Tag Archives: discount rate

How history explains why workers compensation benefits don’t increase for the cost of living in Nebraska

Posted on by

Increases in the cost of living, or inflation, are taken for granted by most people — except for seemingly in the world of workers compensation. I’ve written two posts recently ( here and here ) about how courts fail to take inflation into account when determining permanent disability benefits.

But in fairness, increases in the cost of living aren’t factored directly into workers’ compensation laws in Nebraska. Some states don’t even increase maximum benefit rates like Nebraska.

So why is it that states like Nebraska don’t include cost of living into permanent disability benefits? I think economic history provides the answer.

The economic world of those who created workers’ compensation

Workers’ compensation laws were enacted in the early 20th century in response to industrialization in the late 19th century. In a very readable section of “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” economist Thomas Piketty pointed out that prices and the value of money stayed stable from the end of the Napoleonic Wars until World War I (1815-1914)

Since World War I, prices have increased, so today we assume some inflation. But the drafters of workers’ compensation laws didn’t share that assumption. Their experience was that prices stayed consistent, so it wouldn’t be necessary to link lifetime or long-term benefits to increases in the cost of living.

Other states do have cost of living increases factored into permanent disability payments. Illinois created their rate adjustment fund in 1975. Social Security also has a cost of living increase factored into benefits. But these are policies enacted in periods when lawmakers assumed some increase in the cost of living was inevitable.

Permanent disability awards as a debt owed to injured workers

I hope Nebraska lawmakers will one day enact cost of living increases into Nebraska workers’ compensation laws. Permanent disability benefits should be thought of a debt owed by employers and insurers to injured workers.  As it stands now, employers and insurers in this are allowed a partial debt jubilee in Nebraska on permanent and long-term benefits because those benefits don’t account for a cost of living. (This is a separate issue from the overly generous discount rate which give employers even more relief on lump sum payments of permanent disability claims).

I see posts on social media about why shouldn’t forgive the student debt for the modern day welfare queen who borrowed $80,000 for a philosophy degree. After the housing bubble crashed in 2008, I saw all sorts of posts about why irresponsible borrowers shouldn’t be bailed out. I’ve never seen a meme about insurers being able to legally shirk their debts to injured workers.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , .

In with the new for 2021 in Nebraska workers comp.

Posted on by

The New Year usually means an adjustment to some benefit rates in the Nebraska workers’ compensation court. 2021 will be no different eventhough 2020 was an very unusual year.

Maximum benefit rate increased to $914 per week. This is a $32 increase from 2020 and a larger percentage increase from 2019 to 2020. I’m glad my concerns about the recession leading the Governor to move not to increase the maximum rate were unfounded.

Workers compensation benefits are 2/3rd of average weekly wage, so $914 per week works out to $1371 per week or $71,292 annually. If you are fortunate enough to make more than that amount, by law, you will be underpaid workers’ compensation benefits. Actually, workers’ compensation laws don’t account for overtime premium, you can also be underpaid workers’ compensation benefits if you earn less than $71,292 but earn substantial  amounts of overtime.

Mileage reimbursement drops a half cent from $.58 per mile to $.575 per mile. This rate mirrors IRS reimbursement rate. The decline in the reimbursement rate can be explained by a decrease in gas prices. The mileage rate may seem like small potatoes, but it’s important in rural Nebraska where injured workers often need to travel long distances to seek specialized care.

Some major rural employers use the fact that some specialty providers have satellite clinics in small towns to argue they shouldn’t have to pay mileage benefits for employees who travel outside of small towns for specialty care. I think the failure to pay mileage is a way interfere with the right of an employee to chose their own doctor.

Discount rate stays at 5 percent – The discount rate on adjudicated permanent total disability awards remains at 5 percent. This means if a worker wants to reduce their lifetime award of permanent total disability benefits to a lump sum, they must use the 5 percent number under state law. Of course at settlement insurance companies use a higher discount rate which reduces lump sum payment. But in actuality, because of historically low interest rates, a discount rate lower than 5 percent should be used. A lower discount rate would result in higher lump sum settlements.

