Can You Receive SSI and SSDI At The Same Time?

The Social Security Administration calls it current benefits when someone qualifies for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits simultaneously. So, the answer is that you can receive SSI and SSDI at the same time, but your SSDI benefits may reduce how much you receive from SSI. You could even be ineligible for SSI because of what you receive in SSDI disability benefits.

This blog explains how concurrent benefits through SSI and SSDI work, including the effect of SSDI benefits on your eligibility for full SSI benefits. It also describes how concurrent benefits affect Medicare and Medicaid eligibility. The disability advocates at Disability Experts of Florida can help you with concurrent benefits by answering questions about eligibility and the application process.

What You Need To Know About The SSI Program

SSI provides disability benefits to blind or disabled adults and children who have assets or resources valued at $2,000 or less and little or no income. Couples with both spouses eligible for SSI benefits cannot have resources valued at more than $3,000.

SSI also provides benefits to adults who are 65 or older who are not disabled or blind. Someone who qualifies for SSI based on age must still meet the income and resource limits to be eligible for benefits.

SSI benefits pay a maximum monthly federal benefit of $943 in 2024. Depending on where you live when applying for SSI benefits, your state may offer residents a supplemental payment in addition to the federal benefit. The only states that do not provide so form of supplemental payment to their residents who qualify for SSI are the following:

• Arkansas
• Arizona
• Georgia
• Mississippi
• Oregon
• Tennessee
• Texas
• West Virginia

If you live in a state offering a state-funded supplemental payment for SSI recipients, contact Disability Experts of Florida to learn how it affects you. They can also explain about Medicaid for SSI recipients. When you qualify for SSI, you may immediately be eligible for health coverage through Medicaid.

Disability Benefits Through The SSDI Program

The SSDI program is for workers who contribute to the Social Security retirement system through the Social Security taxes paid by them and their employers on earnings. Workers with a sufficiently long work history can receive SSDI disability benefits if they become disabled before reaching the age at which they can begin collecting Social Security retirement benefits.

The SSDI benefits you receive depend on how much you earn while working. Someone earning the maximum Social Security wages can receive as much as $3,822 a month in 2024. According to the Social Security Administration, the average SSDI monthly benefits in 2024 are $1,537.

Unlike SSI benefits that begin immediately after your application is approved, you must wait five months from the disability date before receiving disability benefits through SSDI. Recipients of SSDI disability benefits also have to wait 24 months from their first payment before they become eligible for Medicare coverage.

Advantages Of Getting SSI And SSDI At The Same Time

When you qualify for concurrent benefits, the money you receive monthly from SSDI reduces your monthly SSI benefits. You cannot receive more than the maximum SSI benefits if you receive SSI and SSDI at the same time.

For example, suppose your earnings record makes you eligible for a monthly SSDI disability benefit of $400. You can reduce countable unearned income by $20 a month, so your $400 SSDI benefits become $380 countable unearned income for SSI. You receive disability benefits through SSDI of $400, but your maximum monthly SSI benefit of $943 is reduced by $380, making your monthly SSI benefit $563.

The Primary Advantages of Concurrent Disability Benefits Include:

• Someone who worked at low-paying jobs or only worked for a short time before becoming disabled receives more in concurrent benefits because of SSI than they would receive from only SSDI.
• SSI benefits that start immediately provide money while waiting five months for the first SSDI payment.
• Instead of being without medical coverage because they must wait 24 months for Medicare, a person who qualifies for concurrent benefits receives immediate coverage through SSI. When SSDI coverage finally begins, you may be able to keep your Medicaid as secondary coverage to pay claims that Medicare does not pay.

When you apply for SSI or SSDI, the Social Security Administration determines which program you qualify for benefits through, including whether you qualify for concurrent benefits.

Get Help with SSI And SSDI Disability Claims

The best way to determine the disability benefits you are eligible to receive is with the assistance of a disability advocate at Disability Experts of Florida. We make the claim process less challenging with skilled and professional assistance, whether you need help with an application or to challenge a denial of a claim. Learn more about us by contacting Disability Experts of Florida to schedule a free consultation.