Dustin Karas

Disability Insurance Calculator

Your group plan says 60%. See what you'd really get, and how big your gap is.

Your pay

Your group disability plan

Very common: 60% of base pay, up to $10,000 a month. Your benefits guide lists yours under "long-term disability." No group plan? Put 0%. No cap? Leave it blank.

More details (optional)

Who pays: if your employer pays, or the cost comes out of your paycheck before taxes, the checks get taxed. If you pay with after-tax money, they don't.

Tax rate: we estimated 26% from your pay. That's a normal rate for your income (married, standard deduction, 2026 federal brackets, payroll taxes, and about 4% state tax). Know yours? Type it in.

Your monthly gap

$14,183/mo

If you couldn't work, your group plan would send about $7,400 a month after taxes. That's 34% of the $21,583 you take home now.

Your take-home pay now
$21,583
Group plan, after taxes
-$7,400
Your gap
$14,183

Before taxes, the group plan pays $10,000 a month. Tax rate used: 26% (estimated from your pay).

Share of your take-home pay that would keep coming

Why it comes up short

  • The cap. 60% of your covered pay is $15,000 a month. Your plan stops at $10,000.
  • Your bonus. The plan only counts base pay, so $50,000 a year of your pay isn't covered.
  • Taxes. Employer plans are almost always taxed. That takes about $2,600 a month.

How much more could you buy?

Insurers usually let you cover 60% to 70% of your gross pay in total, counting your group plan. For you, that's about $7,500 to $10,400 more a month.

A policy you buy with after-tax money pays out tax-free. With the top amount, you'd have about $17,800 a month, or 83% of your take-home.

Want real numbers? My team at Pattern can show you personalized quotes with real prices.

See my quotes

An estimate, not a quote or a promise of coverage. What you can buy depends on your health, job, income, and the insurance company.

How to use it

  • Put in your base salary and any bonus, RVU, or incentive pay.
  • Find your group plan in your benefits guide under "long-term disability." You want two numbers: the percent it pays and the maximum monthly benefit.
  • Don't have them handy? Leave the defaults. 60% with a $10,000 monthly cap is a common setup.
  • Open More details if you pay for the plan yourself, if it counts your bonus, or if you already own a policy.

Why 60% isn't really 60%

Three things shrink the check.

  • The cap. Most plans stop at a set amount each month, no matter what you earn.
  • Your bonus. Many plans only count base pay.
  • Taxes. When your employer pays for the plan, the checks are taxed. So "60%" can land closer to 40% of your pay.

A policy you pay for yourself, with after-tax money, pays out tax-free. That's why $10,000 a month from your own policy is worth more than $10,000 a month from a group plan.

What a calculator can't show you

  • Many group plans only protect your specialty for the first 2 years. After that, they may only pay if you can't do any job.
  • Group coverage usually ends when you leave the job.
  • Most group plans lower your check by any Social Security disability you get.
  • Most employer plans fall under a federal law called ERISA. If a claim gets denied, you have fewer ways to fight it.

Want the full picture?

The Physician’s Guide to Disability Insurance covers own-occupation, the riders worth paying for, and how to buy.