By the time the first bell rings in September, many Ontario teachers are already running on fumes. It’s a quiet truth in schools across the province, rarely spoken above a whisper but obvious to anyone paying attention.

In early 2024, a widely shared article titled “Why Teachers Like Me Are Dreading the Return to School” captured a feeling that has been simmering for years. The author described a deep sense of depletion before the school year even begins — not nerves, not temporary fatigue, but something heavier. For a profession built on care, creativity, and connection, that level of exhaustion signals a deeper problem.

Behind the headlines on burnout are real people — teachers whose health slowly erodes under sustained pressure. Many reach a point where they simply cannot continue, physically or mentally. What few realize is that stepping back from the classroom often means stepping into a complex system of long-term disability (LTD) rules, pension implications, and irreversible financial decisions.

This is the part of the story teachers are rarely told — until it’s too late.

A Profession Under Strain

Speak with teachers across Ontario and you will hear strikingly similar stories: classrooms more complex than ever, escalating behavioural challenges, mounting administrative demands, and the emotional labour of supporting students and families in crisis. For many educators, the workday no longer ends when the bell rings.

Education-sector reporting confirms what teachers already know. Rates of burnout among educators have risen sharply in recent years. Chronic stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion are now so widespread that many teachers come to view them as simply “part of the job.”

A recent article in Canadian Teacher Magazine described an overlooked driver of burnout: the cumulative impact of constant system change layered on top of already demanding workloads. The article noted that many teachers are not recovering over the summer — a warning sign that occupational stress has become chronic rather than situational.
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Broader reporting reaches similar conclusions. An article by the National Education Association describes rising behavioural issues, insufficient support, and the expectation that teachers absorb the emotional fallout of social crises — dynamics that closely mirror what Ontario teachers report.
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For many teachers, this sustained strain quietly leads to medical leave — long before they ever think about filing an LTD claim.

Burnout Meets a Staffing Crisis

Burnout does not exist in isolation. It is reshaping the education workforce itself.

A CityNews report from late 2024 highlighted Ontario’s ongoing teacher shortage, pointing to unfilled positions and staffing gaps across school boards. When those gaps exist, the workload does not disappear — it shifts onto remaining teachers, intensifying stress and accelerating burnout.
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This creates a feedback loop: fewer teachers mean heavier demands, heavier demands lead to illness, and illness pushes more teachers out of the classroom.

It is in this context that long-term disability claims among Ontario teachers are becoming increasingly common, particularly claims based on mental health conditions.

The Hidden Engine Behind the System: LTD Through OTIP

Most Ontario teachers are insured through the Ontario Teachers’ Insurance Plan (OTIP). Many assume that if illness or injury prevents them from teaching, their LTD coverage will be straightforward.

It rarely is.

Under most OTIP LTD plans, benefits replace roughly 50% of a teacher’s income after a qualifying period. For the first 24 months, eligibility depends on whether the teacher can perform the essential duties of their own teaching assignment. After that, the test shifts to whether they can perform any gainful occupation for which they are reasonably suited.

This transition is one of the most common points of dispute in LTD claims.

Mulqueen Disability Law has extensive experience representing teachers at both stages of the claim and explains how OTIP policies affect educators on its Teachers & Education Workers page:
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What is far less understood is how deeply LTD is connected to something even more significant: a teacher’s pension.

Where Teachers Are Most Vulnerable

Teachers face a unique set of risks when navigating LTD claims.

Mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and burnout now account for a significant portion of LTD applications. These are legitimate disabilities, but insurers often scrutinize them more closely and require detailed, consistent medical evidence.

At the two-year mark, many teachers encounter the most precarious phase of the process — the shift from the “own occupation” test to the “any occupation” test. Benefits are frequently terminated not because a teacher has recovered, but because the insurer believes some other form of work might be possible.

When benefits are denied or cut off, teachers may feel pressure to resign or retire early — decisions that can permanently affect their Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) entitlement.

Mulqueen Disability Law regularly assists teachers facing LTD denials and terminations, including claims involving Manulife and OTIP:
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A nationwide survey conducted by Parachute Canada and reported by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation helps explain why this is happening. Thousands of educators identified unsustainable workloads, lack of support, and unsafe conditions as key factors affecting their physical and mental health.
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These findings reinforce what many teachers already know: disability rarely comes out of nowhere. It builds over time.

The Overlooked Financial Lifeline: Pension Credits During LTD

One of the most consequential — and least understood — aspects of OTIP LTD coverage is that teachers continue to earn full pension credit under the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan while on LTD.

Even though they are not working.
Even though they are not contributing.

For pension purposes, they are treated as though they are still teaching.

This feature alone distinguishes LTD from stepping away from work or retiring early. It can be the difference between reaching an unreduced pension and carrying a permanent reduction for life.

Mulqueen Disability Law regularly advises teachers on how LTD interacts with retirement and pension planning:
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The Most Costly Mistake Teachers Make: Retiring Too Early

When health fails, many teachers feel pressure — internal or external — to retire. It feels responsible, inevitable, and is often the most financially damaging decision a teacher can make.

Once a teacher retires:

• LTD eligibility ends permanently
• Pension credit accumulation stops
• Early retirement reductions may apply
• The decision cannot be undone

Teachers frequently make this choice without being told that LTD benefits are specifically designed to bridge the gap between disability and eligibility for a 60% unreduced pension or age 65.

Mulqueen Disability Law sees this mistake repeatedly in its work with educators across Ontario:
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A System That Feels Opaque When Teachers Need It Most

Teachers applying for LTD are often doing so at their lowest point. They are asked to complete insurer questionnaires, obtain medical reports, and respond to questions about retirement intentions — all while managing serious health conditions.

Answers given at this stage can have lasting consequences.

This is where experienced legal guidance can change the outcome.

Learn more about Mulqueen Disability Law’s approach and experience:
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If You’re at a Crossroads, You Don’t Have to Navigate it Alone

Every week, teachers contact Mulqueen Disability Law because they are unsure what to do next. They may be:

• considering an LTD application,
• facing a denial or termination,
• worried about how LTD affects their pension, or
• feeling pressure to retire before they are ready.

Mulqueen Disability Law specializes in hard-to-prove long-term disability claims for “Invisible Conditions” such as mental illness (depression, anxiety, PTSD) and chronic conditions (pain, neurological, immunological, concussion, post-COVID)  Contact us for a free confidential consultation.

Mulqueen Disability Law is a boutique law firm, focused on litigating long-term disability insurance benefit claims. Courtney Mulqueen and her team of legal professionals are Trauma-Informed Certified and have over two decades of experience exclusively in the area of long-term disability law. She and her team draw on their “insider” experience working for the insurance companies (including, Canada Life, Sun Life, Manulife, and OTIP), that they now sue for their clients.  

The preceding is not intended to be legal advice. This blog is made available for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog, you understand that there is no solicitor client relationship between you and the blog publisher. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed lawyer in your jurisdiction. If your disability claim has been denied and you require legal advice, please contact a lawyer specializing in disability law.