The Basics About Disability Benefits
The SSDI program pays benefits to you and certain if you are insured. This means that you worked long enough and recently enough – and paid Social Security taxes on your earnings. The SSI program pays benefits to adults and children who meet our requirements for a qualifying disability and have limited income and resources.
While these two programs are different, the medical requirements are the same. If you meet the nonmedical requirements, monthly benefits are paid if you have a medical condition expected to last at least one year or result in death.
How Can I Find Out If I Have A Disability That Will Qualify Me To Collect Ssdi Benefits
Social Security bases many of their decisions about what qualifies as a disability based on information published in the Blue Book of Impairments. This Social Security Disability list of impairments details all qualifying medical conditions that meet the test for disability. While it is a comprehensive list, if you have a medical condition not listed in the Blue Book, you can still possibly qualify for SSDI benefits. As part of your disability application, you will need to submit copious information about your condition, including medical records, doctors statements and other related materials that will help to convince Social Security you meet Social Security Disability Insurance requirements.
What Do I Need To Know About Advance Designation
You should be aware of another type of representation called .
Advance Designation allows capable adult and emancipated minors who are applying for or receiving Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, or Special Veterans Benefits the option to choose up to three people in advance who could serve as their representative payee, if the need arises.
In the event that you can no longer manage your benefits, you and your family will have peace of mind knowing that someone you trust may be appointed to manage your benefits for you. If you need a representative payee to assist with the management of your benefits, we will first consider your advance designees. We must still fully evaluate them and determine their suitability at that time.
You can submit and update your advance designation request when you apply for benefits or after you are already receiving benefits. You may do so through your personal account, contacting us by telephone at 1-800-772-1213 , or at .
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Ssdi And Ssi: Similar But Different Disability Programs
If you find yourself unable to work, it is important to know what your claim options are.
Many people dont understand the differences between Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance .
Both programs are overseen and/or managed by the Social Security Administration, and medical eligibility for both is also determined in the same manner.
However, thats about as far as the commonalities go, as they are two different governmental programs.
How To Lose Ssdi Benefits
The commonest reason why the SSA would stop a persons Social Security Disability payments is because the recipient has gone back to work, even though this isnt always the case. If you go back to your normal job when in receipt of SSDI benefits the SSA will decide if you are taking part in substantial gainful activity .
The key factor in deciding if work is considered to be SGA is the amount someone is paid. In 2020, somebody is typically considered to be engaging in SGA if his/her earnings exceed $1,260 or $2,110 for someone who is blind.
For example, if you are earning $200 weekly in a part-time job, you are not working above the SGA limit. If you are spending a lot of time at work but what you are doing constitute SGA despite the earnings being below the SGA threshold you could have your SSDI stopped.
However, if you are working and make over SGA you can be entered into a trial work period. This period allows somebody who is receiving SSDI benefits to try to go back to work without being told they will lose their SSDI eligibility.
In the majority of cases, you should be able to work for up to 9 months during a trial work period and you will still continue to receive your SSDI regardless of the amount you are earning. When the trial work period comes to an end and you are still taking part in a job earning above the SGA level the SSA is likely to decide you are no longer disabled so your Social Security Disability payments will stop.
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Ive Heard That My Ssdi Payments May Be Reduced If I Receive Other Benefits How Does This Happen
If you receive other disability benefits such as Workers Compensation, your benefits may be recalculated or reduced. This may take place based on the SSDI index which is also the same index used to compute all Social Security benefits. The SSDI index looks at average wage indexes and applies them to a beneficiarys average current earnings.
Ssis Income Limit For Your Living Situation
The most you can get in SSI each month is what Social Security thinks somebody in your situation needs to spend on basic needs. The countable income limit for getting SSI is the same as this maximum benefits amount.
This table shows the maximum possible SSI benefits for some common living situations. These situations are explained in detail below.
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Standard |
|---|
Note: These numbers can change each year for the cost of living.
Social Security doesnt count all of your income when they look at whether you qualify for SSI or how much you should get in benefits each month. For example, if you made $1,500 per month at work, you might still qualify for SSI, because Social Security counts less than half of your earned income.
Learn more about how your income is counted for SSI.
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What Is The Difference Between Ssi And Ssdi
SSI eligibility is determined based on age, disability and available resources, while SSDI is based on a persons disability and work credits.
