How are Past Due SSD Benefits Calculated?

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1. How are Past Due Social Security Disability Benefits Calculated?
2. Getting Help with Your Social Security Disability Benefits

REVIEWED BY

C. William Kenny

October 10, 2022

Board certified by National Board of Trial Advocacy

How are Past Due Social Security Disability Benefits Calculated?

When a person applies for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits, it can take a long time to be approved.  Because of this, many people are entitled to several months of back benefits when they finally win their cases. 

To determine how those back benefits are calculated, you must first know that not everyone receives the same amount of disability benefits. The amount you receive is based on your average lifetime earnings. You can check your personal Social Security Statement, and your earnings record by accessing your my social security account through the Social Security Administration’s website.

The more you have worked or earned in the past, the larger your disability check will be. 

If you are a disabled widow or widower, the amount of your disability check will depend on how much your late spouse worked or earned in the past. 

If you have not worked enough and paid into the program, you may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides monthly benefits to disabled individuals who meet low-income requirements. 

Back Benefits

If you are eligible for SSD benefits, you may be entitled to back benefits. These benefits begin accruing five months after your disability onset date and they accrue until you win your Social Security Disability case. Because getting SSD benefits can take such a long time, many people are entitled to months and months of back benefits when they finally win their cases. 

However, if you are applying for SSI benefits, you will only be eligible for back benefits dating back to the date of your disability application up until you are awarded.

What is your Disability Onset Date?

The alleged onset date is the date that you claim on your Social Security application that your disability began.  This is also the date that you feel you became unable to work.

With Social Security Disability benefits (SSD), you can receive retroactive pay as far back as 12 months from the date you applied for benefits if you were disabled before you applied. To get the full backpay of 12 months, you would have had to have become disabled at least 17 months before the date you applied, because there is a waiting period of five months after becoming disabled in which benefits are not paid or owed. 

For SSI recipients, there is no retroactive pay. If you are approved, you will get paid benefits from the month you applied.  

Where Does the Money Come From?

Social Security Disability benefits come from payments made by working Americans. These payments are made in the form of Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes and are withheld from your wages. You may have noticed these taxes coming out of your paycheck before you ever considered filing for Social Security Disability. If you have spent enough time working at a job where you were required to pay FICA taxes, you will probably be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits if you are disabled.

To learn more about what benefits you may be eligible for, contact the Social Security Disability Attorneys at Berger and Green for a free no obligation consultation.  

Getting Help with Your Social Security Disability Benefits

At Berger and Green, we use our experience to represent people at all stages of the Social Security Disability process.  Whether you need to file an application, an appeal or need representation at a hearing, we offer knowledgeable and effective guidance.

Contact our firm today so we can begin helping you with your claim for Social Security Disability benefits.