Depending upon your unique situation, you may be able to receive payments from more than one source. In this article, an attorney with your Chicago disability law firm explains how this might affect your Social Security disability benefits.
Privately-Derived Funds
These are disability compensation payments from health insurance that you receive as part of your employee benefits, pensions provided through your job or a private health insurance policy that you have purchased on your own. Such benefits have no impact on your Social Security disability benefits.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation, however, is another matter. This is a public program and if you were hurt on the job and are currently drawing worker’s compensation benefits, your Social Security disability payments may be lessened as a result.
Government Programs
These may be through the federal, local or state government such as benefits provided through civil service, state or local government programs or temporary disability programs which offer benefits to claimants whose impairments were not incurred on the job but are the result of a non-work-related accident, an illness or some other medical condition. Benefits received from these programs will trigger a reduction in your Social Security disability payments. However, not all public programs fall into this category. If you are a veteran receiving benefits from the Veteran’s Administration, if you are on SSI, or are receiving state, federal or local aid and have been paying Social Security taxes over the years, your SSD benefits should not be impacted. Your Chicago disability attorney can clarify any confusion you may have concerning whether or not any benefits you are receiving will have any effect on SSD.
Determining the Amount of Reduction
To implement the formula for computing the amount to be deducted from your Social Security disability benefits or to determine whether or not there will be a deduction made, you can use the following procedure:
• Add the total of all benefits you are currently receiving;
• Calculate an average based on the wages you were earning prior to becoming impaired.
Your Social Security disability benefits will be reduced by any amount that exceeds 80% of your average wages.
Ask Your Chicago Disability Law Firm for More Information
If you are currently receiving benefits and are uncertain as to whether or not they will impact your Social Security disability or if you are in need of assistance with your SSD claim, your Chicago disability law firm is available to help. Call Chicago Disability Law .
