What is the average disability check from social security

This is done to make sure that the payments you get in the future mirror this rise. The SSA will use up to 35 of your working years in the calculation. The SSA takes the years with the highest indexed earnings, adds them together, and divides them by the total number of months for those years.

The average is then rounded down to reach your AIME. The dollar amounts that result from the calculation are called "bend points. The easiest way to calculate SSDI benefits is to go to www.

It will tell you exactly how much SSDI you will get if you become disabled this year. By the time they get an approval letter from Social Security, most disability applicants are eligible for back payments of benefits. The number of months of back payments you'll receive will depend on when you applied for SSDI and the date the SSA decided you became disabled called your "established onset date," or EOD.

In addition to getting payments going back to your application date, you can get up to 12 months of retroactive payments for the year prior to your application date or your "protective filing date," discussed below —if you were disabled that long ago. You can't get benefits for the months before your EOD again, your disability onset date. Once you are approved for benefits, there is a five-month waiting period, starting at your disability onset date, before you can be paid benefits. This means that, to receive the maximum amount of backpay going back for the 12 months before your application date , you must have an EOD of at least 17 months prior to your application date or your protective filing date.

The one exception to this rule is for ALS; claimants who have been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, do not have a five-month waiting period. You can establish a protective filing date PFD by making a written statement to the SSA that you intend on filing for disability benefits. A PFD is also established when you begin an online application, even if you don't complete it.

If you want to learn more, read our article about back payments. Some disability payments, such as workers' compensation settlements , can reduce your SSDI benefit amount. If your disability struck at 50, it would be your 23 highest-earning years; at 40, the top 15 years. Still, that full payment tends to be lower for SSDI recipients than for retirees, in part because your disability can cost you higher-earning years that would boost your calculated benefit.

If you have an online My Social Security account , you can check your projected retirement and disability benefit amounts. Note: We are currently in the process of replacing our commenting service, so it may take a few days for previous comments to appear. Login or register on AARP. You are leaving AARP. Please return to AARP. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age.

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Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Lawyer Directory. Call us at 1 Your disability payment is based on your average lifetime earnings before you became disabled. The severity of disability does not factor in, although payments from other sources can. Reduction for Disability Payments from Other Sources If you receive disability benefits from a private source, like a private pension or private insurance benefits, these benefits will not affect your SSDI benefits.

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