Part of our Social Security Fridays series

The Social Security Administration offers two programs that pay monthly benefits to individuals who are unable to work due to disabling medical conditions. One of them is Social Security Disability Insurance, otherwise referred to as “SSDI” or “Title 2 Benefits”. This program offers coverage paid to individuals who have enough earnings from past employment. This would be from a job in the private sector; essentially, work that is not for a governmental agency/entity. The simplified explanation of the basic difference between SSDI and SSI is that SSDI is available to individuals who have worked and earned enough money in the recent past. Individuals cannot qualify for SSDI without performing additional work and reporting additional income. Disqualification could be for a number of reasons, perhaps from lack of work experience or reported earnings. Denial could also be from work for a government entity from which Social Security taxes were not deducted, or if you have wages earned in the distant past. These people are potentially eligible for the Supplemental Security Income (“SSI” or “Title 16” Benefits) instead. The SSI program differs from the SSDI program because it is a needs based program with strict income and asset requirements. Income information pertaining to household expenses and assets will need to be provided if you are a recipient of SSI. These assets may not be worth more than a total of $2,000. This limit, however, may not include everything you have – meaning some assets may not necessarily count towards the total. Most importantly, the home that the SSI recipient lives in and one vehicle are exempt.

Review the last post for more on Social Security Disability by clicking here: https://www.mccuelawoffice.com/social-security-fridays-3