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How Much Do I Get with SSD Benefits?
Answers for People in Metairie, New Orleans, Louisiana.
How Much Do You Get with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Benefits?
Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, applies to folks who have worked for a portion of their lives and paid into the Social Security system—just in case you encounter the very health disruptions that you’re facing today.
SSDI doesn’t cover “partial” disability. Social Security will decide that you either qualify for full benefits, or they will deny your benefits. To qualify, you must prove that your medical condition has caused total disability by showing:
- Your health problems prevent you from working more than a minimal amount. (What Social Security calls “substantial gainful activity.”)
- You’re unable to do the work you previously did, or adjust to different types of work.
- Your impairment and inability to work will last for at least one year, or it’s permanent.
To calculate your monthly benefits, Social Security looks at what you earned each year and what you paid in Social Security taxes before you had to stop working for health reasons.
It then uses a complicated formula based on your age and working years to determine what your monthly SSDI payments will be. This is called your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA).
Social Security may reduce your monthly payments if you receive financial relief in other ways, such as from a workers’ compensation claim for a job injury.
In 2023, the average monthly payment for SSDI came in at $1,483. The highest possible monthly payment reached $3,627. You can set up an account with Social Security to help estimate what your payments would be.
If you qualify for SSDI, you’ll also be eligible for early access to Medicare health coverage—making it easier for you to manage your condition.
Empower Disability has helped thousands of people with this process
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How Much Do You Get with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Disability Benefits?
Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, generally pays less than SSDI, but it is a vital safety net for folks with disabilities who have never been able to work, or haven’t worked in a long time, and they earned too little to make substantial payments into the Social Security system.
Where SSDI is calculated using your work history, SSI is based on your disability itself and your limited financial resources.
There is no difference in the definition of disability under SSDI or SSI. Once it’s established that you cannot work because of your medical impairments, and you meet the financial requirements, SSI becomes an option.
To calculate what you may receive through SSI, Social Security determines your “countable income.” Your countable income does not include resources such as tax refunds, food stamps, state assistance, loans, or money others spend to help you with your expenses.
Once your countable income is determined, Social Security subtracts that from the federally set, monthly benefit limit for each year—in 2023, it was set at $914 for single people and $1,371 for an eligible couple. The remainder is your SSI monthly payment.
The average SSI payment in Louisiana as of 2023 came in at $665, according to Social Security. People eligible to receive SSI are also eligible for Medicaid health care coverage.
At Empower Disability, our team of Social Security Disability lawyers can provide insight into your specific circumstance, help you seek benefits, plan for the future—and protect your independence
Our disability law firm is in Metairie. We help people from Kenner, New Orleans, Chalmette, Gretna, Marrero, Houma, the Northshore, Hammond and all across Louisiana.
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Get Answers to Your Disability Benefits Questions
The Social Security Disability system can seem cold, complicated and uncaring. You’ll have a lot of questions but not always fast answers. At Empower Disability, taking care of you is our mission. We’ve prepared answers to some of the most frequent disability benefits questions.
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