WealthPillar · Free calculator
Disability insurance calculator
Disability insurance replaces part of your income each month if illness or injury stops you working. The amount you need is the gap between your monthly essentials and the income that would still arrive, including any group long-term disability benefit after tax. Enter your numbers to see your monthly gap.
What is your monthly income gap?
Example figures are filled in. Replace them with your own.
Your estimate
General education only, not advice. Coverage depends on underwriting. WealthPillar is paid by insurer commission.
How this disability insurance calculator works
- Your essentials. The monthly costs that would not stop: housing, food, utilities, insurance, loan payments and childcare.
- Group benefits after tax. If your employer pays the premium for your group long-term disability plan, the benefit is usually taxable when you receive it, so the calculator takes off the tax rate you enter. If you pay the premium yourself from after-tax pay, the benefit is usually not taxed.
- Other income. Money that would keep arriving, such as a partner's pay or rental income.
- The gap. Essentials minus the income that continues. The calculator also shows the gap for a year and, as a sense of scale, the total if it lasted until 65.
Why the benefit you can buy may be lower than your gap
Insurers will not replace all of your income, because people need a reason to go back to work. Each insurer sets its own limits, based on your income and any other disability cover you already have. If your gap is a large share of your gross income, expect the cover on offer to be smaller than the gap, and plan savings for the rest.
What else matters in a disability policy
- Definition of disability. "Own occupation" pays if you cannot do your own job. "Any occupation" pays only if you cannot do any job you are suited for. The difference matters most for professionals and skilled trades.
- Waiting period. The time before benefits start, often 90 or 120 days. A longer wait lowers the premium but needs more savings.
- Benefit period. How long payments last: two years, five years or to age 65.
- Self-employed and business owners. Without a group plan, nothing replaces your income. Business overhead expense cover, which pays fixed office costs while you are off, is a separate policy.
Common questions
How much disability insurance do I need?
Enough monthly benefit to close the gap between your essential costs and the income that would continue, within the limits insurers allow. Start from your essentials, not your full salary.
Are long-term disability benefits taxable in Canada?
It depends on who paid the premium. Benefits from a group plan your employer pays for are generally taxable. Benefits from a policy you pay for with after-tax money are generally not. Your benefits booklet or HR team can confirm how your plan is set up.
Does EI or CPP cover a disability?
EI sickness benefits pay for a limited number of weeks, and CPP disability benefits are only for severe and prolonged disabilities. Both are much smaller than most household budgets, so they rarely close the gap on their own.
Related calculators
See the critical illness and life insurance needs calculators, or all of them on the calculators page.
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General education only. Not individualized insurance, financial, tax or legal advice. Figures use 2026 rates and are estimates. All coverage is subject to underwriting and the terms of the policy. WealthPillar is paid by insurer commission.