If your company disability insurance plan tells you that it coordinates benefits with those received from Social Security Disability, essentially this means that your payments from your company will probably be adjusted downwards should you receive Social Security Disability benefits at the same time. In general, the reasoning behind this is that you will be receiving disability payments from another source, so you will have less need of full support from your company's disability program. This type of adjustment is normal and expected if you receive disability benefits from a source aside from your company, whether that source is Social Security, workers' compensation, or a state plan. In most cases your disability benefits payments will be adjusted to coordinate with one another.
Understanding Disability Plan Benefits
The details of how social security disability benefits are coordinated with your company disability plan will vary depending on the details of the disability plan itself, as well as the details of your social security payments. Speaking with your human resources department, with the Social Security Disability agency or a qualified attorney can be helpful to get a more specific idea of exactly what type of adjustment to expect.
There are also exceptions to this type of adjustment. Many insurance plans, for example, will not adjust your payments should your social security (or other benefit payments) increase after your company payments have already been set. On the other hand, should social security disability payments decrease, the company plan may be willing to adjust its payments upward accordingly in order to compensate. All of this will vary, sometimes significantly, according to your particular contract and situation. Speak with a disability lawyer if you are unsure or if you believe your disability benefits are not being paid out in full, in order to make sure that your rights are protected and that your disability plan provides you with the income that you need.