

District Plans

Many districts offer their own STD coverage, and the terms vary widely. Some pay the premium; others make it voluntary. Tempe Union High School District provides a district-paid STD plan that pays 66⅔% of monthly salary after a 60-day waiting period, with benefits running up to 17 weeks.⁸ Phoenix Elementary School District covers 100% of the employee’s STD premium and offers an optional buy-up.⁹ Gilbert Public Schools provides basic STD at no cost with voluntary additional coverage through Lincoln Financial Group.¹⁰ Chandler Unified offers STD through MetLife as a voluntary, employee-paid benefit.¹¹ Phoenix Union High School District’s Symetra plan replaces up to two-thirds of base weekly salary (between $100 and $1,900 per week), begins on the sixth day of disability, and pays for up to 12 weeks.¹² Because the specifics shift so much district to district, check with your own benefits office before you need the coverage.

NEA Member Coverage

Teachers who belong to the National Education Association can buy individual disability coverage through the NEA Income Protection Insurance Plan, underwritten by American Fidelity Assurance Company. Members pick a monthly benefit in $100 increments up to two-thirds of regular salary, with a $6,000 monthly maximum, and choose an elimination period of 8, 15, 31, or 91 days. No health questions are required to enroll. In Arizona, the short-term benefit period runs up to 180 days; the long-term option extends to age 65. A pre-existing condition limitation applies: no benefits are paid for conditions treated in the 24 months before coverage begins, unless the member has been treatment-free for 12 consecutive months. Premiums are waived if the member becomes totally disabled for six months.¹³

Pregnancy and Maternity

Pregnancy counts as a covered disability under the available STD plans, with the duration tied to the type of delivery. The state’s Hartford plan pays up to six weeks for a normal birth and up to eight weeks for a cesarean, subject to the applicable waiting period. Teachers who enroll after their initial new-hire window face a longer elimination period: 31 days instead of 16 for illness and pregnancy, and a 61-day waiting period during the first year of coverage if they missed initial enrollment entirely.⁶ The NEA plan likewise covers pregnancy if the diagnosis occurs after the policy’s effective date, paying six weeks after a vaginal delivery and eight weeks after a cesarean, minus the chosen elimination period.¹³ At the University of Arizona, employees can use purchased STD insurance concurrently with up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and the disability insurance does not reduce the parental leave benefit.¹⁴

Work-Related Injuries Go Through Workers’ Comp

Disability insurance is for conditions that keep a teacher from working regardless of where the injury or illness originated. If the condition is work-related, the correct program is workers’ compensation, a no-fault system that covers on-the-job injuries and illnesses, pays medical care at no cost, and provides partial wage replacement at 66⅔% of average monthly wage (untaxed), subject to a yearly maximum set by the Industrial Commission of Arizona.¹⁵ For a non-work-related condition, file under your STD plan if you have one and, if the condition continues past six months, under ASRS LTD.¹⁶ The two systems also talk to each other: workers’ compensation payments reduce ASRS LTD dollar-for-dollar.

1
Arizona State Retirement System. Long Term Disability
2
Arizona State Retirement System. LTD Revised Statutes and Administrative Code
3
Arizona State Retirement System. ASRS Employee LTD Guide
4
Arizona State Retirement System. LTD Employee Guide – Broadspire
5
Arizona State Retirement System. Long-Term Disability Overview
6
Arizona Department of Administration. Short-Term Disability
7
Arizona Department of Administration. Eligibility
8
Tempe Union High School District. Life Disability Insurance
9
Phoenix Elementary School District. Benefits
10
Gilbert Public Schools. Benefits
11
Chandler Unified School District. Benefits
12
Phoenix Union High School District. Insurance Options Disability
13
NEA Member Benefits. NEA Income Protection Plan
14
University of Arizona Human Resources. Parental Leave
15
University of Arizona Risk Management. Workers Compensation
16
Arizona Education Association. Employment Rights FAQ