Long-Term Disability Settlement Calculator St. Catharines, ON

This calculator adds two numbers. Back pay is the monthly benefit your policy should have paid (capped at the policy maximum if it has one, less any CPP-D or WCB offset) multiplied by the months it has been unpaid. Benefits only start after your policy's waiting (elimination) period, so count unpaid months from the end of that period. Future benefits are the same monthly amount until your policy's end age (usually 65), converted to today's value with a discount rate. Insurers rarely pay the full future value in a lump sum, so the estimate also shows the range buyouts typically land in, which depends on whether you are still being paid, were cut off, or were denied from the start. If your benefit is taxable, it also shows roughly what you keep each month after tax.

Ontario rules this calculator applies

Deadline to act

Generally 2 years from discovery (Limitations Act, 2002), often counted from when benefits stopped or were first payable (Clarke v. Sun Life, 2020 ONCA 11). An internal appeal to the insurer does NOT stop the limitation clock.

Discount rate

Future benefits are discounted at 3.5%, the rate disability lawyers commonly use to value LTD claims. If your benefit has a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the calculator uses 1.5% instead: your payments grow with inflation, so less is taken off for the time value of money.

Typical buyout range

Published lump-sum settlements land at about 50–75% of the present value of future benefits when the claim is being paid, 40–70% after benefits are cut off, and 30–60% when the claim was denied from the start. Back pay is added on top.

CPP-D offset

Most group policies reduce your LTD benefit by any CPP Disability you receive (about $1,236 a month on average in 2026). WCB / WorkSafe benefits are usually deducted too.

Tax

If your employer paid any part of the premiums, monthly LTD benefits are taxable. In a lump-sum settlement of a denied claim, the back-pay portion is usually taxable and the future portion often is not, so how the settlement is split matters. Get tax advice before you sign.

Extra damages

Canadian courts can add damages for mental distress caused by a wrongful denial (Fidler v. Sun Life, 2006 SCC 30) and, rarely, punitive damages for bad faith (Whiten v. Pilot, 2002 SCC 18). These are seldom part of a settlement and are not in this estimate.

Recovery and life expectancy

Insurers rarely pay every month to the end date: they will argue you may recover or that your condition shortens your life expectancy. These arguments are complex and differ case by case, so have a lawyer assess how they apply to you.

Union members

If you are in a union, your collective agreement may require you to use the grievance process instead of suing when your LTD is denied. An experienced disability lawyer can tell you which route applies.

General information about Ontario disability insurance law, not legal or tax advice. The estimate is not a guarantee: your policy wording, medical evidence, offsets and the insurer's position all change the answer. A disability lawyer can tell you how these rules apply to you.