We all hope to retire one day. Whether that day is decades down the road, days away or something you’ve already achieved, you’ll want to prepare for it accordingly. Retirement will affect your life in many ways, but reaching retirement age can also have an impact on your workers’ compensation claim. In today’s blog, we explore how reaching retirement age can affect your previously awarded work comp claim in Minnesota.
How Retirement Affects Work Comp Claims
Workers’ compensation is not designed to pay you in perpetuity for your injuries, as the goal is always to get the injured employee back to work. Permanent and total disability benefits can end up paying benefits for years, but things can change when you reach retirement age.
Under Minnesota law, the insurance company is allowed to stop sending your permanent total disability benefits once you reach retirement age. Prior to October 1, 2018, the presumed retirement age was 67. That meant that once you turned 67, even if you hadn’t officially retired yet, the insurance company could stop making PTD payments under the assumption that you were retiring at 67.
Due in part to the growing trend of people working later in life, that presumptive retirement age was bumped up to 72 years old. Any injury that occurred after October 1, 2018, would be held to the new presumptive guideline of 72. Once the employee reached the age of 72, the insurance company could legally stop sending their PTD payments on the assumption that the employee was leaving the work force.The employee is allowed to refute this retirement presumption, and can successfully do so by showcasing that a “preponderance of evidence” suggests they did not intend to retire at a specific age. Reviewing whether or not an application for Social Security had been made, whether there had been discussions of retirement at work or if the employee had made other arrangements in their life that showcased their intent can all help build a case for or against this claim.
For temporary total disability benefits, there is no standard retirement age that is used to stop making payments. An insurance company may stop making TTD benefits when it is more likely than not that the employee would be retired. Again, you can work to refute this claim with the help of a lawyer and a well-rounded argument. Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm would be more than happy to help you refute a retirement claim made by the insurance company.
Finally, it’s worth noting that if a worker who is injured within five years of retirement age can continue collecting PTD benefits for up to five years. For example, if you were injured at the age of 70, you’re allowed to collect PTD benefits until you’ve reached the age of 75. Previously, there was no such cap in place, meaning workers could collect benefits indefinitely depending on when they were injured or if they had previously successfully argued against a presumptive retirement claim made by the insurance company.
And of course, if you opt to formally retire prior to 72, any existing workers’ compensation claims will be terminated once you’re retired.
Know that retirement, or at least reaching the age of 72, will have an impact on existing injury claims. We can help you contest this presumptive retirement if there’s evidence that you had no intention of retiring at that assumed date so that you can keep collecting the benefits you deserve. Let us be your resource for all your injury claim needs. For more information, or for help with any aspect of an injury claim, reach out to the team at Margolis Law Firm today at (952) 230-2700.
