Some individuals who are eligble for SSI receive a small amount of Social Security disability benefits, if they worked. Making an application for both benefits is called a “concurrent claim.”
In certain circumstances, you can collect SSI and SSDI simultaneously (called “concurrent benefits”). This happens when a disability applicant qualifies for Social Security Disability (abbreviated as SSD or SSDI) but gets only a low regular monthly payment. (A low SSDI payment can be brought on by not working much in the past few years or making low wages.)
To qualify for an SSI payment in addition to an SSDI payment, your unearned income must be under $735 per month. The SSI income limits are relatively complicated, however; this limit is greater in some states, and if you are working and earning some money, a different limit applies. The SSI program also has asset limits.
If your income and assets are low enough to be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and you also worked long enough in a job that paid taxes into the Social Security system to be eligible for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI), it’s not unlikely you will get both types of benefits at the same time. (However, keep in mind your SSDI payment is included in determining your eligibility for SSI. In many cases, your SSDI payment will be so high you’ll not be considered for SSI.)
You will not get a higher monthly combined benefit than you would under the SSI program alone. Your SSI payment is going to be dropped by your SSDI payment to suit the absolute maximum SSI payment. If your SSDI benefit is under the current SSI monthly payment amount and you qualify for SSI, you’ll get an SSI payment. Simply put, if your SSDI benefit is less than the set maximum per month, you can get both SSI and SSDI benefits at the same time.
Whether you make an application for SSI, SSDI (often known as SSD), or both, the Social Security office will choose whether your claim is concurrent, dependent on your income and assets. The category of your claim will make no difference as to just how the claim is processed. In other words, an SSI claim will be taken care of in exactly the same way as an SSDI claim. The same definition of disability and the same disability assessment process is used for both programs.
The benefit to collecting SSI when you are collecting a lower monthly SSDI benefit is the fact that SSI payment will lift up your benefit to the maximum per month.
The advantage to having the capacity to get SSDI when you’re eligible for SSI is that you can be eligible to get on Medicare as an SSDI recipient (even though you have to wait a couple of years from when your SSDI eligibility begins).
On the other hand, SSI recipients qualify for Medicaid alone. Although Medicaid does offer payment for more services than Medicare, more doctors acknowledge payments from Medicare, so it can be simpler to find a provider.
Kassin And Carrow are ready and willing to help you receive all of the benefits that you deserve, whether SSI, SSDI, or both!