If you have been injured or taken seriously ill, and you can no longer work, you may be eligible for disability pension. Depending on your circumstances, the pension may last only a few months or become monthly payments, until you are of retirement age. Essentially, you receive a percentage of your wages, or maybe even the full amount, as if you were still working for your employer.
Private Sector
A disability pension in the private sector is generally covered by insurance through, or paid for by, your employer. In the event of an accident or illness that makes it impossible for you to work for a significant period of time, the pension will begin to pay you for at least a part of the wages you can no longer earn.
In some cases, the pension will be required until you reach the age of retirement. Currently, that means you would receive a pension until an age between 65-70 years of age. At that time, it is presumed that regular programs like social security will kick in and provide you with an income.
Government Sector
Of course, if you are employed by the government and have need of a disability pension, the compensation rules are different. For example, a veteran that comes back from war in a wheelchair and minus a limb will receive more compensation than the veteran that simply has an illness that makes him/her unable to adequately perform his/her duties.
If you work for the government, you family situation also weighs heavily in figuring out the amount of compensation you will receive, either temporarily or permanently. For the single service person, the pension will be calculated based on supporting one individual.
However, if you have a spouse or children, the amount of disability pension can change significantly. Even if you are head of household with children, the monthly payment will increase. While the additional amount for more than one child is not very large, it will go up when the kids are college age. The government recognizes the additional expenses associated with a child in secondary education.
But, the factor that determines the largest amount of disability pension is the level of disability. If you are totally incapacitated and can no longer work at all, even part-time, you will probably be considered 100% disabled. In this case, you would receive full disability compensation for an individual with your marital and familial status.
In short, whether you work in the private or government sectors, disability pension may be available. To be sure of the benefits offered, you will need to ask your employer. The pension may only last until you are well enough to resume your normal job duties. However, if you are disabled permanently and can no longer work, the pension will last until you are old enough to collect social security. You will be able to rest in the knowledge that you will have some sort of income, even if life takes a turn for the worst.