70A.20 Employees disability program.

1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

a. “Adult” means a person who is eighteen years of age or older.

b. “Primary and family social security” shall not include social security benefits awarded to an adult child with a disability of the state employee with a disability who does not reside with the state employee with a disability if the social security benefits were awarded to the adult child with a disability prior to the approval of the state employee’s benefits under this section, regardless of whether the United States social security administration records the benefits to the social security number of the adult child with a disability, the state employee with a disability, or any other family member, and such social security benefits shall not reduce the benefits payable pursuant to this section.

2. A state employees disability insurance program is created, which shall be administered by the director of the department of administrative services and which shall provide disability benefits in an amount and for the employees as provided in this section. The monthly disability benefits shall, at a minimum, provide twenty percent of monthly earnings if employed less than one year, forty percent of monthly earnings if employed one year or more but less than two years, and sixty percent of monthly earnings thereafter, reduced by primary and family social security determined at the time social security disability payments commence, railroad retirement disability income, workers’ compensation if applicable, and any other state-sponsored sickness or disability benefits payable. However, the amount of benefits payable under the Iowa public employees’ retirement system pursuant to chapter 97B shall not reduce the benefits payable pursuant to this section. Subsequent social security or railroad retirement increases shall not be used to further reduce the insurance benefits payable. State employees shall receive credit for the time they were continuously employed prior to and on July 1, 1974.

3. The following provisions apply to the employees disability insurance program:

a. Waiting period of no more than ninety working days of continuous sickness or accident disability or the expiration of accrued sick leave, whichever is greater.

b. Maximum period benefits paid for both accident or sickness disability:

(1) If the disability occurs prior to the time the employee attains the age of sixty-one years, the maximum benefit period shall end sixty months after continuous benefit payments begin or on the date on which the employee attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is later.

(2) If the disability occurs on or after the time the employee attains the age of sixty-one years but prior to the age of sixty-nine years, the maximum benefit period shall end sixty months after continuous benefit payments begin or on the date on which the employee attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.

(3) If the disability occurs on or after the time the employee attains the age of sixty-nine years, the maximum benefit period shall end twelve months after continuous benefit payments begin.

c. (1) Minimum and maximum benefits of not less than fifty dollars per month and not exceeding three thousand dollars per month.

(2) In no event shall benefits exceed one hundred percent of the claimant’s predisability covered monthly compensation.

d. All probationary and permanent full-time state employees shall be covered under the employees disability insurance program, except board members and members of commissions who are not full-time state employees, and state employees who on July 1, 1974, are under another disability program financed in whole or in part by the state, and state employees who have agreed to participation in another disability program through a collective bargaining agreement. For purposes of this section, members of the general assembly serving on or after January 1, 1989, are eligible for the plan during their tenure in office, on the basis of enrollment rules established for full-time state employees excluded from collective bargaining as provided in chapter 20.

[C75, 77, 79, 81, §79.20]

84 Acts, ch 1146, §2; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §235; 88 Acts, ch 1267, §15, 16

C93, §70A.20

93 Acts, ch 7, §1; 94 Acts, ch 1022, §1; 95 Acts, ch 162, §9; 96 Acts, ch 1129, §17; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §286; 2006 Acts, ch 1177, §27; 2018 Acts, ch 1041, §20

Referred to in §602.11103

Section amended