How Much Disability Can You Receive?
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
The amount of social security disability you can receive depends on a number of factors. First you must prove that you qualify for disability. Then the Social Security Administration (SSA) will take into account the severity of the injury or illness, the length of the injury or illness, and your current and past earnings. Though there is no set standard amount of disability a person can receive, there are some standard factors in how the amount of your benefits will be estimated.How Disability Benefits Are Calculated
Benefits are calculated by the SSA through a combination of your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) and the primary insurance amount (PIA). To determine your AIME the SSA will look at your past earnings up to 35 years, current earnings, and project your potential future earnings. Then they take the years with the highest indexed earnings added together and divided by the total number of months. That average is then rounded down to determine your AIME. The SSA has provided a chart so you can better understand the math behind AIME you can read on their website: https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/retirebenefit1.html. The PIA is the benefits you will receive at normal retirement age. To determine the PIA, the SSA uses the fixed percentages of your AIME.
Benefits Based On The Type Of Disability
Another factor in the amount of your disability benefits is the type of disability you receive. There are four types of disability and each has different benefit allocations including:
- Temporary Partial Disability: With a temporary partial disability you will typically receive a supplementary income of ⅔ of your AIME you have lost as a result of the injury until you can return to work.
- Temporary Total Disability: With a temporary total disability you will receive a bi-monthly check of ⅔ of your AIME until you can return to work.
- Permanent Total Disability: With a permanent total disability you will get a bi-monthly check for ⅔ of your income for the rest of your life.
- Permanent Partial Disability: With permanent partial disability there are two determinations for benefits: Schedule and non-schedule loss of use. Schedule covers the loss of body parts, while non-schedule covers all other injuries. For schedule of loss of use, compensation is fixed by the SSA to a certain number of weeks depending on the body part. For non-schedule, the benefits are based on AIME.
Other Factors
There are a few other factors that will impact the amount of your disability benefits. If you have received a worker’s compensation or insurance settlement, you disability benefits may be reduced since these awards are used to offset the costs injury. You may also receive back payments dated back to the date of your injury or filing date. Finally, you will also get yearly cost of living adjustments.
Hire An Attorney
Since there are so many factors that go into disability benefits, you need to hire an attorney to make sure you are getting the full amount of benefits you are owed. An attorney can help you navigate the complex paperwork, filing procedures, and legal codes. It is especially important if you have also received a settlement for your injuries, because the SSA will use this as a reason to deny your full benefits.
Your disability benefits are determined by a number of factors. Even though these factors are standard, you still need an attorney to make sure you get through the process. The attorneys at All Injuries Law Firm can help. We have over 30 years of experience filing disability claims and making sure that you receive the benefits you are owed for your claim. We can also help you understand the process and make sure that you don’t miss anything that could lead to a denial when filing. Call us today for a free consultation to see how we can help!