What if My Disability Check Isn't Enough? (2024)

After waiting many months—sometimes years—to begin receiving Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits, you might be disappointed to find your monthly SSDI payments are less than you earned from work. That's by design.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) calculates SSDI benefits as a percentage of your average lifetime earnings—up to the maximum benefit amount. But no one gets 100% of what they were earning. And the more you earn while working, the smaller the percentage of your past average earnings you'll receive as SSDI.

The maximum SSDI benefit amount for 2024 is $3,822 per month, but the average monthly disability payment for 2024 is only $1,537. That's just over the national poverty level of $1,255 per month. So, covering all your living expenses on SSDI income alone can be challenging.

How do you survive on so little disability income? You might supplement your SSDI benefits by working a little—if you can. But not everyone can. Fortunately, there are other benefits you might be entitled to receive that can help you meet your expenses, including additional Social Security benefits.

Earning Income From Work While Getting SSDI

If you have a steady paycheck—even for part-time work—you run the risk of Social Security no longer considering you disabled. If that happens, you could lose your disability eligibility altogether.

Let's look at the rules for employment income. Social Security won't consider you disabled if you can work and earn enough income for it to be considered "substantial gainful activity" (SGA). But that doesn't mean you can't work at all. Social Security generally permits you to earn up to $1,550 a month in 2024 ($2,590 if you're blind) from work before considering it SGA.

But if you own your own business, the SGA income limit isn't an absolute rule. When you have a business or you freelance, other factors can be considered in determining if your work qualifies as SGA, including:

• your work duties
• the number of hours you work, and
• the extent to which you run or manage your own business.

And whether you're self-employed or work for an employer, Social Security might not count all your earned income toward the SGA limit. Generally, the costs of any disability-related work expenses will reduce the amount of income that Social Security counts. Impairment-related work expenses (IRWE) include items and services you need to be able to work with your disability, such as:

• medical devices or equipment (a wheelchair, for example)
• medications
• attendant care
• service animal-related costs, and
• job coaching.

You're also entitled to a nine-month trial work period. You can make over the SGA amount during this period without losing your benefits. Learn more about the rules regarding working while receiving disability benefits.

What If SSDI Isn't Enough to Live on?

For many people receiving Social Security disability benefits, working isn't an option. If you can't work at all, how do you survive on disability income?

You'll likely need to change your lifestyle somewhat if SSDI becomes your primary or only income. To determine whether or not your SSDI will pay all your bills, start by reviewing all your expenses, including your basic needs, like:

• housing and food
• medical expenses
• transportation, and
• personal needs (like clothing, laundry, and hygiene items).

Review your other expenses too, such as take-out meals, salon services, and entertainment subscriptions. Then, make a budget based on which expenses you can cut and which you can't. (Learn more about how to make a budget you can live with.)

If, after budgeting, you still find your disability payments aren't enough to live on, there may be other resources available to you. You could get help with some of your bills, like student loans and even medical bills. (More on that below.)

Can You Collect Welfare and Disability at the Same Time?

There are federal and state programs that can help people with significant financial needs, including those living on disability benefits. If your SSDI benefits are very low or you have dependent children, you might qualify for public assistance (welfare), including:

• SNAP benefits (food stamps), or
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), cash benefits for families with children.

Benefits like TANF and SNAP are considered "unearned income," so they don't count toward the SGA limit. That means you can collect these welfare benefits and Social Security disability at the same time.

Housing assistance, including help with rent and utility bills, might also be available if you're trying to survive on disability income alone. Learn more about getting rental assistance when you're on Social Security disability.

If you own your home but are having trouble making your mortgage payment, help might be available through your state's Homeowner Assistance Fund program. If your state doesn't have HAF assistance available, another option might be a loan modification, which would permanently change the terms of your mortgage and lower your monthly payments.

These are just some of the financial resources and welfare benefits that might help you survive on a disability income. Some states offer additional programs. Check with your state's social services agency to learn about the resources that might be available to you.

Can You Collect Social Security and Disability?

