The Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) program provides benefits to thousands of Americans who have become unable to work due to a serious medical condition. However, SSDI is not the only available form of disability compensation: pensions, insurance policies, and workers' compensation programs, to name a few, may provide supplemental income.
For anyone with a severe illness or injury, it can be helpful to know the general rules for how other payments may affect SSDI.
Different Types of Benefits
Many individuals are financially protected against disability through sources such as pensions or insurance payouts that are not facilitated through government programs. These types of disability payments do not have any bearing on SSDI benefits although these plans may themselves have offsets. However, if otherwise eligible, you may receive full compensation from both these sources and SSDI.
Government-facilitated benefits, on the other hand, are paid from local, state, or federal government sources, and may have an impact on SSDI. These types of disability benefits could include payouts for illnesses or injuries that are non-work related, for instance, payments from civil service disability benefits, certain public retirement benefits, or temporary state disability benefits. But, more commonly, these benefits come from workers' compensation.
Workers' compensation is paid to those suffering from an on-the-job illness or injury. Workers' compensation payments may come from employers themselves, or employers' insurance providers. For those employed by New York City, for example, benefits are paid by the City's self-insured workers' compensation division.
You may simultaneously receive disability benefit payments from SSDI, workers' compensation, and other publicly-managed sources. However, if the benefits from a combination of workers' compensation and SSDI exceed 80 percent of what you earned on average before you became disabled, as a general rule your SSDI payments will be cut. This reduction in SSDI to 80 percent of your pre-injury income will continue until you stop receiving other benefits or you reach the age of 65.
Legal Advice
Sometimes, workers' compensation claims result in a lump-sum payment that can have varied effects on SSDI benefits. In addition, the amount of your pre-disability earnings is calculated in different ways for both workers' compensation and SSDI; this too may have an impact on your benefits.
If you are suffering from a disability that makes you unable to work, contact an attorney with SSDI and workers' compensation experience to ensure you receive the full benefit package you are entitled to.
