Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers | June 17, 2015 | Social Security Disability
First and foremost, you cannot collect BOTH the full amount of SSDI benefits AND the full amount of STD benefits you would otherwise be entitled to receive. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will compute what is called an “offset” and reduce your monthly SSDI benefit check amount if the combined amount of your SSDI and STD would exceed 80 percent of what you were earning before you became disabled. The SSA calculates your pre-disability earnings by figuring out the average amount you made each month of the year when your pay was the highest out of the five preceding years.
Also, the offset for STD benefits can affect your back pay. This term refers to the amount of SSDI benefits you are entitled to receive computed from the time you became disabled until the time the SSA finally gets around to paying you.
For example, you might become disabled on Jan. 1, 2012, but not apply for SSDI benefits until Jan. 1, 2013, and not get an award of benefits until Jan. 1, 2015. That’s three full years later. After deducting the mandatory five-month waiting period for SSDI benefits to kick in, you are short by 31 months of back pay. However, if you were receiving STD benefits through your employer during the same period over which the back pay is computed, the same offset described above applies and your back pay will be reduced accordingly.
Finally, be aware that in a situation where if you are receiving STD through your employer and then later win your SSDI case, the insurance company from whom you received the STD benefits will often be reimbursed for the STD benefits they paid you. In almost all such situations, the terms of the STD policy allow the STD plan to recover its money back if you are awarded SSDI benefits. You can think of STD benefits through your employer almost like a loan that has to be paid back if and when you become entitled to the longer-term benefits from the U.S. government.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer from Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers for Help Today
For more information, please contact Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer in North Carolina today. We have twelve convenient locations in North Carolina, including Greenville, Raleigh, Goldsboro, Jacksonville, Kinston, Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Winston-Salem & Garner.
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Raleigh Office
4600 Marriott Dr STE 500, Raleigh, NC 27612
(919) 876-3020
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Charlotte Office
1914 J N Pease Pl Suite 142, Charlotte, NC 28262
(704) 486-5824
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Durham Office
100 E Parrish St STE 200, Durham, NC 27701
(919) 728-1770
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Garner Office
500 Benson Rd Suite 111, Garner, NC 27529
(800) 525-7111
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Greensboro Office
7B Corporate Center Ct Suite 15, Greensboro, NC 27408
(336) 516-9066
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Greenville Office
300 E Arlington Blvd Suite 2A #110, Greenville, NC 27858
(252) 397-8620
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Goldsboro Office
601 N Spence Ave, Goldsboro, NC 27534
(919) 778-9700
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Jacksonville Office
3391 Henderson Dr, Jacksonville, NC 28546
(910) 455-5599
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Kinston Office
807 N Queen St, Kinston, NC 28501
(252) 397-8624
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Fayetteville Office
2517 Raeford Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28305
(910) 387-9186
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Wilmington Office
1608 Queen St Suite 12, Wilmington, NC 28401
(910) 889-4064
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers – Winston-Salem Office
102 W 3rd St, Ste 1007, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
(336) 516-9042