Can You Legally Receive Workers Compensation And SSDI At The Same Time?
Have you been injured at work? If your injury is keeping you from performing your job, it can be a stressful, confusing time. How are you going to pay your bills and support your family? You will probably be eligible for workers compensation if the injury occurred on the job or while performing any duty pertaining to your job. However, this may not be enough to cover your living expenses and your medical bills If your injury is permanent, you will need an additional source of income.
Getting a lawyer and suing your employer for a lump sum settlement can help, but it won't provide you the lifetime income you need unless the settlement is a very large one. Can you draw workers compensation and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) at the same time?
Here's what you need to know about workers compensation, SSDI, and other types of disability income while you're waiting for your case to be resolved.
1. You Can Draw Workers Compensation and SSDI at the Same Time In Most Cases...But There's a Catch
According to Injury.Findlaw.com, you can draw workers compensation and SSDI at the same time if your injury is severe. In order to be eligible to receive SSDI, you must have worked long enough to have paid enough into the nationwide SSDI fund to draw money back off of it. Your injury must also be severe enough to be expected to last at least a year or result in your demise.
Obviously, no one wants to be injured so badly they have to draw SSDI, but it is there if you need it. Taking it, along with workers compensation, can provide you with the income you need to pay your bills and support your family.
The catch is that the amount of money you receive from SSDI is dependent on your other sources of income. You can usually earn up to $800 a month in other sources of income and still receive the full amount of SSDI for which you qualify. If your workers compensation income is more than that, your SSDI income will be reduced accordingly.
2. Your SSDI Benefit May Be Temporarily Reduced If You Settle With Your Workers Compensation Company for a Lump Sum Benefit
If you expect to be disabled for a long time, or for the rest of your working years, you may decide to settle with your workers compensation company for a lump sum settlement before applying for SSDI. This will give you the cash you need to take care of your bills while waiting for your SSDI claim to go through.
However, SSDI takes the amount of your lump sum settlement into consideration when determining your benefits. In most cases, SSDI will divide the amount of your lump sum by the number of months you have been receiving workers compensation to come up with a monthly income amount.
Your SSDI benefit will be reduced by this amount for the number of months you received workers compensation. After that, you will begin to receive the full SSDI amount for which you qualify.
Conclusion
You can get workers compensation and SSDI at the same time. Just be aware of the restrictions and income deductions you may be subjected to before you file for your SSDI benefits. You want to make sure you are getting the largest amount of money possible, so your bills are all taken care of with ease.
The best way to make sure you're maximizing your workers compensation and SSDI benefits is to hire a workers compensation lawyer. Your lawyer will know the particulars of the law regarding both types of compensation, and can handle your case for you in an expert way. With a lawyer on your side, you will be sure everything is being done correctly and in the right order to get you the most money from both sources, which provides financial security.
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