Understanding Disability Back Payments
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
If you have qualified to receive disability benefits, you may also qualify to receive back payments of disability. Back payments date back to the date of the diagnosis of your injury or illness, rather than the date your benefits began. With the long application and approval process for disability it may be weeks, months, or even years before you start receiving money. During this time you can rack up debt between loss of earnings and medical bills. Pursuing disability back payments can give you the extra money you need to manage the heavy costs of your disability. The Two Types Of Back Payments
There are two types of back payments you can receive once you’ve qualified for disability. The first is for the length of the disability processing and approval period. Many people apply for disability, so claims become backlogged in the system and can take a while to process. On average, it can take months to receive disability benefits and even longer if you have to go through the appeals process. These back payments date to the time of the application. The second kind of back payments are retroactive back payments. These payments date back to the time of your injury. These are essentially the benefits you would receive if you filed your disability claim earlier.
Five Month Waiting Period Rule
In both cases, the period of back payments will be reduced by 5 months, known as the five-month waiting period. There is no clear explanation to why the Social Security Administration uses the five month waiting period rule when it comes to disability back payments, but it is important to understand to calculate your potential back payments.
How Will You Receive Back Payments?
How you receive your back payments depends on whether you get SSID or SSI for your disability. If you receive SSID, you will receive a lump sum of the total amount owed. If you receive SSI, you will be paid in installment payments every month added to your normal amount. If with your added back payments, your income exceeds the maximum allowable amount of $733, then you will receive partial monthly payments instead. There is an exception to this if your injuries are fatal and you are not expected to live longer than one calendar year.
Can You Receive Back Payments On An Older Claim?
If you have not applied for back payments, you can reopen an older claim. Typically, if the claim is less than one year old, it’s easy to apply for back payments. If your claim was made less than four years ago and you have good cause like new material or can prove there are errors on your disability decision, you can reopen a claim and apply for back payments. If your claim is older than four years, it can be nearly impossible to reopen a claim unless you can prove fraud. In all cases, there is potential to receive back payments after a disability decision has been made, however you need to hire a lawyer to ensure that you can navigate the complex process.
Back payment benefits can make a huge difference in your financial situation, so you really should consider pursuing them. However, the Social Security Administration is never eager to give people more money, so your back payment application can be denied. It is crucial that if you are applying for disability back payments you speak with an attorney. A qualified attorney, like our professionals at All Injuries Law Firm can help. We can make sure you get the proof of the date of injury, navigate the complex disability claims process, and help negotiate a fair back payment schedule. So if you need to claim disability back payments, call us today for a free consultation to see how we can help!