 SSDRC What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI? If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits? How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid? Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability Status Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts |
Social Security Disability Back pay and How Long it Takes to Qualify for itHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits What is Social Security back pay and will you get disability back pay? Social Security back pay is based upon the date you became unable to work due to a medical or mental condition. Many disability applicants are eligible for a back payment of disability benefits once they are approved. Note I said “many”. Not all disability applicants are eligible for disability back pay benefits. For example, an individual who performed SGA level work activity -- meaning they engaged in work activity and earned at least as much as the SGA cutoff in effect for a given year (See How much can you earn and still receive disability?) -- up until the date they filed for disability benefits may not have any back pay because their entitlement date for disability benefits is a future date, meaning that no back pay benefits would have accrued. What Back Pay depends on Back pay depends upon the type of disability benefits an applicant is entitled to receive, the date they became disabled i.e. the onset date of disability, the date they filed their application, and how long it takes Social Security to approve them for disability. If a disability claim has to go to an administrative law judge hearing, the claimant's back pay will be substantially larger than the back pay of an individual who is approved for disability benefits at the initial claim or reconsideration appeal level. SSI and Back Pay If you qualify for SSI disability, a need-based disability benefit program, you will be entitled to receive benefits as far back as your date of disability application, provided you meet the non-medical requirements regarding the income and resource limitations of the program, in addition to the medical qualifications. of course, if your case goes on for very long (this is usually true), then your back pay benefits may be substantial. SSD and Back pay If you qualify for social security disability, you will be entitled to benefits as far back as your date of application and potentially even 12 months retroactive to this. Therefore, you may also be entitled to substantial back pay benefits depending on how your claim takes. Unfortunately, however, for social security disability applicants, there is a a five month waiting period, which simply means that after you have been approved, the social security administration will eliminate your first five months of benefits. This usually will not affect how long it actually takes to begin receiving your benefits because most claimants are entiteld to years of back pay benefits. But keep in mind that the social security administration will essentially hold back what would have been your first five months of payments. The five month waiting period that generally begins with the month following the EOD (established date of onset, which is Social Security's determination of when you became disabled according to the medical and vocational evidence), unless the EOD is the first or second day of the month. If a disability beneficiary’s date of onset is the first or second day of the month, the month can be included as the first month of the five-month disability waiting period. This waiting period effective reduces the amount of any back payment of Social Security disability benefits. Social Security never pays for disability monetary benefits for the five months of the waiting period. How long will it take your receive your Social Security disability back pay? Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question. It may take some time to receive your Social Security back pay, especially if you were awarded your disability benefits at a disability hearing by a federal judge. Moreover, you may not receive your disability back pay in one lump sum, if you are approved for SSI disability as opposed to social security disability. Supplemental Security Income recipients can only receive their back pay in increments, so as not to interfere with the income and resource limits of the program. Furthermore, Social Security disability recipients may have to wait longer to receive their back pay if there are any SSI benefits involved (which may be the case if an individual has a concurrent claim, i.e. a claim for both social security disability and SSI). Lastly, Social Security pays SSDI and SSI back pay differently. Social Security disability beneficiaries receive their back pay disability benefit in one lump sum, while SSI disability beneficiaries receive their back payment in installments that basically allow for an initial payment, one six months later and a final installment at the one year mark. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Individual Questions and Answers SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |