The Perspective Of The Social Security Administration
The benefits of Social Security, including SSDI, are meant for people who cannot work or who have lived long enough to retire. The SSA wants to ensure that everyone who gets these benefits truly qualifies.
Receiving SSDI is less about your specific disability and more about how it prevents you from working. Thus, the SSA wants to avoid paying out SSDI to people who can still earn enough money.
The SGA, as of 2022, is slightly above what youd earn under the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr. If you live in a place with a higher minimum wage, you can easily breach the monthly limit and threaten your SSDI. However, an SSDI lawyer can help you.
How Does Cost Of Living Affect Social Security Disability Payments
The Social Security Administration makes payment adjustments each year to people receiving Social Security disability benefits. The adjustment payments made through Social Security retirement, Social Security Disability Insurance , and Supplemental Security Income programs reflect cost-of-living adjustments. This COLA increase is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. For 2021, the COLA adjustment is 5.9% for 2022.
Special Needs Trusts And Ssi Eligibility
An individual may have a special needs trust , which is designed to hold assets for a disabled person while preserving their eligibility for government benefits, like SSI payments. These trusts help cover expenses beyond what SSI or other government benefits may provide for, but the assets contained in them dont count toward an income or asset limitas long as the money is spent on qualifying expenses.
Special needs trusts have some characteristics in common with ABLE accounts, but a key difference is that theyre designed to complement or supplement government benefit programs. Like ABLE accounts, distributions should benefit the beneficiary and cover items or services that SSI benefits do not provide.
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Social Security Disability Evaluation Process
Though there are some conditions that the SSA considers so severe that they automatically render an applicant disabled, many conditions require careful screening, including answering these five questions:
In addition, qualifying conditions must be expected to last at least one year or result in death.
How Much Can I Earn While On Social Security
Many people receiving Social Security retirement benefits choose to continue working or return to work. Some enjoy the social aspect of working, while others have a financial need. However, working past your retirement can affect your monthly benefit from the Social Security Administration.
Just how much can you earn while receiving Social Security? The answer depends on whether or not you have reached full retirement age. Working can potentially decrease your monthly benefit payment and cause your Social Security benefits to become taxable. Keep reading as we tell you how much you can earn while on Social Security without affecting your benefits!
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Earning Money While Receiving Ssdi
If you make less than SGA, you might be able to earn money while on SSDI. However, its essential to observe your earnings and report to the SSA. You must immediately tell Social Security if:
- You start or stop working
- Your work hours, duties, or pay change
- You start paying for work-related costs because of your disability
If you have job-related expenses because of your disability, you can probably deduct those costs from your monthly income. Expenses could include specialized equipment, transportation, or counseling. You might earn over the SGA limit and still qualify for benefits if you have high expenses. Just be sure to report any changes to the SSA right away.
You could also lose your benefits if you start earning above SGA while on SSDI. Knowing all the rules and exceptions can be difficult, especially for those with no experience or knowledge of these processes. Talk to a Social Security Disability lawyer about your options if youre concerned.
Disability Is Unpredictable And Can Happen To Anyone At Any Age
Disability is something many Americans, especially younger people, think can only affect the lives of other people. Tragically, thousands of young people are seriously injured or killed, often as the result of traumatic events. Many serious medical conditions, such as cancer or mental illness, can affect the young as well as the elderly. The sobering fact for 20-year-olds is that more than 1-in-4 of them becomes disabled before reaching retirement age. As a result, they may need to rely on the Social Security disability benefits for income support. Our disability benefits provide a critical source of financial support to people when they need it most.
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How Much Work Do You Need
In addition to meeting our definition of disability, you must have worked long enough and recently enough under Social Security to qualify for disability benefits.
Social Security work credits are based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income. You can earn up to four credits each year.
The amount needed for a work credit changes from year to year. In 2022, for example, you earn one credit for each $1,510 in wages or self-employment income. When youâve earned $6,040 youâve earned your four credits for the year.
The number of work credits you need to qualify for disability benefits depends on your age when your disability begins. Generally, you need 40 credits, 20 of which were earned in the last 10 years ending with the year your disability begins. However, younger workers may qualify with fewer credits.
