Short-term disability typically lasts between 3 and 6 months, depending on your employer’s policy or your state’s program. Most private employer plans cap benefits at 26 weeks (about 6 months), while some shorter plans end at 12 or 13 weeks. The exact duration depends on the type of policy you have, the nature of your condition, and whether your state mandates its own program.
Typical Benefit Periods
The most common short-term disability (STD) benefit period through an employer-sponsored plan is 26 weeks within any 52-week period. This is also the standard in states like New York, where the law caps disability benefits at a maximum of 26 weeks in a consecutive 52-week window. Some employer plans offer shorter windows of 9, 12, or 13 weeks, particularly at smaller companies or those with lower-cost plans.
Benefits don’t start the moment you stop working. There’s a waiting period, called an elimination period, before payments kick in. A 14-day elimination period is the most common, though it can range from 7 to 30 days depending on the plan. During this gap, you’ll need to rely on sick leave, PTO, or savings. Some employers require you to exhaust your paid time off before STD benefits begin.
How Much You’ll Be Paid
Most short-term disability plans replace roughly 60 to 67 percent of your base pay. A common figure is two-thirds of your pre-disability salary. State programs vary: California’s Disability Insurance program pays 70 to 90 percent of your wages depending on income, which is notably higher than most private plans. Every plan has a weekly maximum cap, so higher earners won’t receive the full percentage of their salary.
Whether your benefits are taxed depends on who pays the premiums. If your employer pays for the coverage, your benefit checks are typically taxable income. If you pay for it yourself with after-tax dollars, the payments are usually tax-free.
Duration for Pregnancy and Delivery
Pregnancy is one of the most common reasons people file short-term disability claims, and the benefit length depends on the type of delivery. For a vaginal delivery, most plans cover up to four weeks before your estimated delivery date and six weeks after, totaling roughly 10 weeks. For a cesarean section, the postpartum recovery period extends to eight weeks, bringing the total to about 12 weeks.
If your doctor certifies medical complications, whether during pregnancy or after delivery, coverage can extend beyond those standard windows. Conditions like preeclampsia, severe postpartum depression, or surgical complications can qualify for additional weeks. Keep in mind that short-term disability covers only the medical recovery portion of maternity leave. Bonding time with a new baby falls under paid family leave, which is a separate benefit in states that offer it.
State-Mandated Programs
A handful of states require employers to provide some form of short-term disability coverage, and these programs have their own rules about duration and pay.
California stands out with the longest benefit window: up to 52 weeks of disability insurance, far exceeding the typical private plan. New York mandates up to 26 weeks of coverage in any 52-week period, and the combined total of disability leave and paid family leave cannot exceed 26 weeks in that same window. New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Hawaii also have mandatory programs with varying durations, generally in the 26- to 30-week range.
Several new state programs are launching in 2026. Delaware, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota are all rolling out paid medical and family leave laws. Most of these new programs offer up to 12 weeks of leave for a serious health condition, though Minnesota’s structure is more generous, allowing up to 12 weeks of medical leave and 12 weeks of family leave with a combined cap of 20 weeks per year. These programs function differently from traditional STD insurance but may overlap with or replace it for eligible workers.
Transitioning to Long-Term Disability
If your condition doesn’t improve within the short-term disability window, the next step is long-term disability (LTD) coverage, if your employer offers it. The transition point is typically at 180 days (about 6 months) from your first day absent from work. This is one reason many STD plans are structured around the 26-week mark: that’s the bridge to LTD.
The transition isn’t automatic. Insurance companies treat a long-term disability claim as an entirely new application, reassessing whether you still qualify as disabled under the LTD policy’s definition. The standard of “disabled” can change too. Your STD plan might define disability as being unable to do your own job, while the LTD plan may eventually require that you can’t perform any job you’re reasonably qualified for.
If you think you’ll need long-term benefits, start your LTD application two to three months before your short-term coverage expires. Don’t wait until STD payments stop. Insurance companies sometimes suggest you can’t file until your short-term benefits are fully exhausted, but this isn’t true, and waiting can create a gap in income that’s difficult to close.
Eligibility Requirements
You generally can’t file a short-term disability claim on your first day at a new job. Most employer plans require a minimum period of employment, often 30 to 90 days, before you’re eligible. Some plans require longer, up to six months or a year. State programs have their own eligibility rules, typically based on how much you’ve earned or how long you’ve been paying into the system rather than tenure with a single employer.
Pre-existing conditions can also affect coverage. Many private STD plans include a pre-existing condition exclusion for the first 3 to 12 months of the policy. If you had a condition that was being treated before your coverage started and that same condition causes your disability, the claim may be denied during the exclusion window. State-mandated programs generally don’t have pre-existing condition exclusions.