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Frequently Asked Questions*

How does Social Security decide if I am disabled?

Disability under Social Security for an adult is based on your inability to work because of a medical condition.  To be considered disabled:

• You must be unable to do work you did before and they decide that you cannot adjust to other work because of a medical condition.
• Your disability must last or be expected to last for at least one year or to result in death.

Social Security pays only for total disability.  No benefits are payable for partial disability or short-term disability.

For adults, they use a five-step evaluation process to decide whether you are disabled under Social Security. The process considers  any current work activity you are doing, and your medical condition and how it affects your ability to work.

Does Social Security use a list of impairments to determine if I can get disability benefits?

For an adult to be considered disabled by Social Security, you must have a medical condition that prevents you from working and that is expected to last for at least one year or result in death.  They use a five-step process to decide whether you are disabled. As part of that process, they check to see if you have a condition as described in the listing of impairments.  If you do, they consider your medical condition to be disabling. Even if your particular medical condition is not on the list, you may still be found disabled.

What is the earliest age that I can receive Disability benefits?

There is no minimum age as long as you meet the social security definition of disability .  But to qualify for disability benefits you must have worked long and recently enough under Social Security to earn the required number of work credits.  You can earn up to a maximum of four work credits each year.  The amount of earnings required for a credit increases each year as general wage levels rise.

Do I have to pay income tax on my Social Security benefits?

Some people who get Social Security will have to pay taxes on their benefits. Less than one-third of our current beneficiaries pay taxes on their benefits.

You will have to pay federal taxes on your benefits if you file a federal tax return as an "individual" and your total income is more than $25,000. If you file a joint return, you will have to pay taxes if you and your spouse have a total income that is more than $32,000.

What is the difference between Social Security disability and SSI disability?

The Social Security Administration is responsible for two major programs that provide benefits based on disability: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), which is based on prior work under Social Security, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).  Under SSI, payments are made on the basis of financial need.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is financed with Social Security taxes paid by workers, employers, and self-employed persons.  To be eligible for a Social Security benefit, the worker must earn sufficient credits based on taxable work to be "insured" for Social Security purposes.  Disability benefits are payable to blind or disabled workers, widow(er)s, or adults disabled since childhood, who are otherwise eligible.  The amount of the monthly disability benefit is based on the Social Security earnings record of the insured worker.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a program financed through general revenues.  SSI disability benefits are payable to adults or children who are disabled or blind, have limited income and resources, meet the living arrangement requirements, and are otherwise eligible.  The monthly payment varies up to the maximum federal benefit rate, which may be supplemented by the State or decreased by countable income and resources.

Can I receive Social Security benefits and SSI?

You may be able to receive SSI in addition to monthly Social Security benefits, if your Social Security benefit is low enough to qualify.

The amount of your SSI benefit depends on where you live. The basic SSI check is the same nationwide. Effective January 2007, the SSI payment for an eligible individual is $623 per month and $934 per month for an eligible couple.

Why is there a five-month waiting period for Social Security disability benefits?

The five month waiting period ensures that during the early months of disability, they do not pay benefits to persons who do not have long-term disabilities.  Social Security disability benefits can be paid only after you have been disabled continuously throughout a period of five full calendar months. Therefore, Social Security disability benefits will be paid for the sixth full month after the date your disability began.

How do workers' compensation payments affect my disability benefits?

Disability payment you receive from workers' compensation and/or another public disability payment may reduce
you and your family's Social Security benefits.

Your Social Security disability benefit will be reduced so that the combined amount of the Social Security benefit you and your family receive plus your workers' compensation payment and/or public disability payment does not exceed 80 percent of your average current earnings. (Note that the unreduced benefit amount is counted for income tax purposes.)

A workers' compensation payment is one that is made to a worker because of a job-related injury or illness. It may be paid by federal or state workers' compensation agencies, employers, or insurance companies on behalf of employers.

Public disability (PDB) payments that may affect your Social Security benefit are those paid under a federal, state, or local government law or plan.  A PDB is not usually based on a work-related disability.  They differ from workers' compensation because the disability that the worker has may not be job-related. Examples are civil service disability benefits, military disability benefits, state temporary disability benefits, and state or local government retirement benefits which are based on disability.

Do disabled children qualify for benefits?

There are two Social Security disability programs that include disabled children.

Under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, a child from birth to age 18 may receive monthly payments based on disability or blindness if:

• He or she has an impairment or combination of impairments that meets the definition of disability for children and
• the income and resources  of the parents and the child are within the allowed limits.

