An inability to work and earn a living because of a disabling medical condition may lead to financial challenges in a person’s life. Disability benefits, available through the Social Security Administration (SSA), help people with disabilities to overcome financial stress.
A question commonly asked of the disability benefits team at Sackett and Associates, the premier disability law firm in Northern California for more than 45 years, is: How much Social Security disability will I get?” Have you been wondering the same thing?
This blog provides the answer by explaining how Social Security disability works and how your monthly disability payments are calculated. When you’re finished reading, reach out to Sackett Law for personalized assistance with your disability claim, including help determining your Social Security disability benefit amount.
Disability Benefit Programs Administered By The SSA
Two programs pay disability benefits: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a means-based program for disabled or blind adults or children.
You can apply for benefits through SSI without a work history or earnings record, unlike the requirements for SSDI. Instead, you must have limited or no income, and the value of resources available to you cannot exceed $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for couples.
The federal government establishes a maximum monthly SSI benefit each year. For example, the 2026 monthly federal SSI maximum for an individual is $994 and $1,491 for couples. Some states provide a supplemental payment to their residents in addition to the federal SSI benefits.
The Social Security disability income that you receive through the SSI program may be less than the federal maximum benefit amount when you have income from other sources. If you want additional information about SSI benefits, contact the disability benefits professionals at Sackett and Associates.
How Much Social Security Disability Will I Get Through SSDI?
The SSDI program requires that you have a work history of long enough duration at jobs or self-employment with Social Security taxes paid on the money you earn. If you continue to work until reaching retirement age, you may apply for Social Security retirement benefits.
If you become disabled and unable to work before reaching full retirement age, you may be entitled to SSDI benefits. Full retirement age depends on the year of your birth. Anyone born in 1960 or later may apply for full retirement benefits at age 67.
The SSA bases the amount of your SSDI or Social Security retirement benefits on your lifetime covered earnings. Covered earnings are those earnings subject to payment of Social Security payroll taxes.
An SSDI payment calculation starts with your covered earnings and adjusts them to account for wage fluctuations over your working years. This becomes your average indexed monthly earnings or AIME.
SSA takes your AIME and includes it in a complex formula to determine the foundation of your monthly SSDI payment, your primary insurance amount, or PIA. The formula used to calculate SSDI benefits is the same as the one used to calculate Social Security retirement benefits.
Unlike the SSI program, the following do not affect approval for the SSDI program or how much you get from it in monthly payments:
- Income of your spouse.
- Overall household income.
- Value of resources you own.
Calculation of monthly SSDI benefits relies solely on your lifetime earnings record.
How The SSDI Payment Calculation May Affect Your Benefit Amount
The more money you earn from working, the more you can expect to receive each month in Social Security disability income. Although the SSA does not have a set monthly benefit rate as in the SSI program, it does track the average and maximum benefit payments made each year under the SSDI program.
Claimants working at high-earning jobs can receive up to $4,018 as their monthly SSDI benefit payment in 2026. However, $1,630 is the average SSDI monthly benefit payment in 2026.
Here’s Why Your SSDI Benefit Payment May Be Lower Than Expected
Certain benefits you receive from the following state or local governments may reduce your monthly SSDI payments:
- Workers’ compensation.
- State short-term disability.
- Civil service disability benefits.
- State or local government retirement benefits paid because of a disability.
If these public benefit payments and SSDI equal more than 80% of your work earnings when you became disabled, your SSDI bill be reduced accordingly to offset the public benefits. The offset only lasts as long as you receive the payments or until you reach full retirement age when SSDI benefits automatically convert to retirement payments.
Get Advice and Representation You Can Trust and Rely Upon
Sackett and Associates provide advice and representation to people with disabilities to make the SSA disability benefits process less challenging and overwhelming. For nationwide Social Security disability claims representation, contact Sackett Law for a free consultation and claim evaluation.
Source:
Leave A Comment