For most people, medical requirements that will allow you to receive disability payments are the same for both, and disability is determined using the same process. Both SSI and SSDI are managed by the Social Security Administration as well.
| SSDI | |
|---|---|
|
Location and monthly income |
Record of earnings |
The most notable difference between SSI and SSDI is that SSDI is only available to people who have accumulated enough work credits, while SSI is available to low-income individuals who have not accumulated enough work credits or who have never worked. In addition, SSDI is based on your work history, but SSI is strictly based on a financial situation of considerable need.
Additionally, SSI benefits begin on the first of the month that a social security disability application is submitted and approved, but for SSDI there is a five-month waiting period. People who qualify for SSI can also receive Medicaid benefits. After receiving SSDI benefits for two years, a disabled person will be eligible for Medicare benefits. The amount of SSI benefits depend on where a person lives and what their monthly income is, while SSDI benefit amounts are dependent on a persons earnings record.
Update Ssis Income Exemptions
Similar to the asset limit, SSIs general income exclusion and earned income exclusion have declined dramatically in value.
SSI exempts the first $20 per month of unearned income when determining a persons eligibility and benefit levels any income above that amount from sources such as Social Security, pensions, interest, and child support is subtracted from SSI benefits. Similarly, SSA disregards the first $65 per month of earnings each $1 of earnings above that level reduces SSI benefits by 50 cents. These rules begin to reduce benefits even when a recipients income is well below the poverty line. The amount of income that SSA disregards when calculating SSI benefits has not changed, even to account for inflation, since 1972. That has increasingly eroded the inflation-adjusted value of benefits for SSI recipients who work or receive Social Security or other income. For SSI beneficiaries who can work, the stringent disregard for earned income significantly diminishes any incentive to work. The dollar-for-dollar benefits reduction for non-wage income above $20 does little to reward those who receive Social Security based on their past work, since the combined benefits that they receive are little different than the benefits received by those with no work history.
Treat Social Security as Earned Income
Social Security income, which people earn by working and contributing payroll taxes, should be considered earned income.
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Information Needed To Apply For Social Security Disability Benefits
Processing claims for disability benefits can take anywhere from 3-5 months. Gathering required information prior to filing a claim may expedite the process. You will need the following information to apply online:
- Social Security number
- Basic spousal information
- Basic information for any children under the age of 18 or those who became disabled before the age of 22
- Military service, education or training
- If you are self-employed, business type and total net income
- If you are not self-employed, name of employer, start and end dates of employment, total earnings for the past two years
- Direct deposit information
- Medical information including conditions, doctors, hospitals, clinics at which youve received examinations, tests, treatments, etc.
- Names, dosages and information of all medications
- Employment history for the 15 years prior to becoming disabled
To apply over the phone or in person, you will need the majority of the above as well as:
- Medical records already in your possession
- Medical and Job Worksheet Adult, which can be found here.
Can I Get Ssi Benefits For My Disabled Child
If you want to get benefits for a disabled child, the same eligibility rules apply to the childs parents, up until the child turns 18. At 18, if the child has a disability, they become eligible on their own, says Haddad. The child will then need to go through a process of proving that they are unable to work and thus need SSI benefits to cover their living expenses.
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Raising Ssi Asset Limits Raises Recipient Opportunity
Many of Americas most vulnerable families cannot build up savings without risking their livelihood because of an obsolete technicality. While the middle-class can enjoy the advantages of cash reserves and investments, low-income families receiving welfare support are often subject to asset tests that mandate limiting their savings to a few thousand dollars. Rather than program benefits giving financial footing to recipients as intended, such strict asset limitations run the risk of simply trapping those households in poverty.
Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman recently released a bill titled the Savings Penalty Elimination Act addressing this issue. The legislation would update a key eligibility rule for Supplemental Security Income , monthly benefits distributed to those with inadequate income and wealth who are disabled or over 65, and unlike Social Security benefits, SSI eligibility is not tied to ones work history. Instead, there are financial requirements for income, wealth, and rigid medical criteria. The proposed change would raise the level of assets that recipients can maintain, which has not been updated in over three decades.
Do You Need To Tell Social Security About Your Assets When Receiving Disability Insurance Benefits
Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are benefits that are paid out to Americans who have worked a certain amount of time and fairly recently, and are now considered disabled by the Social Security Administration . This type of benefit is deducted from each workers paycheck while working in the form of taxes. If you become disabled later on in your lifetime, you may be able to tap into these benefits.
To determine if you have worked long enough and recently enough to meet the requirement that the SSA sets, you will need to review your Social Security Statement. You can find this online at ssa.gov or contact your local Social Security Field Office for a copy of this Statement.