Under the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, an adult child (a person age 18 or older) may receive monthly benefits based on disability or blindness if:

• He or she has an impairment or combination of impairments that meets the definition of disability for adults; and
• the disability began before age 22; and
• the adult child's parent worked long enough to be insured under Social Security and is receiving retirement or disability benefits or is deceased.

Under both of these programs, the child must not be doing any "substantial" work, and must have a medical condition that has lasted or is expected either to last for at least 12 months or to result in death. 

Do I automatically get Medicare benefits if I'm eligible for disability benefits?

They will automatically enroll you in Medicare after you get disability benefits for two years. They start counting the 24 months from the month you were entitled to receive Disability, not the month when you received your first check.

People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) get Medicare beginning with the month they become entitled to disability benefits.

Medicare has two parts - hospital insurance and medical insurance. Hospital insurance helps pay hospital bills and some follow-up care. The taxes you paid while you were working financed this coverage, so it's premium free. The other part of Medicare, medical insurance, helps pay doctors' bills and other services. You will pay a monthly premium for this coverage if you want it.

I am 65 and my wife is 62 and receiving spouse's benefits. When does she qualify for Medicare benefits?

Most people must wait until age 65 to qualify for Medicare benefits. Some people can get Medicare at any age. This includes people who:

• Have been getting Social Security disability benefits for 24 months;
• Have kidney failure and require dialysis;
• Have had a kidney transplant; or
• Receive disability benefits because they suffer from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).
  

No. The receipt of spouse's benefits by a husband or wife does not reduce the benefit of the primary wage earner.

My husband and I are both entitled to our own Social Security benefits. Will our combined benefits be reduced because we are married?

No. When each person of a married couple works in employment covered under Social Security and they meet all other eligibility requirements to receive Social Security benefits, their lifetime earnings are calculated independently to determine their Social Security benefit amount. Therefore, each spouse receives a monthly benefit amount based on his or her own earnings. Couples are not penalized simply because they are married.

My brother had an accident at work last year and is now receiving Social Security disability benefits for himself, his wife, and daughter. Before his accident, he helped support another daughter by a woman to whom he has never been married. Is the second child entitled to some benefits as well?

Even though your brother wasn't married to the second child's mother, the child may qualify for Social Security benefits. An application should be filed on her behalf and if eligible, both children would receive equal benefits.

What is a disability "freeze"?

A "disability freeze," also called a "period of disability," refers to a period of time you were found to be disabled or blind by Social Security.  During the period of disability you may not have any earnings, or your earnings may be very low due to your disability or blindness.  You can have more than one period of disability on your record.

In general, they do not count your period(s) of disability when they determine whether you have enough work credits to get Social Security disability benefits.  
 
If you are blind or disabled, you can apply to have a period of disability established on your earnings record.  Most workers who have a period of disability may also qualify for monthly disability insurance benefits.   Even if you do not get disability insurance benefits for your period of disability, a "disability freeze" on your record may help you and your family get future Social Security benefits based on your disability or retirement, or as survivors on your account.  
 
A "period of disability" (i.e., a "disability freeze") may also affect how they compute the monthly benefits amounts payable to you and your family.  Usually, if they take your period of disability into account when determining monthly benefit amounts, the benefit amount will be higher.

They will ignore your "period(s) of disability" if it is to your advantage to do so.  This can happen when you or your family may be entitled or get a higher monthly benefit amount by ignoring your period of disability.

What is a disability trial work period?

The trial work period allows Social Security disability beneficiaries to test their ability to work for at least nine months.  During the trial work period, you can receive full benefits no matter how much you earn, as long as you continue to have a disabling impairment and you report your work activity.  The trial work period continues until you have completed nine trial work months within a 60-month period. 

In 2006, any month in which you earn $620 or more counts as one of the trial work months. For 2007, this amount is $640. 

After your trial work period ends, they then look at your earnings to determine whether you are working at a level they consider substantial.  If you are, your cash benefits will stop. In 2007, average monthly earnings of $900 are considered substantial. For 2006, the amount was $860.  There are different limits for people disabled because of blindness.

Can a person with a terminal illness qualify for disability benefits?

Yes. The requirements for disability benefits are the same for a person with a potentially terminal illness as for a person with a non-terminal illness.

They make every effort to identify a case involving a person with a potentially terminal illness as early in the claims process as possible and they have special procedures they follow to process the claim as quickly as possible. They may become aware of the potentially terminal illness through statements from the person claiming disability, or from the person’s friend, family member, doctor or other medical source. Or there may be an allegation or diagnosis of AIDS, or indications that the person is registered in a Medicare-designated hospice, is receiving hospice care.  Regardless of the potentially terminal illness or how they learn about it, they tightly control the case throughout the claims process and make special efforts to assist the person in providing necessary evidence.

