The answer to this question depends on many factors – most importantly, your Social Security Disability benefit amount depends on how much you paid in Social Security taxes on your earnings over your career.
The best place to find an estimate of your monthly benefit would be to download your personal Social Security Statement. You may remember the green form you used to get in the mail every year around your birthday from the Social Security Administration. You have not received this in the last couple of years because of budget cuts. It cost the SSA lots of money to print and mail the forms. However, now you can go to the SSA website and download a copy of Your Social Security Statement:
1. Go to the Social Security Administration website.
2. Click on the first link/image that says “My Social Security”. [Note: On the lower right side you will see the familiar old green form titled “Social Security Statement”.]
3. Click “Create an Account”.
4. Follow the steps to verify your identity and create an account.
Once you have verified your identity, you will be given the opportunity to download your Statement. The second page of the form has a line that tells you how much you would receive if you are found disabled and how you are eligible to receive in retirement per month.
Am I Entitled To Back Pay?
How Far Back Will My Benefits Go?
Your benefits begin the later of (a) 12 months before the date of application or (b) five full months after the date you were found to be disabled. This is the “date of entitlement” in your case. Many people ask why benefits don’t begin on the date they were found disabled. Social security disability benefits never begin on the date one is found disabled because of the waiting period of five full calendar months. Another rule limits payment of back benefits to 12 months before the date of the application.
RELATED POST: How Long Does It Take to Get Social Security Disability Back Pay?
If you are eligible for Supplemental Security Income or SSI benefits, Social Security will pay SSI from the first of the month after a claimant meets all requirements to get SSI. These requirements are:
- You file an application,
- You are disabled, and
- You meet the income and asset requirements of the program.
Your SSI benefits may also change beginning the first month you are eligible for Disability Insurance Benefits.
Can My Social Security Disability Be Garnished?
There are certain circumstances in which the Federal government can garnish “regular” Social Security Disability benefits. However, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cannot be garnished.
