Is my plan even ERISA-governed?
Most, but not all, employer group LTD plans are governed by ERISA. Here is the fork, and why it matters before you rely on anything else on this site.
ERISA Title I only applies to a plan "established or maintained (1) by any employer engaged in commerce ...; or (2) by any employee organization ... representing employees engaged in commerce ...; or (3) by both." If you bought your disability coverage yourself, directly from an insurer, and not through your job, your policy generally does not meet this threshold at all and is not an ERISA plan, separate from any of the specific exemptions below.
Even where coverage comes through an employer, the statute exempts several categories outright: "a governmental plan ...; a church plan ... with respect to which no election has been made ...; a plan ... maintained solely for the purpose of complying with applicable workmen's compensation laws or unemployment compensation or disability insurance laws; a plan ... maintained outside of the United States primarily for the benefit of ... nonresident aliens; or ... an excess benefit plan ... (that) is unfunded."
The two exemptions you are most likely to actually hit
For most readers, the two relevant carve-outs are government employer plans (see government employee disability plans and ERISA) and church plans (see church plan disability benefits and ERISA). If either applies to you, the 180-day ERISA deadline, the administrative-record risk, and the exhaustion rules described elsewhere on this site generally do not apply, and a different set of rules controls instead.
Use the is my plan ERISA self-assessment to work through this quickly before you rely on anything else on this site.
Sources
29 U.S.C. section 1003(a)-(b). Checked 2026-09-16.