The Social Security Disability Check Explained

So you’ve applied for Social Security Disability check? Or maybe you’re planning to apply because you are, but the SSA’s definition, disabled.

Prepare yourself for medical checkups and acquiring medical documentations to prove your claim is valid before the Social Security Administration.

But before all that, how much can you expect in the Social Security disability check?

Read on to find out more.

Average Social Security Disability Check Amount as of 2017

As of this year, the average Social Security disability check awarded by the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program is $1200 a month. This is an average, meaning the beneficiary can receive less or more, up to a little over $2600 a month.

The amount is calculated based on the beneficiary or worker’s average lifetime earnings. The severity of the beneficiary’s disability is not considered.

The amount awarded to a disabled worker or family member, is approximately 150% to 180% of the worker’s benefit.

The worker’s family members can also qualify for the disabilityprogram including spouse, divorced spouseand children. A disabled child is also qualified,as well as an adult child who was disabled before reaching 22 years old.

Where does the fund for Disability Benefit come from?

The Social Security disability benefits come from workers’ payroll deductions.

The deductions go to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), which is then allocated to pay out Social Security benefits, such as retirement, spousal and survivors’ benefits as well as Medicare.

Any excess funding is transferred to the Disability Insurance Trust Fund.

Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI isdifferent from the Supplemental Security Income, or SSI. The latter gives benefits to those who are in need of financial assistance regardless of their work history.

How do you Qualify for Disability Benefits?

One qualification is the worker’s length of employmentcovered by the SSA. A worker needs 40 credits to qualify. 20 of those credits should have been earned in the last ten years of employment and ends during the time of disability.

Another qualification is that the claimant worker can prove that he or she is disabled according to the Social Security’s definition of disabled.

The medical condition must be interfering with the claimant’s capacity to work his or her primary job.This will not ensure that you qualify for the Social Security disability check, but it’s another step towards approval.

Again, the severity of the disability does not ensure automatic qualification. Although there are some medical conditions where the patient is automatically disabled, most conditions need to be approved after thorough screening.

If the claimant can no longer work at their previous job or primary job,the next step is to evaluate the claimant’s functional capacity at other jobs where hisor her age, education and past work history passes qualifications

Lastly, the medical condition must last for a minimum of twelve months or is expected to last at least that long or result in death.

Importance of the Social Security Disability Check

Yes, the amount a beneficiary will receive as may not be a large sum that will answer alldaily living expenses, rent, mortgage and so on.

The thing is, the Social Security Disability Check will be a big help to those who don’t know where the next meal will come from.

Combine the SSDI with the Supplementary Security Income and the disabled worker can have room to breathe as s/he looks for part-time work.