For more information on whether you qualify, refer to How You Earn Credits.
But How Much Can You Make And Still Keep Getting Your Ssd Benefits
NYDisability.com was founded by Attorney Daniel Berger, an experienced SSD lawyer who fights to help every disabled worker get the absolute highest SSD or SSI benefit payment for which they are eligible. That means ensuring that every SSD and SSI recipient is fully informed about how much they can earn without jeopardizing their benefits. If you have any questions or need help figuring out your maximum income limit considering your excludable expenses, call us at NYDisability today.
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What Other Requirements Are Beneficiaries Required To Meet
In order to receive Disability Insurance, a worker must have worked during at least one-fourth of his or her adult lifetime and during at least 5 of the 10 years before disability onset. There is also a five-month waiting period before a worker can qualify for benefits.
Supplemental Security provides assistance to people with severe disabilities who have very low incomes and assets and who either lack sufficient work history to be covered for Disability Insurance or receive only a very small Disability Insurance benefit. It is important to note that many Supplemental Security beneficiaries, although lacking the sustained work history necessary to be insured under Disability Insurance, have worked and paid into the Disability Insurance system. And others, particularly women, are not eligible for Disability Insurance because they took time out of the paid labor force to care for children or other family members.
Workers must apply for and exhaust all other available benefits before qualifying for Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security. Accordingly, Social Securitys disability programs serve as a true last resort for people with severe disabilities and little to no ability to work.
How The Ssa Calculates Your Ssdi Benefit
If you’re eligible for SSDI benefits, the amount you receive each month will be based on your average lifetime earnings from before your disability began. This is the only factor that determines your benefit amount, although it may be reduced if you receive disability payments from other sources .
In other words, your SSDI benefit amount isn’t based on how severe your disability is. And unlike SSI, the Social Security Administration won’t deny your SSDI claim because you have too much “unearned income” or too many resources .
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What If Your Countable Income Goes Above The Ssi Income Limit
Supplemental Security Insurance pays out based on financial need and is not the same as SSDI, although overlap in those who qualify exists. SSI is for people who are:
But they also have little or no income or financial assets. We fund it through taxes, not someones income, so adults with disabilities who have never worked may qualify for it.
Its not intended to replace income, but to help a person cover the basics when they dont have the means to do so:
Your countable assets cant exceed $2000 for an individual or $3000 for a couple to get SSI. However, many assets are not counted like your:
- Primary residence
- Primary vehicle if you or a family member use it for transportation
The SSI countable income limit is the same as SSDI . However, if you are not blind, SSI and the Social Security you get at retirement age will count toward your income limit. Be sure to subtract these amounts to determine the upper limit for your monthly income from gainful employment.
You can use the Benefits Eligibility Screening Tool on SSA.gov to determine what you or a loved one may qualify for SSDI, SSI or both.
What Are Social Security Work Incentives / Trial Work Period
If a sudden or suddenly worsening condition led to your disability, then applying for disability benefits may have seemed your only or best option at the time. However, once youve become accustomed to your disability and have had an opportunity to explore other options, it may look like you can return to work.
With that said, many people are afraid that they may not be able to make an adequate income, so they dont attempt to do it despite wanting to work. What if they lose their benefits and cant get them back? Thats a valid fear.
For this reason, SSA has created an incentive for you to try to work after you start receiving benefits. Its called the trial work period. During this time, you may earn income and receive benefits, as you test your ability to make more income through working versus receiving benefits.
You can complete a trial work period for up to nine consecutive or non-consecutive months over a rolling 60-month timeframe before youre considered to not have a disability requiring benefits. In any of these work months, if you exceed $970 , then it counts toward the nine months in 5 years.
In other words, even though a non-blind person with a disability can earn $1350 in additional income from gainful employment and stay on disability, you shouldnt expect that youll be allowed to reach this limit every month. For all but nine months in 60 months, the actual limit is $970.
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Benefits For Children With Disabilities
A child under age 18 may have a disability, but we donât need to consider the childâs disability when deciding if he or she qualifies for benefits as a dependent. The childâs benefits normally stop at age 18 unless they are a full-time student in an elementary or high school or have a qualifying disability.
Children who were receiving benefits as a minor child on a parents Social Security record may be eligible to continue receiving benefits on that parents record upon reaching age 18 if they have a qualifying disability.
What Is Substantial Gainful Activity
The SSA will only approve your application for SSDI benefits if it is determined that your disability prevents you from engaging in what is called substantial gainful activity, or SGA. The SSA defines SGA as any type of work that brings in a certain amount of money every month.
This monthly income limit is adjusted annually. In 2020, it is $1,260 for non-blind disabled applicants and $2,110 for blind applicants. This means if you are a non-blind disabled individual, you will not qualify for SSDI benefits if you earn more than $1,260 from work per month.
Its important to note that the SSA will only look at how much you earn from working, not from other sources of income. For example, the SSA will not count money earned from investments or interest toward your monthly income. The SSA will also not look at how much your spouse earns per month when determining your eligibility for SSDI benefits.
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How To Use Able Accounts As A Workaround
Both Haddad and Ehlert point to ABLE accounts as a potential way for beneficiaries to work around the income and asset limits for SSI benefits. ABLE accounts were created under the same part of the tax code as 529 plans, and beneficiaries who do find themselves with extra fundswhich may put them over either the asset or income limitcan stash those funds in an ABLE account where they wont be counted until the account contains more than $100,000.
ABLE accounts are very similar to 529 plans, and up to $16,000 per year can go into those accounts, says Ehlert. And family members and friends can also make contributions.
Can You Receive Retroactive Payments
Once the SSA approves your SSDI application and calculates your monthly benefit, you may be entitled to a back pay award. How many months of payments you will receive will depend on the date you applied for benefits and your disability onset date.
If you are applying for SSDI benefits, you need the assistance of a skilled Social Security disability lawyer to get your application approved and receive the benefits you deserve. To schedule a free consultation with a member of our legal team, fill out the online form on this page or call our Roswell office today.
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Substantial Gainful Activity & Disability Benefits
While receiving SSDI benefits, you may engage in substantial gainful activity but only up to a limit. For 2022, that SGA limit is $1350 for most people. Those who are statutorily blind may make $2260. For blind individuals, this SGA does not apply to supplemental security insurance SSI benefits, a different type of social security. However, for non-blind people, the SGA limit applies to both SSI and Social Security retirement . In neither case your spouses income will not impact your qualification for SSDI benefits.
This seems rather straightforward, but heres where this can get a little more complex.
How Have The Number And Share Of People Receiving Disability Benefits Changed Over Time And What Accounts For These Changes
There has been little change over the past two decades in the share of nonelderly adults receiving Supplemental Security due to a disability. In 2011, 2.4 percent of nonelderly adults received Supplemental Security for a disability, compared to 2.1 percent in 1996. This comparison does not, however, take into account demographic and economic changes, particularly the aging of the population and the increase in poverty, which both have increased the number of people who are potentially eligible for Supplemental Security.
Controlling just for income, participation in Supplemental Security by working-age adults who are potentially eligible because of low income has actually declined over the past decade and a half. In 2011 there were 17.6 nonelderly adults receiving Supplemental Security for every 100 nonelderly adults with incomes below 100 percent of the poverty line, compared to 18.5 nonelderly adults in 1996. In other words, the number of nonelderly adults receiving Supplemental Security grew at a slower rate than the number of nonelderly adults with very low incomes.
The share of nonelderly adults receiving Disability Insurance has increased over time. This is largely due to demographic factors, including:
A number of factors account for this one-percentage-point increase in the disability-prevalence rate after accounting for the changes in the age and gender distribution of the workforce, including the following:
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Can You Get Social Security Disability If You Have Not Worked For 10 Years
In most cases, if you have not worked in the past ten years, you will be ineligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. The actual amount you need to have worked in the past ten years varies depending on your age.
How old do you have to be to get Social Security disability?
A worker in his early 30s needs to have worked and paid into FICA at least five of the past ten years to be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. If you have not done so, you are generally not eligible for Social Security Disability payments. There is a notable exception to this rule, however.