Quote:
Originally Posted by finz
Sorry TCTC,
This is an issue that a lot of stay at home moms don't consider until, like your wife, they become disabled and find they don't qualify.
Purchasing private STD and LTD policies are an option for people who chose to take significant time off from the workforce, but even then many married couples focus on "covering" the worker, not the SAHP. When my kids were young, my husband and I thought additional disability was too expensive (and, of course, believed we were not likely to ever need it.....). We did cover ourselves with life insurance, but even then, went for a large amount of coverage for my husband, who became the primary breadwinner, and less for me, as I only worked part time back then. The "common practice" then was to cover so many times your annual salary. If something happened to him, we would have been covered, but if I had died prematurely, he would have been stuck paying for years of daycare so that he could keep working. I think these issues should be covered in a course in highschool.....financial health for life, covering everything from how to balance a checkbook, the importance of matching any company contributions to retirement funds, comparing a company's total benefit package vs just their salaries, that SSDI or SS retirement isn't enough to live WELL off of, carrying adequate insurance, etc.
I hate hearing about situations like this, when you thought there would be a benefit available to you.....and it isn't.
I hope that you have more success in dealing with the insurer of the driver of that 18 wheeler.
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Finally, I found someone else who agrees with me about teaching "Finance 101" in High School!!!! I was an Assistant Branch Manager with a Bank some time ago, before my husband was transferred to another state. We had a program for helping the grade school children opening their first Savings Account, but I kept saying...we really need to help and prepare the high schoolers since they will need this after they graduate anywhere from a new job, college, marriage, children, buying a first car, a first home, but....you know where that went....!!
Anyway, I started working Part time after we moved here to Florida and then was offered full time October 23,2012. After I worked one full year as full-time then, I could have benefits to include ST and LT disability.....well...don't ya know??? My seizure and then brain tumor diagnosis all happened on Sept 24,2013....just one month from my availability for benefits! I applied for SSDI the day before I had my Pre-Op and then Craniotomy scheduled the day after , as the nurse said "just in case" it was cancerous...we were hoping that the diagnosis would be benign and I would be able to work again to the FMLA date of 1/2/2014.....Nope, no such luck...still not sure exactly what the diagnosis is because the Biopsy is calling the tumor Idiopathic...more testing required...anyway, who would have thought that I would have been denied....but yes, even with a brain tumor...seizures, memory, speech problems....denied. Now I am in the process of gathering more information for my appeal with the new tests that are required. I am 61, who would have thought????? I really loved my job and I have always enjoyed working all these 45 years in different positions...the really first "hard" part is I am not allowed to drive due to my seizures, and where I live there is no "transportation", my hubby cannot take me to work, he travels all over the place...and really in my area, most people are retired where I live. Ugh!! I can write and read very well, but my speech and memory of words is terrible...at least on the computer, I can look up words that I cannot remember and then type them in....LOL!
Hoping I can get my SSDI appeal done...my Neurologist says absolutely yes, now that I have a Chronic/Idiopathic diagnosis...if my appeal is denied...I guess I will have to use an attorney, although, I really don't think that I should have to pay any of my hard earned dollars to anyone else to accomplish this process.
Thanks for letting me "rant" a bit.