The process of applying for Social Security disability (SSD) benefits can be lengthy. However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) does allow recipients to receive back pay when their application is approved. Back pay is sometimes referred to as past-due benefits.  Show
Factors Affecting Back PayThere are three factors that affect the amount of back pay you receive: The date of your application.SSD benefits can potentially be received back to the year prior to the application date. This means you will receive a maximum of 12 months of back pay benefits. Your disability onset date.This date is determined by the claims examiner or an administrative law judge. It is not necessarily the date you stopped working due to your medical condition. The initial waiting period.You must wait five months after the onset of your disability to begin receiving back pay. If your claim is approved within five months after the onset of your disability, you will not receive any back pay due to this waiting period. (People with conditions that qualify for Compassionate Allowances often do not receive back pay due to this program’s expedited approval process.) Your disability onset date has the most influence on your eligibility for back pay, which is why it’s vital that you submit evidence to support the earliest possible onset date. Working with an attorney who is experienced in SSD claims is the best way to accomplish this. Your attorney will know how to document your condition in a way that meets the program’s definition of disability. How Payments Are ProcessedBack pay is received as a lump sum, while future benefits are paid monthly. Since 2011, the SSA has required that all disability recipients have a bank account to receive payments via direct deposit. When you are approved for benefits, you’ll receive an award letter that lists:
Although it’s understandable to want your back as quickly as possible, note that you’ll still need to be patient even after your benefits have been approved. Some people receive payment within weeks, while others must wait several months. However, the wait is not nearly as long as the initial approval process. Back Pay and SSI BenefitsIf you qualify for both SSD and Supplementary Security Income (SSI) benefits, your back pay for SSD will be considered as income for SSI purposes. When your back pay is received, your SSI benefits will automatically be reduced to take into consideration this additional income. This is done in accordance with the SSA’s windfall offset provisions. Back Pay and Your Attorney FeesDisability attorneys accept cases on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no upfront cost for assistance with your SSD application. The attorney will require a percentage of your back pay as the fee for service. The SSA sets strict limits on attorney fees for individuals receiving disability benefits. Fees are capped at 25% of your back pay, with a maximum of $6,000. If an attorney wishes to charge more than this, he or she must get special approval from the SSA—which is seldom permitted. The SSA will pay your attorney directly from your back pay. All applicable legal fees will be deducted before you receive the lump sum payment. Back Pay for HeirsThe nature of the SSD approval process means that some applicants who are very ill may pass away before their benefits are approved. When this happens, the applicant’s heirs may have a claim to the back pay. A surviving spouse will receive benefits first. Have You Or A Loved One Been Denied Social Security Disability Benefits?If you or a loved on has been denied Social Security Disability Benefits you need to speak with an experienced SSD attorney as soon as possible. Please contact us online or call our Virginia Beach office directly at 757.490.3500 to schedule your free consultation. We have offices throughout Virginia including Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk and Suffolk. Back pay is an unofficial but widely used term for what the Social Security Administration (SSA) calls “past-due benefits,” payments to cover a period in which you were medically qualified for disability benefits but had not yet been approved to collect them. Back pay is a common feature of disability claims largely because of how long they can take, particularly if an applicant is initially rejected and challenges the decision. If you win on appeal, a process that can take a year or more, Social Security will, in effect, make good on benefits you would have received had you been approved earlier. These past-due payments can go back as far as the date of your original application if the SSA ultimately determines that you met its definition of disability — being unable to do substantial paying work — at the time you filed the claim. How back pay worksSuppose worsening arthritis sidelined you from your job Sept. 15, 2020. You applied Oct. 1 for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) but your claim was denied. You appealed and eventually got a hearing with an administrative law judge. Based on new evidence you were able to present at the hearing, the judge ruled in your favor, determining that your disability did indeed begin in September 2020. Based on your earnings history, Social Security calculates that you're entitled to an SSDI benefit of $1,200 a month. But now it's January 2022, and you haven't drawn a paycheck in more than a year. That's where back pay comes in. Fifteen months elapsed from the time you became disabled — what the SSA calls your “onset date” — to when your claim was finally approved. By law SSDI benefits have a five-month waiting period — they start the sixth full month after the onset date — so you're entitled to 10 months of past-due benefits. Social Security typically pays past-due SSDI in a lump sum within 60 days of the claim being approved. If a lawyer or other professional advocate represented you in your disability case, the SSA will pay their fee out of your back pay. The SSA must approve your fee agreement with a lawyer or advocate in advance, and the fee is generally capped at $6,000 or 25 percent of back pay, whichever is less. In this case, with past-due benefits totaling $12,000, your representative would get up to $3,000 off the top. You also can receive back pay for delays in applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the other Social Security–run program that pays benefits to people with disabilities. (In the case of SSI, you also must have very limited income and financial assets to qualify.) However, the rules are a bit different. With SSI, the start of payments is tied to your application date, not your onset date. And SSI has no waiting period, so your back pay will be calculated differently than for an SSDI claim. Also, if your past-due SSI is more than three times the program's maximum monthly payment ($841 in 2022), you won't get it in a lump sum. Instead, it will come in three installments at six-month intervals. Tax impactLike all Social Security benefits, a portion of disability back pay may be taxable if your overall income exceeds a certain level. To minimize the chances of a large payment pushing you over that threshold, the IRS lets you refigure back pay that accrued in a previous year into that year's income for tax purposes, a method called “lump-sum election." Box 3 of your SSA-1099 tax form will show the yearly breakdown of any past-due benefits you received, and IRS Publication 915, “Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits," has instructions for apportioning back pay into prior years to potentially reduce your tax burden. But the formula is complicated, and you might want to use tax software or consult a tax professional if you choose to use lump-sum election. Keep in mind
Updated December 28, 2021 How can I get my SSDI back pay faster?If you really need the money now, here's how to get your SSI back pay faster:. Opt for a Lumpsum Payment. As mentioned, the SSA only pays SSI backpay through installment. ... . Increase the First and Second Installment Payments. ... . Apply for Emergency Advance Payment.. How long does it take to get SSI backpay?The SSA pays SSI back pay as three installments instead of as a lump sum like SSDI. Within a few months of receiving your first SSI monthly benefit, you should receive one-third of your back pay. A second payment follows six months later, and the final payment occurs after another six months.
How do I check the status of my SSI back pay?If you are unable to check your status online, you can call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 7:00 pm; or contact your local Social Security office.
Why are disability claims taking so long?Because there are so many applications that are filed each year, it takes time for the SSA to process and review each one. This review time can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months on average. Most people have their initial application denied. It doesn't mean that your case is over and that you should give up.
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Why is it taking so long to get my disability back pay
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