Social Security Retroactive Cash Payments

Applications for Social Security Disability benefits take a few months to be approved so when they are finally approved benefits are paid from the day of eligibility to the current date of approval, if the claimant qualifies. The amount of benefits depends on the amount of time a claimant spent working and how much they contributed to Social Security while they were working. Typically, by the time an individual is approved they are owed past benefits for the time while they were waiting for approval. The back pay may be paid in one lump sum or it can be broken up into payments, to be determined by the SSA. The maximum amount of time an individual can be reimbursed for is twelve months but the actual amount will depend on the date the disability benefits are determined by the SSA to have actually begun through qualification by eligibility.

Are you or someone you know eligible for Social Security retroactive cash payments? Contact our office today and find out how you can claim your Social Security retroactive cash payments!

For Supplemental Security Income benefits the amount an individual is entitled to is determined by the individuals age and disability and whether or not they have other sources of income. The total is adjusted for inflation every year. SSI back pay can only go back as far as the date of application regardless of when the individual became disabled or eligible. Back pay for benefits can add up to thousands of dollars in some cases because of the amount of time it takes to get approved. Individual eligible for SSI benefits may also be eligible for Medicaid. Keep in mind that Medicaid is a state program so different states have different requirements.

Social Security benefits eligible for retroactive cash payments include:

• Social Security retirement benefits back to the date of eligibility.
• Social Security disability benefits back to the date of eligibility.
• Supplemental Security Income back to the date of the application.

If you are owed Social Security retroactive cash payments and you are receiving SSI payments during that time your retroactive money owed is viewed as unearned income received for that time period. Rather than decreasing your SSI payments for the period prior to your receipt of the retroactive monthly Social Security benefit, the SSA will decrease the retroactive social security benefits by an amount equal to the sum of SSI payments that the SSA would not have paid to you if your social security benefits had been paid when due. If a balance is due to you from your retroactive social security benefits after this decrease, for SSI purposes the SSA will not include the balance as unearned income in a succeeding month in which you receive the benefit payment. This is because your social security benefits were used by the SSA to decide the amount of the reduction. This exemption to the unearned income counting rule does not apply to any social security benefits paid for the period in which you did not receive SSI benefits.

Are you or someone you know eligible for Social Security retroactive cash payments? Contact our office today and find out how you can claim your Social Security retroactive cash payments!