Can an adult disabled since childhood receive benefits on a parent's earnings record?

An adult disabled before age 22 may be eligible for child’s benefits if a parent is deceased or receiving retirement or disability benefits. They consider this a “child’s” benefit because it is paid on a parent’s Social Security earnings record. They make the disability decision using the disability rules for adults.

The “adult child”—including an adopted child, or, in some cases, a stepchild, grandchild, or stepgrandchild—must be unmarried, age 18 or older, and have a disability that started before age 22.

TITLE II—FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE BENEFITS^[1]

TABLE OF CONTENTS OF TITLE^[2]

Sec. 201. Federal old-age and survivors insurance trust fund and federal disability insurance trust fund

Sec. 202. Old-age and survivors insurance benefit payments

Sec. 203. Reduction of insurance benefits

Sec. 204. Overpayments and underpayments

Sec. 205. Evidence, procedure, and certification for payment

Sec. 206. Representation of claimants

Sec. 207. Assignment

Sec. 208. Penalties

Sec. 209. Definition of wages

Sec. 210. Definition of employment

Sec. 211. Self-employment

Sec. 212. Crediting of self-employment income to calendar years

Sec. 213. Quarter and quarter of coverage

Sec. 214. Insured status for purposes of old-age and survivors insurance benefits

Sec. 215. Computation of primary insurance amount

Sec. 216. Other definitions

Sec. 217. Benefits in case of veterans

Sec. 218. Voluntary agreements for coverage of State and local employees

Sec. 219. [Repealed.]

Sec. 220. Disability provisions inapplicable if benefit rights impaired

Sec. 221. Disability determinations

Sec. 222. Rehabilitation services

Sec. 223. Disability insurance benefit payments

Sec. 224. Reduction of benefits based on disability

Sec. 225. Additional rules relating to benefits based on disability

Sec. 226. Entitlement to hospital insurance benefits

Sec. 226A. Special provisions relating to coverage under medicare program for end stage renal disease

Sec. 227. Transitional insured status

Sec. 228. Benefits at age 72 for certain uninsured individuals

Sec. 229. Benefits in case of members of the uniformed services

Sec. 230. Adjustment of the contribution and benefit base

Sec. 231. Benefits in case of certain individuals interned during World War II

Sec. 232. Processing of tax data

Sec. 233. International agreements

Sec. 234. Demonstration project authority

^[1] Title II of the Social Security Act is administered by the Social Security Administration. Title II appears in the United States Code as §§401-433, subchapter II, chapter 7, Title 42.

Regulations relating to Title II are contained in chapter III, Title 20, Code of Federal Regulations.

See Vol. II, 31 U.S.C. 3720 and 3720A with respect to collection of payments due to Federal agencies; and §3803(c)(2)(C) with respect to benefits not affected by P.L. 100-383.

See Vol. II, P.L. 94-566, §503, with respect to preservation of medicaid eligibility for individuals who cease to be eligible for supplemental security income benefits on account of cost-of-living increases in social security benefits.

See Vol. II, P.L. 95-521, §102(i), with respect to reporting of benefits received under the Social Security Act.

See Vol. II, P.L. 95-608, §§201-204, with respect to Indian child and family programs.

See Vol. II, P.L. 96-265, §505, with respect to authority for demonstration projects.

See Vol. II, P.L. 98-21, §101(e), with respect to the effect of amendments made by that law on benefits under the Federal Retirement System.

See Vol. II, P.L. 99-177, §255, with respect to exemption of certain benefits from budget reductions.

See Vol. II, P.L. 100-204, §724(d), with respect to furnishing information to the United States Commission on Improving the Effectiveness of the United Nations; and §725(b), with respect to the detailing of Government personnel.

See Vol. II, P.L. 100-235, §§5-8, with respect to responsibilities of each Federal agency for computer systems security and privacy.

See Vol. II, P.L. 100-383, §§105(f)(2) and 206(d)(2), with respect to exclusion from income and resources of certain payments to certain individuals.

See Vol. II, P.L. 100-690, §5301(a)(1)(C) and (d)(1)(B), with respect to benefits of drug traffickers and possessors.

See Vol. II, P.L. 101-508, §§13301 and 13302, with respect to OASDI Trust Funds.

See Vol II, P.L. 106-170, §302, with respect to demonstration projects providing for reductions in disability insurance benefits based on earnings.

See Vol II, P.L. 109-465, with respect to the restoration of the Social Security Trust Funds from the effects of a clerical error.

^[2] This table of contents does not appear in the law.

*All information contained herein is taken directly from Social Security Publications and is deemed reliable.