Disability insurance calculator

Last updated November 6, 2026

How much cash would your household need if an illness or injury interrupted your earnings? Use this disability insurance calculator to budget for the days before a policy pays, the benefit period and any days after payments stop.

Check my income gap Read a worked example

One interruption, three household budgets

First 60 daysPay bills with continuing income and savings.

Next 90 daysThe example policy contributes $2,000 per month.

Last 30 daysThe example benefit has ended. Earnings have yet to resume.

Plan for time away from work

Use consistent after-tax amounts. Leave unknowns blank and enter zero for a confirmed zero. The example uses 30-day budget months.

Your monthly budget

Essential monthly spending ($)Housing, food, utilities, care and minimum debt payments.

Continuing monthly income ($)Take-home income still available throughout the interruption. Exclude the disability benefit.

Monthly disability benefit available to spend ($)Use the expected amount after any taxes and offsets you have verified. Enter zero if none.

Cash set aside for this interruption ($)Count liquid savings once. Exclude money earmarked for other bills.

Timing of the interruption

Unpaid waiting period (days)From the policy. Enter zero if the benefit can start immediately.

Maximum benefit duration (days)Days payable after the waiting period. Use a shorter window if benefits are expected to end earlier.

Time away from work (days)Your scenario, not a medical prediction. Model up to 3,650 days.

Reset example

Cash needed across the interruption

Illustrative household · 180 days away from work.

Monthly gap without the policy benefit: $2,400
Monthly gap while the benefit pays: $400
Cash for the unpaid waiting period: $4,800
Cash needed while benefits pay: $1,200
Cash needed after benefits end: $2,400
Total cash needed for the interruption: $8,400
Starting reserve: $5,000
Amount still needed beyond that reserve: $3,400

When a 90-day benefit ends before work resumes

A household spends $4,200 per month and still receives $1,800 while one earner is away. That leaves $2,400 per month before insurance. The policy has a 60-day unpaid elimination period, then pays $2,000 per month for up to 90 days. The worker models a 180-day absence.

Household cash shortfall before, during and after disability benefit payments
Days away	Calculation	Cash needed
1–60	2 months × $2,400	$4,800
61–150	3 months × $400	$1,200
151–180	1 month × $2,400	$2,400

The modeled interruption requires $8,400. With a $5,000 reserve, the household still needs $3,400. If the worker returns on day 45 instead, there are no benefit days and the household needs $3,600. A benefit that looks sufficient on a monthly statement can still leave a cash gap at the beginning or end.

How the income gap is calculated

We subtract continuing income from essential spending, with a floor of zero. During payable days we also subtract the spendable benefit, again with a floor of zero. For each phase we multiply the monthly gap by the number of days and divide by 30. We round each phase to cents, add them, then apply the starting reserve once. A surplus in one phase is not banked for later phases.

The benefit period starts after the unpaid days and stops at the earlier of your modeled return to work or the end of the entered benefit duration. A real payment may arrive in arrears. If the policy pays retroactively, has a changing benefit or coordinates with another plan, model each period separately using its documented amounts.

What to copy from a disability policy

Find the definition of disability, the elimination period, maximum duration, benefit cap and offsets. Ask the plan administrator how partial work, employer sick pay, taxes and other disability payments affect the amount you can actually spend. Enter a continuing payment only once. Estimate a shorter and longer absence to see which part of your budget is sensitive to timing. Massachusetts Division of Insurance disability guide.

Private disability insurance and Social Security

Social Security Disability Insurance has its own work-history and medical requirements. A private policy uses the contract’s definition and payment rules. Only include a public benefit if you already have a verified amount and start date for the modeled period. This worksheet estimates household cash flow and makes no eligibility determination. Social Security eligibility guidance.

If your question is how much support a family would need after an earner’s death, use the life insurance needs calculator.