How Other Payments Affect Social Security Disability?
If you are approved for Social Security Disability benefits but are already receiving or have applied for other government benefits, you are probably wondering how those other benefits will affect your disability payments. The truth is, Social Security has A LOT of rules about how much money you can make or receive while you’re getting Social Security Disability. For the information you’ll need, read this article to find out how other payments affect Social Security Disability.
Your Social Security Disability benefits can be affected if you are also getting workers’ compensation. Also, benefits from certain federal, state, and local governments or civil service programs can affect your Social Security Disability. If you are getting benefits from any of these programs along with Social Security Disability, your Social Security Disability benefits may be affected.
How Much Will I Get?
To determine whether your Social Security Disability benefits will be affected by other payments you might get, the Social Security Administration will calculate your Average Current Earnings or ACE. While the Social Security Administrations bases your benefits on your lifetime earnings, a special “index” is used to account for changes in your average wages. Then, the Social Security Administration calculates your average, indexed monthly earnings during the years you earned the most.
So, if you get payments from another source while you are collecting Social Security Disability, your payments may be reduced. The money that you get from any of those other programs can’t exceed 80 percent of your average current earnings (ACE), before you became disabled.
Social Security Spouse’s Benefit
If you are a disabled widow or widower or the spouse of a disabled worker, a “government pension offset” may also reduce your Social Security Disability benefits. If you become eligible for a federal, state, or local government pension based on your work, your Social Security Disability benefits will likely be reduced. If you are getting the Social Security spouse’s benefit, the amount of your benefit may be reduced by 2/3 of the amount of your government pension. Even though these are the typical rules, there are still some exceptions for when the reduction in benefits would not apply.
Other Pension Plans
If you happen to have a pension that is not covered by Social Security, such as state-funded pension plans, your Social Security Disability payment will likely be smaller than normal. This is because the Social Security Administration uses a different formula to calculate the benefits for people who receive other types of public pensions.
What Makes Ritchie Law Firm Different?
Many Virginia lawyers say they practice Social Security Disability law. But, most of those lawyers have not had years of experience winning Social Security Disability cases. That’s what makes us different. At the Ritchie Law Firm, we have a team of lawyers who have the experience of handling Social Security Disability cases and WINNING. Sure, we also handle personal injury cases. But, Social Security Disability cases are a different beast. And, we know how to handle them.
If you have been denied Social Security Disability benefits, our disability team will review your denial letter for FREE. Then, with no obligation and NO STRINGS ATTACHED, we’ll tell you our game plan for winning your case.
If you want your disability case handled by a team of lawyers trained to handle this difficult area of the law that few lawyers know the first thing about, your search is over. Whatever stage of applying for benefits you are in, whether you haven’t yet applied or you’ve been denied, we are happy to help. Click here to give us some details about your case.
