Can I qualify for the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program while I am eligible for State Disability Insurance (SDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?
If you are currently receiving Supplemental Security Income Social Security law requires you to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. SSI is a benefit based on need, and the law wants you to collect it only after exhausting other revenue sources. The Social Security office may not have taken your claim for Social Security because you had not worked enough to qualify for it. The work requirements are pretty strict for Social Security’s disability program. However, SSA’s workers sometimes overlook giving credit for work done during the current year in which you became disabled. You need to check with your local Social Security office to find out why they did not sign you up for all programs when you applied for SSI, and ask them to double-check that all earnings–including the current year’s–were used to decide you were eligible.
If you expect your disability to last at least 12 months, you should apply for Social Security disability or SSI disability immediately. Do not wait until the state disability is about to run out. It can take Social Security months to make a decision, especially if you have to file appeals. You will have no income during the interim. Although the state disability reduces the SSA and SSI benefits, once the SDI stops, any reduction of the Social Security or SSI benefit will stop. If you already have established eligibility based on your disability, the benefit amount correction is a short, fairly easy process for the agency.
SSI benefits are not retroactive from the date of application. If you delay filing for SSI you will receive no benefits for months prior to application regardless of disability or income during those months. Social Security disability applications can be retroactive, but the number of months is limited. The longer you wait, the bigger the chance you are losing benefits.
Unless your state disability is quite low you may not be getting SSI, since SSI deducts any SDI from the benefit amount payable. If you are currently receiving SSI and SDI you are either getting overpaid, your SDI is very low or you actually receive Social Security Disability, not SSI.
The many different benefits and the letters used to name them are very confusing and a good conversation with a Social Security representative will help you understand exactly what you are receiving and if you are receiving the correct amount.
Yes. State Disability Insurance (SDI) may be available if you have paid into the program. Your Social Security disability benefit may be reduced when receiving other public benefits simultaneously. The combined amount of Social Security benefits, State Disability Insurance, and other public disability, such as workers’ compensation, cannot exceed 80 percent of what Social Security considers your average current earnings. One example of the formula used is when they consider average monthly earnings in the year prior to the start of Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. For more information, see How Workers’ Compensation And Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits. You may consider consulting a benefits planner when accessing more than one public program.
Related Questions
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