Social Security and Personal Injury
Brien Roche
In general, there are two different types of Social Security benefits. One of them is called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The other is called Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Let’s look at the differences between SSDI and SSI, as well as how social security and personal injury are related.
Social Security Personal Injury-SSDI
The term SSDI is misleading. That is to say, you don’t need to be disabled to receive this type of benefit. These SSDI benefits can be paid to you or to certain family members. The recipient must be insured. What that means is that you have worked long enough and recently enough and paid Social Security taxes on your earnings.
To receive SSDI, you may simply be age 66 or above and have met the other non-medical requirements. There are no medical requirements for SSDI at age 66. Therefore at age 66 you can receive SSDI and continue working full-time. There is no limit on how much you can make. If you chose to receive SSDI prior to age 66, there may be income limitations. To the extent there is a medical requirement for SSDI, it is the same as for SSI.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI is a totally different program. It is income and/or asset-dependent. What that means is that Social Security will look at your income and/or your assets to determine whether or not you are eligible. Therefore if your income and/or assets exceed a certain amount, then you will not be eligible.
The easy way to think of SSI is that it is income/asset-dependent. You don’t necessarily have to have a disability to get SSI. It may be that you’re at least 65 years of age or in the alternative, you may have a disability.
The disability requirement under SSI is that it must be a medical condition that is expected to last for at least one year or result in death.
Workers’ Comp Benefits
If you are receiving SSDI and also have a pending Workers’ Compensation claim, you need to be wary. Workers’ Compensation may reduce your SSDI benefits.
In general, if you receive Workers’ Comp benefits and SSDI benefits, the total amount of those benefits cannot be greater than 80% of your average current earnings before you became disabled.
Your SSDI benefit will be reduced until the month you reach your full retirement age. The full retirement age is 67 for people attaining age 62 in the year 2023.
A lump sum Workers’ Compensation settlement will likewise affect your SSDI benefits.
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Call, or contact us for a free consult. For more info on social security personal injury see the Wikipedia pages. Also, see the post on this site dealing with workers comp issues.