Disability benefits from the City of Chicago come from four separate systems, and which one applies depends on who you are. City employees may receive disability payments from their pension fund (a different fund for municipal workers, police, firefighters, and laborers), a voluntary long-term disability policy through Prudential, and paid sick leave under the city’s personnel rules. Chicago residents who do not work for the city can turn to the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities for employment and independent-living services, and to the state’s Benefit Access Program for transit and license-plate benefits. The rules, rates, and application steps differ sharply from one track to the next.
Municipal Employees: MEABF Disability
Most city workers, other than sworn police and firefighters, are covered by the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. MEABF pays two kinds of disability benefits under the Illinois Pension Code: ordinary disability for conditions unrelated to the job, and duty disability for on-the-job injuries or illnesses. You cannot apply for both based on the same condition. Filing for both results in denial of both.
Ordinary Disability
Ordinary disability covers injuries and illnesses that are not job-related. To qualify you must be an active employee of the City of Chicago, the Chicago Board of Education, or the Fund itself, and you must be in “no pay” status with your employer. The first 30 days of disability are not covered; payments start on day 31 or the day after your last paid day, whichever is later. If you return to work and then become disabled again from the same condition within a month, the 30-day waiting period does not apply the second time.
The benefit is 50% of your straight-time salary (no overtime) as of the date of disability. It lasts for one-quarter of your total service credit with the fund, capped at five years. Ordinary disability payments are subject to federal income tax but are currently exempt from Illinois state income tax.
Duty Disability
Duty disability covers active employees disabled by an injury or illness incurred performing their job. The rate is 75% of salary on the date of injury, reduced to 50% if a pre-existing physical condition or disease contributed. An extra $10 per month is paid for each unmarried child under 18, with the total benefit capped at 90% of salary.
Before MEABF will act on a duty disability claim, you must file an accident report with your employer and apply for Workers’ Compensation. The fund will not approve or deny the duty disability application until the Workers’ Compensation claim is finally adjudicated or payments have begun, and duty disability benefits are reduced by any Workers’ Compensation payments or settlements you receive.
If the disability starts before age 60, duty benefits continue until age 65. If it starts after 60, they are payable for up to five years. After five continuous years, the amount increases by 10% on January 1 of the sixth year. Duty disability payments are not subject to federal income tax. Pension annuity rights continue to accrue during either ordinary or duty disability as though you were still working.
How to Apply
Call the MEABF disability department at (312) 236-4700 to request an application packet. You will need to submit the completed application, a Medical Examiner’s Certificate filled out by a physician, authorization forms, and a copy of an approved leave of absence from your employer. All documents must be originals. You then schedule a medical evaluation with a Concentra provider. Supporting documentation must be submitted within 90 days of the application, with a possible 30-day extension. Processing generally takes six to eight weeks, and checks are issued on the last business day of each month.
Police Officers: PABF Disability
Chicago police officers are covered by the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund, which pays three categories of disability benefits.
Duty Disability
An officer disabled by an injury in the “performance of an act of duty” is entitled to 75% of salary at the time the disability is allowed. The Illinois Pension Code defines an act of duty as one inherently involving special risk not ordinarily assumed by a citizen, imposed by statute, city ordinance, police regulation, or special assignment. A heart attack suffered during the performance and discharge of duties is treated as a duty injury.
The rate drops to 50% if the disability resulted from a pre-existing physical defect, mental disorder, or disease, or if the disability amounts to less than 50% of total disability for any remunerative work. An extra $100 per month is paid for each unmarried dependent child under 18. The benefit is tax-free, and the City of Chicago provides free medical insurance from the time of the award until the officer is found fit for duty or reaches age 65.
The process starts with the CPD Medical Services Section. You complete a Personnel Action Request form and medical records release, then work with the fund’s disability manager. After medical files are received, you submit an application and attend an examination by a fund-appointed physician. A hearing is held before the Board of Trustees, which votes to grant or deny the benefit. Officers should begin the process about two months before their 365 days of medical time expire and should expect a gap without income of at least six weeks.
Occupational Disease Disability
Officers with at least 10 years of service who suffer a heart attack or other disabling heart disease receive occupational disease disability at 65% of salary at the time of removal from the payroll. The benefit is tax-free and includes free city medical insurance. An extra $100 per month is paid per dependent child under 18, capped at 10% of the officer’s salary. After 10 years of payments, the benefit cannot fall below 50% of the current salary attached to the officer’s rank at the time of removal. This category does not cover PTSD or other non-heart conditions.
Ordinary Disability
Officers disabled by non-job causes may receive ordinary disability at 50% of salary. The benefit is taxable and has different duration limits than the duty categories.
If Your Benefits Are Terminated: Attorney Fees
In November 2025 the Illinois Supreme Court decided Rainey v. Retirement Board of the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of the City of Chicago, 2025 IL 131305. Tamica Rainey had been awarded duty disability in 2017; in 2022 the board discontinued her benefits, finding she was no longer disabled. When she tried to return, the police department found her physically unable to perform her duties and could not place her. She won reversal of the board’s decision in circuit court and was awarded $33,981.94 in attorney fees and costs under 40 ILCS 5/5-228(b). The appellate court affirmed, and the Illinois Supreme Court upheld both the restoration of benefits and the fee award, finding no meaningful distinction between an initial denial and a later discontinuation and reasoning that the fee-shifting provision was meant to “level the playing field” against the “vast resources of the Board.” The ruling applies to challenges involving duty and occupational disease disability but not to ordinary disability claims.
Firefighters: FABF Disability
The Firemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund structure parallels the police fund with some differences.
Duty disability pays 75% of salary at removal from the payroll, reduced to 50% if a pre-existing condition contributed. An extra $30 per month is paid per child under 18, capped at 25% of salary. After 10 years of payments the benefit cannot drop below 50% of current salary for the firefighter’s rank and grade at removal.
Occupational disease disability for firefighters covers a wider range of conditions than the police version. Firefighters with at least seven years of service who become disabled from heart disease, tuberculosis, breast cancer, respiratory tract diseases, AIDS, hepatitis C, stroke, or cancer caused by exposure to heat, radiation, or carcinogens receive 65% of salary. The combined benefit including child payments cannot exceed 75% of salary.
Ordinary disability pays 41% of salary (a 50% base reduced by a 9% pension deduction), lasts half the firefighter’s service time up to five years, and carries no child’s benefit.
Laborers and Retirement Board Employees: LABF Disability
Members of the Laborers’ and Retirement Board Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund receive duty disability at 75% of salary (50% if a pre-existing condition contributed) and ordinary disability at 50%. Duty disability payments are offset by Workers’ Compensation and are not taxable. Ordinary disability starts 30 days after the last day worked and requires an approved leave of absence from your department, renewed every three months. Ordinary disability lasts as long as you have “disability credit,” defined as 25% of total service, up to five years. Duty disability runs to age 65 if the injury occurred before age 60, or for up to five years if after. Pension contributions continue to accrue during either type.
Long-Term Disability Insurance Through Prudential
Separate from any pension fund benefit, the city offers a voluntary, contributory long-term disability policy administered by Prudential. It is available to all active full-time city employees whether or not they are enrolled in city medical benefits. Seasonal employees scheduled to work fewer than 180 days per year are excluded.
The plan pays up to 60% of pre-disability monthly earnings, up to $10,000 per month, with a minimum benefit of $100. Benefits start after an elimination period of 180 consecutive days of disability. How long they last depends on the age at which the disability begins: employees under 61 may receive benefits until age 65, with a minimum of 60 months, and older ages have shorter periods. A catastrophic disability benefit adds up to 20% of monthly earnings, capped at $5,000, which is not subject to the standard offsets.
Payments are reduced by income from other sources, including Workers’ Compensation, Social Security disability or retirement benefits, and employer-sponsored disability or retirement plans. The disability definition tightens over time: for the first 24 months you must be unable to perform your own occupation, after which the standard shifts to inability to perform any gainful occupation for which you are reasonably suited.
Newly hired employees other than sworn police below the rank of sergeant are automatically enrolled, with premiums deducted from paychecks. Sworn police below sergeant must call Prudential at 1-800-778-3827 to enroll. Any employee can opt out through Prudential. During the 2026 open enrollment period the city offered a one-time waiver of the good health requirement, letting eligible employees elect coverage without submitting proof of good health.
Sick Leave Before Disability Benefits Begin
Pension disability and LTD payments both have waiting periods, so most employees first use paid leave. Salaried employees in classified positions accrue one day of sick leave per month, up to 200 workdays. When you or an immediate family member has a serious health condition under FMLA, the city advances the full amount of sick time you would normally accrue for the rest of the calendar year, extending into the next year if necessary.
If an illness runs beyond your accumulated vacation and sick leave, a department head may ask the Chairman of the Committee on Finance to approve extended sick leave with pay. Vacation and sick leave may also be combined during a prolonged illness. These provisions generally do not apply to uniformed fire personnel, sworn police personnel, civilian crossing guards, or Chicago Public Library employees.
Residents With Disabilities Who Don’t Work for the City
The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, led by Commissioner Rachel Arfa, serves Chicago residents aged 16 and older. Its Career Center, opened July 26, 2022 with a $1.2 million city investment, offers job search assistance, resume building, interview coaching, and direct connections to employers interested in inclusive hiring.
MOPD also provides benefits counseling for people receiving SSI, SSDI, Medicare, Medicaid, or other government benefits who want to understand how earning wages would affect their coverage. One-on-one sessions address concerns about losing cash benefits or healthcare access while working. Beyond employment, the office offers personal assistance and homemaker services, home modification programs, housing resource guides, accessible transit and parking information, assistive technology resources, accessibility compliance review, ASL interpretation at City Hall, and youth programs including substance use prevention for the deaf and hard of hearing. Reach MOPD at 312-744-7050 or through its page on the city’s website.
Illinois Benefit Access Program
Chicago residents with disabilities may also qualify for the state’s Benefit Access Program, administered by the Illinois Department on Aging. It provides a free transit ride card and a discount on one set of license plates per household per year. You must be 16 or older, permanently and totally disabled, an Illinois resident, and within household income limits: $33,562 for one person, $44,533 for two, and $55,500 for three. Proof of disability must come from the Social Security Administration, Veterans Administration, Railroad Retirement, or a physician’s statement. Applications are submitted online and take about 12 weeks to process.
A Note on the 2025 Pension Law
In August 2025 Governor JB Pritzker signed Illinois House Bill 3657 into law as Public Act 104-0065, improving Tier 2 retirement benefits for Chicago police officers and firefighters hired after 2010. The law changed how final average salary is calculated and raised the Tier 2 salary cap growth rate, with a new cap of $141,407.74 effective July 1, 2025. It did not change the disability benefit provisions for police or firefighters, so the rates, categories, and procedures above still govern a current disability claim.