Millions of Americans who qualify for SSDI, or disability, will collect a monthly benefit from the Social Security Administration.
Most people care about how much they’re going to get paid when they initially apply.
Many people want to know what they’ll get in order to plan their finances out. Determining the amount can be difficult.
How the SSA determines your SSDI payment
However severe the disability you have may be, it will not change the amount you get in SSDI.
Your lifetime average earnings before you became disabled are used by the SSA to determine your monthly benefit.
The benefit is determined using covered earnings. This is the money you made at your job where you paid Social Security or FICA taxes.
Your average covered earnings over your average indexed monthly earnings are used to figure out your primary insurance amount.
This will be your benefit.
How much do people normally get?
The average monthly SSDI benefit is around $800-$1,800 per month.
The most a person could see this year is $3,011.
You could see benefits reduced due to you receiving other benefits. This includes worker’s compensation, public disability, or a pension from work not covered by Social Security.
The only way you’ll see payments for time missed is if you are approved and the SSA pays you from the date of application to your date of approval.
Click here to learn more about whether your Social Security benefit could be raised.
Samantha edits our personal finance and consumer news section. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].