For most people, injuries that happen outside of work do not result in any type of employer-related benefit. For example, workers’ compensation only pays on claims for injuries occurring while at work and during the course of work duties.
However, under Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions, you may be able to get benefits for an injury that occurs outside of work.
The policy for work-related injuries
LAFPP designates benefits depending on the injury. You have access to duty-related injury pension benefits when you graduate from training or on your hire date, depending on your employment agreement. Either way, if you have an injury on the job, you have access to your pension from day one.
The policy for non-work-related injuries
The LAFPP does offer pension benefits for non-work-related injuries. But they are not offered in the same way as work-related benefits. You will not have access to the pension on day one. This benefit only kicks in once you have been on the job for five years.
Differing benefits
Also, work-related pension benefits pay out differently than non-work-related benefits. It also depends on your tier. At tier 2, a work-related injury allows you to collect 50% to 90% of your base pension. Non-work-related injuries only allow you access to 40% of your nonservice-connected pension. For other tiers, what you get paid depends on the board and is connected to your average salary.
If you suffer an injury and are serving as a police officer in Los Angeles, you should check into potential pension benefits, even if your injury did not occur on the job.