The path to winning Social Security disability benefits is long and difficult to navigate. If you have been awarded benefits, congratulations. Now that you are approved for Social Security disability, your benefit payments will last until one of three things happen:
- Your medical condition improves, and you are able to return to work.
- You start working and earn too much money.
- You reach retirement age.
.For both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), once you reach your retirement age, your disability benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits, but the amount remains the same. Some people who receive SSI prior to retirement age will receive a different amount once they reach early retirement age. It will depend on your benefit amount. You cannot receive both disability and retirement benefits simultaneously on the same earnings record. In addition, SSI applicants or recipients must take retirement, if eligible, once they reach 62.
You don’t need to apply or take any other action to begin receiving your retirement benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will automatically convert your SSDI benefits to retirement benefits when you reach your full retirement age. There will be no interruption in payments during this transition.
Your full retirement age depends on the year you were born. If you were born in 1954 or earlier, your full retirement age is 66 or younger. If your birth year falls between 1955 and 1960, full retirement age increases gradually with an additional 2 months for each year. For example, if you were born in 1958, your full retirement age is 66 years plus 3 years times 2 months— a final age of 66 years and six months. If you were born in 1960 or later your full retirement age is 67.
The monthly amount you will receive can change if you are receiving benefits on top of your SSDI, like workers’ compensation benefits. These additional benefits can reduce your SSDI payment. The reduction ends when you hit full retirement age, so your Social Security benefit would increase at that time.
You can get early retirement benefits while you await a decision on your disability case, if you are at least 62 years old. If you are successful in your disability case, you will be paid the higher disability benefit amount. In effect, you will get a monthly pay increase from Social Security. The advantage of filing for disability while receiving early retirement is a higher monthly Social Security check if you win your disability case. The early retirement age benefit can be as much as 30% less than the full retirement age benefit, while your monthly disability benefit is 100% of your full retirement age benefit.
However, there can be a downside. If you are unsuccessful in your disability case, you may not be able to reverse your decision to take the lower retirement benefit. There is a 12-month deadline for withdrawing the application for retirement once it is filed, and you may be required to pay back any benefits that you or your family received.
Increase Your Chances of Winning Social Security Disability Benefits
You are 3 times more likely to be awarded disability benefits if you have a representative such as a disability attorney who will fight for your rights than if you have no representation at all, according to a Government Accounting Office study.
The requirements for SSDI and SSI are complicated, and Social Security has an application with many questions to determine your eligibility. If you are considering applying for Social Security disability benefits or if you applied and were turned down for benefits, it is only natural that you, too, will have many questions. Let the experienced disability firm of Cuddigan Law help you navigate the complicated and oftentimes confusing path to winning Social Security disability benefits. Call or email us today for a free evaluation of your case. And we only get paid when you win your case.