If you qualify for SSD benefits, the amount of money you have in the bank is not important. That is because this is a system you have paid into while working it is not a system based on need. Your assets are not part of the consideration when the SSA is determining whether you can receive SSDI benefits.
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Who Is Eligible For Ssi
People who receive SSI benefits are generally older or have a disability that prevents them from working. Beneficiaries receive funds from the government to help them pay for their basic living expenses, such as food, clothing, and shelter.
Its a needs-based system, says , a certified financial planner and founder of Protected Tomorrows, a financial planning firm focused on helping families with members who have special needs. SSI benefits are for someone who doesnt have income, hasnt paid into the system , and who needs help.” The program is income and asset-based. You need to prove you cant make money and have no assets,” Ehlert notes.
Asset Limits Affect People With Disabilities In Myriad Ways
The harms caused by asset limits are far-reaching, trapping disabled people and families, in particular, in precarious economic conditions and contributing to the disproportionately high poverty and unemployment rates they face. Therefore, when crises such as the current pandemic grip the country, these groups are among those hardest hit.
Yet asset limits also compound the oppression faced by people with disabilities in less direct ways. The use of these tests carries unintended consequences, such as those outlined below, that undermine the long-term financial security of people with disabilities and entrench ableism.
Financial exclusion
Increased criminalization and surveillance
In 2019, the Trump administration proposed monitoring the social media use of recipients of Social Security benefits in order to identify fraud. While this proposal was ultimately dropped, it reflects a disturbing reality for benefits recipients: Even though fraud is incredibly rare, presumptive criminality is attached to those who apply for and depend on benefits. This web of criminalization and surveillance ensnares people with disabilities, who are overrepresented in the carceral system and more likely to have criminal records or receive a mental illness adjudication, further undermining their economic security.
Devaluation of disabled peoples lives and labor
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A Bank Account Option For People Receiving Ssi
Federal law allows someone who is disabled and receiving SSD through SSI to benefit from an Achieving a Better Life Experience savings account. You must live in a state that allows someone receiving SSI to have an ABLE account.
ABLE accounts are set up to provide funds to supplement the SSI benefits that a blind or disabled individual receives. Friends, relatives and estates are some of the common sources providing funds for an ABLE account, but the law permits SSI beneficiaries to make deposits into the account, but there are restrictions on beneficiary deposits and how the funds may be used that you should discuss with an SSI lawyer.
An SSD lawyer can help when bank account issues arise
The Social Security disability lawyers at Liner Legal Disability have the experience and knowledge of SSDI and SSI rules and regulations to provide skilled representation and advice you can trust about money in the bank and other matters related to SSD benefits. Contact them today for a free consultation.
My Condition Is Not Listed In The Blue Book Can I Still Receive Ssdi Benefits
While the Blue Book is a fairly comprehensive guide, by no means does it contain every ailment or disability that could keep a person from working. If you have a condition not listed in the Blue Book , you can still apply for SSDI. The main thing to remember is that you will need to provide substantial proof that your condition has rendered you unable to work.
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Family Eligibility And Children With Disabilities
Certain family members may be eligible to receive disability benefits on your record including a spouse, a divorced spouse, children, a disabled child and/or an adult child who was disabled before the age of 22. Each beneficiarys rate depends on the number of family members receiving benefits on your record as well as the amount you receive.
The maximum amount each family member is eligible to receive is 50 percent of the disability rate. The total payment to an entire family, however, is capped and is not based on other personal financial situation factors.
Appealing Denied Social Security Disability Application
Its common for applicants to be denied. In fact, only about 1 in 3 applicants are initially approved for SSDI benefits. The two main reasons for denial are usually a lack of work credits, or that applicants do not meet the criteria for disability.
If you have been turned down, you do have the right to go through a Social Security Disability appeal process. Either you or your designated representative can file a Request for Reconsideration. Your initial appeal will then be turned over to Disability Determination Services, who will thoroughly review your file.
If you are denied again, you can proceed to the next level of appeal which is to appear in front of an Administrative Law Judge. An Administrative Law Judge will conduct a hearing in which all of your medical records and testimony will be heard before the judge renders a decision in the form of a written notice.
If you are still denied benefits, then you have a final appeal step you can take: filing a lawsuit in U.S. district court. You will need an attorney for this step if you havent already retained one. This can be an expensive and time consuming option, and as a result, less than 1% of disability claimants take their cases to this level.
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