Reported injury rates continue to decline – The Nebraska Workers Compensation Court reported that reported injuries, as filings of First Reports of Injury, declined to 34,385 in the fiscal year ending on July 1, 2020. This continues a long standing decline in reported injuries. This could mean that working conditions are growing safer and or that the workers who are getting hurt  are increasingly not covered by workers’ compensation. The increase in safety in manufacturing and the rise of the gig economy could support both conclusions.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , .

Discount Rate And Life Expectancy: What Most People Forget When Valuing A Workers’ Compensation Case

Posted on by

What’s my case worth?

I hear that question a lot when I meet a new client. In a workers’ compensation case I tell them it depends on many factors; How much were you earning when you were hurt, what part of your body was injured, how severely you hurt, where you live, how much education you have, whether you can return back to your old job, etc.

There are a lot of variables. But in cases where an employee has some reasonable chance of being found to be permanently and totally disabled, in other words unable to find work from their work injury, there are two constants effect the value of any settlement: discount rate and life expectancy.

Discount rate is synonymous with the time value of money. In short, a dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future. This is important in workers compensation because if a worker is found to be permanently and totally disabled then they will be paid weekly benefit checks for the rest of their life. Under Nebraska law, that benefit check will not increase over time. The question then becomes how much will the value of that money decrease overtime. The discount rate is the expected return on investment on the money. The higher the expected return on investment, the higher the discount rate. But the higher the discount rate, the less a lump sum settlement is worth in present dollars.

An award of permanent and total disability is a form of a pension. Abnormally low interest rates in the aftermath of the financial crises have raised concerns about investment returns for pensions. The Nebraska Workers Compensation Court has used a 5 percent discount rate to value awarded permanent and total disability benefits for at least the last 12 years. But the expected rate of return on investments, as measured by interest rates of declined over the last 12 years. Lump sum payments, like workers compensation settlements, based on a 5 percent long term interest rate undervalue those payments.

For example, a 30 year US Treasury bond yields roughly 2 ¾ percent. If a 50 year-old worker earning $600 per week is found to be permanently and totally disabled, the present value of an award of permanent and total disability would be $334,000 using the 5 percent discount rate and using the court’s life expectancy tables showing a 31.4 year life expectancy. But if the court used the 30 year bond yield as the discount rate, that same award of permanent and total disability would be worth $439,000.

The issue of discount rate and case valuations isn’t widely discussed in Nebraska, but it was a contentious issue in the United Kingdom when the government cut their discount rate in personal injury claims, called the Ogden rate, by 3.25% in February 2017. The Ogden rate was increased by .75-1.75 percent in September 2017 under pressure from insurance companies.

The other variable in valuing an award of permanent and total disability is life expectancy. The Nebraska Workers Compensation Court uses a general life expectancy table to value awards of permanent and total disability that doesn’t vary by gender or nationality/race. The CDC breaks down life expectancy along those lines. Men and African-Americans have shorter life expectancies so they would actually benefit from the use of the Nebraska Workers Compensation Court life expectancy tables. Women and Hispanics tend to live longer so they would not benefit by the use of the court tables. For example, a 50 year-old Hispanic woman is expected to live 35.9 years whereas the Nebraska Workers Compensation Court just assumes a 50 year old has a 31.4 year life expectancy.  Use of the court’s life expectancy tables for a 50 year-old Hispanic woman earning $600 per week at the time of her injury could undervalue an award of permanent and total disability by about $18,000.

But workers who have a reasonable chance of being found to be permanently and totally disabled have other factors to think about when it comes to valuing any settlement of their claim. First, an insurer/employer only has to pay weekly benefits rather than a lump sum of money if a court finds a worker is permanently and totally disabled. They are free to use whatever discount rates and life expectancies they chose in valuing a claim for a settlement.  Court rules about discount rates and life expectancy only come into play when an injured worker wants to take a lump sum settlement on an awarded finding of permanent and total disability.

Secondly many employees who could potentially be awarded permanent and total disability benefits are also awarded social security disability benefits. Social security disability benefits payments can be reduced or offset by any workers compensation benefits received. An offset can have the practical effect of capping the value of any settlement based on the probability of a worker being awarded permanent and total disability benefits. 

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Workers' Compensation, Workplace Injury and tagged , , , , .