Individuals applying for or receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits often ask about the consequences of receiving SSDI and long-term disability benefits concurrently. While long-term disability and other financial benefits may impact the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, SSDI benefits don’t have similar limitations.
Can You Collect SSDI and Long Term Disability Insurance?
The SSDI program is work-based while the SSI program is needs-based. To receive SSDI benefits, a claimant must qualify on the basis of their work credits. Typically this means they must have worked 20 of the last 40 years, with 5 of those years being in the last 10 years. Younger individuals have shorter work requirements but must also have a significant amount of recent work credits to qualify.
We encourage potential SSDI applicants to apply for disability benefits when they can no longer work. In many cases, these claimants have exhausted any short-term disability benefits they have available through their employer. These claimants may also have long-term disability benefits through their employer. If these same claimants receive SSDI benefits, the two types of benefits occasionally overlap.
SSDI and LTD Offsets
Long-term disability insurance is provided by an insurance company and usually purchased through your employer. LTD is a safeguard for healthy workers that bridges the gap that occurs when an individual can no longer work but is waiting to receive disability benefits. Individuals receive long-term disability benefit approvals more quickly than SSDI benefits.
In contrast, your Social Security taxes fund SSDI benefits. The process of applying for disability benefits can take months, or even years and is based on disabling conditions in SSA’s Blue Book.
Once you are approved for SSDI benefits, your long-term disability insurance provider will pay the difference between your SSDI benefits and your insurance policy amount. This is called an offset. It changes depending upon the particulars of your plan. Review your long-term disability plan language carefully for guidance on how receiving SSDI benefits may offset your ltd benefits.
If you are receiving long-term disability benefits and haven’t applied for SSDI, contact an experienced lawyer for a consultation on your situation. Many long-term disability insurance plans require beneficiaries to apply for SSDI prematurely, often to the individual’s financial detriment.
Winston-Salem Disability Lawyer
We hope you enjoyed this content provided by Collins Price, PLLC. If you’re looking for an experienced Winston-Salem disability lawyer, our team is kind and client focused. Whether you’re applying for or appealing a denied disability claim, contact our firm today for a free consultation. There is no obligation to hire our firm and no fee for our services unless we win.
