Sorry for the second question, I’m a bit worked up about this right now and just not sure what to do.
I am a professional registered with a regulatory college. I have been off work for 1.5 years. After 3 years of not working in my profession, I lose my ability to practice. Because the qualifications for my profession changed after I graduated, I don’t actually qualify for re-applying without re-educating.
What happens if I am still on LTD when this happens? It’s only a year and a half away so very possible. What work would the insurance company expect me to return to if I was no longer a regulated professional?
I am really distressed by this, I do not want to lose my designation. Does anyone have experience with this?
You will be fine. Keeping your license or registration with a regulatory college is NOT a requirement to maintain LTD. Just think about it… imagine if a doctor, or a nurse, or lawyer, became mentally incapacitated and unable to do their job. They would have their license revoked. But this wouldn’t preclude them from disability. Therefore, having your registration lapse will not in any way affect your LTD benefits. Eventually everyone on LTD loses their license or registration because generally you don’t have enough contact hours or work experience to maintain it.
The main downside to losing your registration is if you plan to become able to work again in the future. If you are no longer disabled (e.g. able to do your job) then your LTD benefits would stop and you would need to re-acquire your license and take the appropriate remedial training required. If you don’t want to lose your designation you can try phoning your college and asking them for advice. Depending on your profession you may be able to take extra courses in lieu of work hours to main your registration. They will likely have some advice for you.
Thank you, that makes sense.
I don’t know if I will ever be able to work again although I would like to. My mood has stabilized but my focus and concentration is still very poor and I still become extremely hypervigilent, complete with dissociation and horrible nightmares, with minimal provocation. We know it is very unlikely i will be able to return to the level of position I had, but I really need to believe that I will eventually be able to work in some capacity, even if very part time. I just don’t know if that will be in the next year and a half.
Depends on how strict they define “work”. Your regulatory college should have posted info somewhere. Sometimes keeping abreast of current info in your profession by reading, doing online prof dev, or other things can count to maintaining licensure. Other times a bit of retraining is required to re enter. Some groups have a way to keep license but be inactive. Varies widely so try to find out specifics, even anonymously, through your regulatory body… It so sucks to also have this stress and the grief of the prospect of losing it. If you can, try not to think too much about that possible loss right now…