Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI is collected by millions of Americans who are no longer able to work. Payments are set to go out this week.
The schedule of payments shows that SSDI payments are set to go out today, Wednesday Sept. 14, for certain people.
According to The Epoch Times, anyone who collects SSDI and has a birthday landing between the first and tenth of the month can expect their payment.
The average payment for the year 2022 is around $1,223.
The maximum payments are worth $3,345 per month.
All payments sent through SSDI depend on the beneficiary’s work history.
SSDI is paid for by a tax funded federal insurance program through the Social Security Administration.
Those who work pay taxes on SSDI, and should they ever need to collect it, they will receive payments based on their own tax payments.
Individuals and some family members can benefit from the program if they worked for a long enough period as well as recently enough.
Most commonly asked questions about SSDI
SSDI is easily confused with other programs run through the Social Security Administration.
There are Social Security retirement benefits as well as SSI, but none are the same.
This leads to a lot of questions and need for clarification.
First, many want to know what the maximum amount of money would be should they collect these benefits.
According to The Motley Fool, the maximum monthly payment in 2022 is $3,345.
In 2021 that amount was $3,148.
While this is the maximum, it’s not the average payment.
The average payment for monthly SSDI is between $1,000 and $1,500 per month.
The higher your payments are, the higher of an earner you were.
Your payments are determined based on what you’ve paid into the program before becoming disabled.
There are very specific disabilities and conditions you need to have to qualify for SSDI payments.
Your condition must significantly limit your ability to work normally.
Disorders and conditions that can make you qualify for SSDI include
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Sense and speech impairments
- Respiratory disorders
- Digestive disorders
- Genitourinary disorders
- Hematological disorders
- Skin disorders
- Endocrine disorders
- Congenital disorders affecting multiple body systems
- Neurological disorders
- Mental disorders
- Cancer
- Immune system disorders
There is also the ability to qualify for healthcare once you’ve been receiving SSDI for at least 24 months.
Most people can’t qualify for Medicare until their 65th birthday, but that requirement doesn’t exist for those on SSDI.
Periodic reviews are done on SSDI cases, so if you end up being approved for it for 24 months, you can qualify no matter your age.
When it comes to working, there are very specific rules for how you can work while collecting the benefits.
There is a 9 month trial period where you can work.
A month that counts toward these trial months is when a person earns over $970.
You can work 9 trial months in a 60 month period.
Once your income surpasses $1,350 per month, that is considered substantial gainful activity and you will no longer receive benefits.
Whether you are taxed on your benefits will be determined using your provisional income.
Provisional income is your adjusted gross income, plus tax exempt interest, plus half of your SSDI benefits.
Those who are single filers with a provisional income of less than $25,000 will not be taxed.
If it’s between $25,000 and $34,000, you’re taxed on 50% of your benefits.
If it’s over $34,000, you’ll pay taxes on 85% of your benefits.
The amounts are different for filing jointly.
If your income is under $32,000 filing jointly, you won’t have your SSDI benefits taxed.
Should your joint provisional income reach between $32,000 and $44,000, you’ll pay taxes on 50% of your benefits.
Income being over $44,000 jointly means 85% of your SSDI benefits will be taxed.
Applying for SSDI benefits
Americans with disabilities have the option of applying for SSDI benefits and SSI benefits.
Out of the 66 million Americans collecting Social Security benefits, 8.2 million of them collect SSDI, according to CNet.
Approval depends on a diagnosis with an injury or medical condition that stops them from working for at least one year.
You should apply for disability benefits as soon as you become disabled, not later.
You can apply online or by phone.
Call 1-800-772-1213 to apply by phone, or visit your local Social Security office.
You’ll need documents proving your current medical condition as well as your most recent employment information.
You can’t be collecting Social Security already and you can not have been denied benefits within the last 60 days.
Once you apply, it might be denied. This is because most disability applications are denied.
It can take years in some cases to have an appeal process completed.
In the first quarter of 2019, only 193,000 of 500,000+ applications were accepted.
There have been twelve new conditions added that will qualify individuals for disability benefits
The following conditions have been added to the Compassionate Allowance program, according to Marca
- Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma
- Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm
- Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease
- Microvillus inclusion disease – Child
- Mowat-Wilson syndrome
- Myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts
- NUT carcinoma
- Pfeiffer syndrome – Types II and III
- Pontocerebellar hypoplasia
- Posterior cortical atrophy
- Renal amyloidosis – AL type
- Sarcomatoid mesothelioma
COLA 2023: Everything to know about Social Security, including inflation
Samantha edits our personal finance and consumer news section. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].