The Social Security Administration bases the amount of your monthly Social Security Disability Insurance benefits on the money you made while working. However, you must have paid Social Security taxes on the income for it to count when the SSA calculates your SSDI monthly payment amount.
It’s essential to have a basic understanding of the method used to calculate Social Security disability payment rates to know you’re receiving the correct amount. The disability benefits professionals at Sackett and Associates assist you throughout the initial disability claim process, including appeals. They also ensure that your monthly disability payment benefits correctly reflect your earnings record.
The SSDI Program In A Nutshell
Working long enough at jobs or through self-employment and paying Social Security taxes on the income you receive allows you to receive Social Security retirement benefits when you retire. If a disabling medical condition keeps you from working until retirement, you may apply for SSDI benefits.
First, you must prove that you have a disability that meets the federal definition: An inability to do substantial gainful work activities because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment. The impairment or impairments must be expected to result in death or must have lasted or be expected to last for at least 12 months.
The SSDI program pays monthly benefits based on your lifetime earnings record. A highly complex formula, and not the severity of your disabling medical condition, determines how much does Social Security Disability pays you in monthly benefits.
Calculating SSDI Monthly Benefits
The money you make from working and pay Social Security payroll taxes on is called your “Covered earnings.” Examples of types of employment that may not require payment of Social Security taxes include:
- State and local government workers, such as teachers and police, have their own pension systems and do not pay into the Social Security retirement system.
- Some federal workers, such as those hired before 1984, may not participate in the Social Security system.
- Railroad workers have their own pension system.
- Foreign government employees working in the United States.
The SSA uses your covered earnings and adjusts or indexes them to arrive at your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). The adjustment takes into account fluctuations in wages over the course of the years that you worked. The SSA uses your AIME and its formula to calculate your primary insurance amount (PIA), the SSDI benefit that you are entitled to receive.
The amount that you actually receive each month may be reduced by other benefits that you receive, such as:
- Workers’ compensation.
- State-funded short-term disability benefits.
- Public pension benefits received based on your disability.
- Pension benefits for working at jobs where Social Security taxes were not paid on your earnings.
Benefits that you receive from the Veterans Administration and private disability insurance policies do not affect benefits through SSDI.
The total of your public benefit payments and your SSDI cannot exceed 80% of your earnings immediately prior to your becoming disabled and unable to continue working. If they do, the SSA reduces your SSDI benefits to keep the total below 80%.
The SSDI reduction only continues until you reach full retirement age when your disability payments through the SSA convert to retirement benefits. Retirement benefits are not affected by workers’ compensation or other public benefit payments that you may be entitled collect.
How Much Does SSD Pay?
The SSA reports the average Social Security disability benefit per month in 2026 as being $1,630, reflecting a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment. Individuals with substantial earnings over their work histories can receive a maximum SSDI benefit of $4,152 in 2026.
When your claim for SSDI has been approved, you will receive a written notice from the SSA that includes the amount of your monthly benefits. If you believe it to be less than you should be getting, contact Sackett Law to have it checked for accuracy.
You May Be Entitled To Back Pay
It takes time for an SSDI claim to be approved, so you may be entitled to retroactive payments. Back pay represents payments from your disability onset date to the date of approval of your claim. A few things to know about your back pay:
- You do not receive benefits for the first five months from the disability onset date.
- Back pay generally covers the time from your application date to the date of its approval.
- You could also be approved for retroactive benefits for up to 12 months from the established disability onset date to the application date.
You’ll receive back pay as a lump sum rather than monthly payments.
Contact A Nationwide SSDI Benefits Disability Law Firm
Sackett and Associates has been helping people throughout California and nationwide with their Social Security disability claims for more than four decades. Contact Sackett Law for a free consultation and learn how we can make a difference for you.
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