When Can I Get SSDI Back Pay?
The Financial Relief that Comes After the Wait
You’ve been out of work for months, or perhaps even over a year now, due to a serious health problem. It’s stressful because not only are you dealing with a difficult illness, but it’s tough to find the money to pay your bills as well.
Even though you thought you did everything right when applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or appealing a denial, now you wonder when you’ll ever receive benefits.
Here’s something that could make your situation a little easier: When you eventually get approved for disability benefits, you’ll also get back pay to make up for the time you spent waiting.
So the months of waiting are not just lost time. You could be compensated later.
And the lump sum payment you get for disability back pay can provide a huge financial relief.
To properly apply for disability benefits or file an appeal—so that you ultimately get the maximum back pay possible—talk to the disability lawyers at Nash Disability Law.
We’ve helped more people in the Chicago metro area win benefits than any other law firm.
What Is SSDI Back Pay?
Since it can take the Social Security Administration (SSA) so long to review applications and appeals, you may be waiting for your money for several months or longer.
But you may not be aware that the meter could already be running on the benefits you’ll get.
In the end, the SSA will determine you should receive benefits based on the date they determine that you officially couldn’t work anymore due to severe medical conditions—also known as your onset date.
That date could be different—earlier even—than the date you first filed your disability application. But when they decide you’re officially approved, the timer for your benefits starts on that date.
When you are approved for SSDI and the system catches up, you’ll receive your past SSDI payments all in one lump sum.
Your current benefits going forward will be paid in monthly checks.
Your SSDI benefits can accrue from the initial application date or as far back as 12 months prior to your application date.
To get an idea of how much back pay could be due to you and what to expect from the Social Security Disability process, give Nash Disability a call.
How Long Do You Have to Wait for Social Security Disability Back Pay?
Typically, you will get your SSDI back pay 60 days after you were approved for benefits, though the timing isn’t exactly the same for everyone.
Another factor you need to keep in mind in calculating when your disability benefits will start is a built-in five-month waiting period.
For every disability claim, you have to wait at least five months from your official disability onset date to begin receiving benefits.
If you’ve already waited more than five months when you get news of approval, you don’t have to wait five months again, but the five months of disability benefits will be subtracted from your back pay.
In one example, if the SSA decides that your impairment onset date is 17 months prior to your application date, then you could be entitled to 12 months of back pay (17 minus 5), plus more pay for the time you’ve waited since you applied.
You need to be careful in presenting your disability claim to Social Security, because the date you prove your qualifying impairment started can make a big difference in how much back pay you get. And you want to apply as soon as possible.
The process can get confusing. To learn more about Social Security Disability, see some answers to common questions:
The Medicare Benefits Delay
In addition to monthly checks to help you cover your essential expenses, winning SSDI qualifies you for Medicare health care coverage.
Normally you couldn’t get Medicare until retirement age, but in 1972, Medicare expanded to include people with qualifying disabilities. The government determined that people who qualify for SSDI also become eligible for Medicare.
But once again, there’s a wait involved: You get Medicare two years after you officially qualified to start receiving disability benefits.
Two exceptions to the two-year waiting period are for people with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or end-stage renal disease.
If two years already passed while you were waiting for your SSDI approval, you get credit toward the Medicare waiting period. Again, you don’t have to wait two years all over again. Your benefits will start soon.
Here is more information on the Medicare waiting period with SSDI.
For many disability benefits applicants, getting that health care coverage is just as important, or more important, than getting monthly checks.
With so much of your future financial stability on the line, don’t take chances with your application. Get experienced disability lawyers to help. Nash Disability Law has been helping Chicagoans for over 35 years.
If you are going through the SSDI process in Illinois and having trouble with back pay, or any other issues related to Social Security Disability benefits, contact Nash Disability today.
We want to help you reach better times.
