If you have been injured on the job and are receiving Temporary Total (TT) or Temporary Partial (TP) benefits through your workers’ compensation carrier, you may be thinking about applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. If your work-related injury is so severe that you anticipate not being able to return to work for at least twelve months, you should apply for SSDI benefits.
However, there is an offset for receiving workers’ compensation benefits that you should know about. In other words, you typically cannot receive the maximum benefit from both the workers’ compensation carrier and SSDI.
As is the case in all SSDI cases, you cannot receive SSDI benefits the first five months you are disabled. Therefore, this offset applies beginning with the sixth month of your disability. During that month – and all subsequent months – the total amount of benefits you are receiving from workers’ compensation and SSDI cannot exceed 80% of your average monthly earnings prior to your injury.
As an example, let’s say prior to your accident, your average earnings were $4,000 per month. You, your spouse, and your two children would be eligible to receive a total of $2,200 per month in SSDI benefits. You are receiving $2,000 per month in workers’ compensation benefits. Therefore, the total amount you would receive from both SSDI and workers’ compensation is $4,200 per month. However, because that amount is higher than 80% of your prior earnings, your SSDI benefit will be reduced. Because 80% of your prior average earnings is $3,200 per month, if you continue to receive $2,000 per month from workers’ compensation, you will only be able to receive $1,200 per month in SSDI benefits. This way, your total benefit amount from both SSDI and workers’ compensation totals $3,200 per month, or 80% of your average monthly earnings prior to your injury.
Your SSDI benefit will be paid at that rate until you reach full retirement age, or the month your other benefits stop, whichever comes first.
If you have a work-related injury and are thinking about applying for SSDI benefits, contact a lawyer today.