Retirement Planning, Elder Law, and Senior Finance Disability and Retirement 12/28/2023 | By Alina Tugend Are disability and retirement inextricably linked? One in four workers who are still healthy in their mid-50s will experience a disability in the next few years, making working more difficult, according to a 2022 study in the journal Research on Aging. The disability can be caused by a sudden medical problem, such as a heart attack, a neurological disease such as Parkinson’s, mental health challenges or chronic wear and tear. The journal study also found that three-fourths of workers with new disabilities in their late 50s or early 60s left the workforce before full retirement age; that compares to one-third of those who didn’t have a disability. But many can’t or don’t want to give up their jobs. So how can they cope with their disability and continue working? Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must provide “reasonable” accommodations to those with substantial impairments, which include problems hearing, seeing, speaking, breathing, performing manual tasks or caring for oneself. Reasonable is defined as not causing “undue hardship” for the company. Companies with fewer than 15 employees, religious organizations and private clubs are exempt from the law’s requirements. Accommodations can include modifying equipment, changing work schedules or job restructuring. More information is available on the website of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (www.eeoc.gov). Click on the tab for employees and job applicants and over on the right, under the section for “discrimination by type,” select “disability.” About half of workers with disabilities receive accommodations from employers, but “a lot of people don’t pursue it,” says Richard Johnson, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute think tank. “To get accommodation, self-advocacy is really important. You have to be aggressive and pursue an accommodation with an employer.” No one is legally required to disclose a disability to their company unless requesting a workplace accommodation, says Ellen Dichner, a New York City labor lawyer. There are pros and cons to telling human resources, managers or colleagues about health challenges, experts say. Many people fear teasing or harassment, or that their coworkers and bosses will view them differently and that their career may stall. When people can hide their disabilities, they often do, but that can become an emotional burden. Of course, some people want or need to leave their jobs due to their infirmities; this is often where Social Security Disability Insurance comes into play. But there are numerous restrictions, and monthly payments average just $1,489. If you are able to work, you can earn $1,049 monthly on top of the disability payment, but most people don’t work, Johnson says. “The disability procedure is complicated and only half the people who apply are accepted [in] the first round,” he adds. The issue of keeping workers with health issues on the job is a major concern to both employees and employers; so much so that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy launched a pilot program, RETAIN (Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network), in 2018 in a handful of states. The goal is to investigate early intervention strategies to ensure mid-career workers with disabilities can stay at or return to work. Alina Tugend is a contributing writer at Kiplinger Retirement Report. For more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com. ©2023 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Read similar articles on Seniors Guide: Moving to Assisted Living with a Mobility Disability Read More Alina Tugend Alina Tugend is a contributing writer at Kiplinger’s Retirement Report. For more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.