
What is the maximum social security disability payment you can get?
Over 70 million Americans rely on financial support from the Social Security Administration (SSA). More than 12 percent of people eligible for disability benefits will be receiving them because they are unable to work.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is set by the federal government with state variations. Though, Social Security disability payments (SSDI) are unique to each person’s disability and are computed similarly to retirement benefits, where the benefits are based on average earnings, but not necessarily about the severity of the disability. The degree of the disability has no effect on the amount you are eligible for each month.
To account for inflation using the Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), Social Security benefits are indexed, or modified each year.
According to the SSA, the estimated average Social Security disability benefit for a disabled worker receiving Social Security Disability Insurance is $1,358 per month. However, a disabled worker and their family can actually receive between 150% to 180% of the disabled worker’s benefit. In 2022 the maximum benefit you could qualify for is $3,345 per month, but at the beginning of this year only 85 percent were receiving less than $2,000 a month.
As soon as you become disabled you should apply for disability benefits. Our article “How do you qualify medically for Social Security Disability or SSI” walks you through these steps. Once you start receiving your disability payments, which usually takes about six months, you will continue to do so, unless your condition improves over time. You must tell the SAA if your ability to work improves if your medical condition gets better or if you in fact return to work.
Basically, the number of years you work between the age of 22 and the year before you are disabled gets computed first to make up your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). This AIME is then used to calculate your primary insurance amount (PIA) using a formula that is weighted in order for lower-income earners to receive benefits comparative to their average annual income. PIA is the starting point of determining your disability, retirement, and survivor payments.
If by chance you are receiving any other government benefits such as workers’ compensation or state disability benefits, your monthly SSDI benefit amount could be reduced. Although private disability benefits such as payouts from personal insurance do not reduce your SSDI benefits. At full retirement age (people born in 1956), your disability benefits then transform into a retirement benefit that usually remains the same amount.
Contact Lowery Law Group at info@lowerylegal.com or call (843) 991-0733. There is no fee for a free consultation regarding your claim. Lowery Law Group is experienced in handling cases in South Carolina as well as Georgia.