How Does Disability Work?

There is lot of information out there on the Internet regarding applying for disability and what to do if your disability claim gets denied. But if you manage to beat the odds and get approved for disability payments, what happens then? How much can you expect to receive?

The good news is that whether you were applying for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Insurance, the payouts will work in the same way.

How It Works

Once you've been approved for disability insurance of any kind, your payments will begin exactly six months after your disability was deemed to have begun. For example, if the Social Security Administration says that you became disabled and unable to work as of July 1st, your first disability payment will come on December 1st of that year.

Another thing to keep in mind is that SS benefits come the month after they are due. So your disability check that is for December would come at the beginning of January. Be aware of this and budget appropriately.

How Much Will I Receive?

The answer to this oft-asked question is almost reassuringly disappointing: it depends. The amount of money that you receive from Social Security Disability Insurance is entirely dependent on your monthly earnings. What this means is that the longer you have worked, the more money you will receive in disability payments. The amount of money that you get is not based on the severity of your disability.

Of course, if you are applying for Supplemental Security Income, the game is a little different. As this program is meant for those who have never been able to work due to a disability, the amount of money is based more on need and no amount of time worked. However, it is worth noting that payments from Supplemental Security Income tend to be smaller than those out of Social Security Disability Insurance. Both programs have the same process for applying, but if you qualify for one you almost certainly do not for the other. Be sure that you are applying for the correct kind of benefits, otherwise, your application may take even longer to process.

If you would like a more holistic estimate of how much money you will receive, consider checking out the Social Security Administration's Benefits Calculator. This will show you based on your age and work history how much you can expect to receive from Social Security should you be awarded disability payments.