- Disability insurance
- Coverage that pays a monthly benefit if illness or injury keeps you from working. It replaces part of your income, not all of it, and pays only after the policy’s definitions and waiting period are met. This calculator estimates how large a benefit you would need and how much existing coverage and other income already supply.
- Income replacement ratio
- The share of gross monthly income you want a disability benefit to replace. Insurers typically cap benefits below full income, partly so that working remains the better option. The target monthly benefit here is your monthly income times this percentage, before subtracting any benefits or income you already have.
- Additional coverage needed
- The target monthly benefit minus income available during disability, from existing benefits and other sources. It is the gap a new policy would need to fill to reach your replacement goal. If existing coverage and other income already meet the target, the result is zero.
- Elimination period
- The waiting time between the start of a disability and the first benefit payment, set by the policy. During it, you rely on savings, sick leave or short-term coverage. A longer elimination period usually lowers the premium, so an emergency fund sized to cover it is part of the same decision. This calculator does not model it.
- Benefit period
- How long a policy keeps paying once benefits start, which can range from a set number of years to a specified age. Short-term and long-term disability policies differ mainly on this point. The calculator estimates the monthly amount needed, not how long it must last, so the benefit period is a separate choice.
- Existing disability benefit
- The monthly amount you would receive from coverage you already have, often a group policy through an employer. It counts toward the target benefit. Group benefits paid for by an employer are generally taxable income, while benefits from a policy you pay for with after-tax dollars are generally not, so similar-looking amounts can differ in spendable value.
- Own-occupation vs any-occupation
- Two ways a policy can define disability. Own-occupation pays if you cannot perform the main duties of your specific job; any-occupation pays only if you cannot work in any job suited to your education and experience. Own-occupation coverage is broader and usually costs more. The definition matters as much as the monthly benefit amount.
- Essential expenses
- Monthly costs that must be paid regardless of circumstances: housing, food, utilities, insurance and minimum debt payments. The shortfall result compares them with income that would continue during a disability, before any new coverage. If the target benefit falls short of these expenses, the replacement percentage may be set too low.
- Income available during disability
- Existing disability benefits plus other income that would continue if you could not work, such as a spouse’s earnings or investment income. It is subtracted from both the target benefit and essential expenses. Only include income that would truly continue; income tied to your own work would stop.