US · guidance
CMS Pub. 100-16, ch. mc86c18b, § 180.4
Individuals Who Receive Disability Payments
A person receiving disability payments from an employer is considered employed if such
payments are subject to taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).
Employer disability payments are subject to FICA tax for the first 6 months of disability
after the last calendar month in which the employee worked for that employer.
EXAMPLE
Adam Green stopped working because of disability in December 1987 at age 66. His
employer began paying him disability payments as of January 1988. Since sick pay is
taxed under FICA for 6 months after the last month in which the employee worked,
Medicare is the secondary payer through June 1988. Beginning with July 1988,
Medicare becomes the primary payer, as the sick payments are no longer considered
wages under FICA.
History
(Rev. 30, 09-05-03)
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-25
- Edition
- iom-2026-08-25
- Content hash
c6083d68c20dc481fff7d2d7b93f7c4aa745b39d9ac5ab578fe6488f1096c4cb
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