The Social Security Administration offers or administers more than one type of benefit, including:

• retirement benefits
• disability benefits (SSDI)
• survivors benefits
• family/dependent benefits
• Medicare, and
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

In general, you can't collect Social Security disability and other Social Security benefits at the same time. The exceptions are Medicare and SSI (more on those below).

What If You're Eligible for Disability and Another Social Security Benefit?

If you're eligible for more than one monthly Social Security benefit, you can receive the higher benefit amount, but not both. So you can't get SSDI and early retirement benefits based on your own earnings record, for example. You also can't collect both disability based on your own work record and family benefits as the disabled spouse of a retired worker (well, technically you can, but your combined benefit wouldn't be more than the amount you could collect in SSDI from your work record alone or the retirement benefit based on your spouse's work record alone).

When Can You Collect SSI and Disability at the Same Time?

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a program jointly run by federal and state governments to guarantee a minimum income to elderly, blind, and disabled people. But it's not technically a Social Security benefit, so you can collect SSI in addition to SSDI if you qualify.

Because SSI is a needs-based program, you must have a very low income and few assets to qualify for benefits. Although not all income counts toward the SSI limit, Social Security disability benefits do count (after the first $20). But if your SSDI is low enough for you to qualify for SSI, you can collect both SSI and Social Security disability at the same time (with your SSI payment being reduced by the amount of your SSDI payment). About 10% of people who receive SSDI also receive SSI benefits.

Collecting SSDI and Other Types of Disability Benefits at the Same Time

Some disability benefits that don't come through the SSA are also available, such as long-term disability insurance benefits, VA benefits, and workers' comp. You can often collect these other disability benefits while you're receiving SSDI—but your benefits might be reduced.

Collecting SSDI and Long-Term Disability Together

You can collect Social Security disability payments and, at the same time, receive private long-term disability (LTD) payments from an insurance policy or coverage provided by your employer. In fact, most LTD insurers require you to apply for Social Security disability. But collecting SSDI can reduce your monthly long-term disability benefits. (Learn more about getting LTD and SSDI benefits together.)

What If You Qualify for SSDI and VA Benefits?

You can receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA benefits) at the same time as Social Security disability benefits. These benefits won't affect your SSDI payments because Social Security doesn't count VA disability toward the SGA limit, and VA benefits don't reduce SSDI payments.

Can You Collect SSDI and Workers' Comp at the Same Time?

While you can collect workers' compensation at the same time as Social Security disability benefits, the total monthly payment from both benefits can't be more than 80% of your average wages before you became disabled. If the total payment would be above that amount, in most states, Social Security will reduce your SSDI payments until the total of the two drops to 80% of your pre-disability earnings (but in some states, your workers' comp benefits are reduced instead).

If you still qualify for Social Security disability benefits when your workers' comp benefits run out, your SSDI benefits will increase to the full amount.

To learn more, read Nolo's article on the Social Security disability offset for workers' comp.

Collecting SSDI and State Disability Benefits

Most states don't offer disability benefits, but a few, including New York and California, do. These states operate temporary disability (TDI) or short-term disability (SDI) programs alongside their unemployment insurance programs.

If your state offers TDI or SDI benefits, you can receive state disability insurance payments at the same time as SSDI, but your SSDI will usually be "offset" (reduced) by short-term disability payments. Learn more about how TDI/SDI benefits could affect your SSDI.

Getting Medicare When You're Collecting SSDI

After you've been entitled to Social Security disability benefits for 24 months, you become eligible for Medicare coverage, even if you're not old enough to be covered by Medicare under the regular rules of the program.

Your entitlement to SSDI benefits doesn't begin until five months after the date Social Security says you became disabled (your established onset date). So, the 24 months you must wait for Medicare eligibility begins five months after your disability onset date—due to SSDI's five-month waiting period. If your income and assets are low enough, you may be able to get Medicaid coverage while you wait.

Medicare Part A, hospitalization coverage, is free after you pay a deductible. Medicare Part B provides medical insurance that partially covers doctor bills, lab work, outpatient clinic care, and some drugs and medical supplies. But Medicare Part B is not free for disability recipients; you must pay a monthly premium unless you qualify for a Medicare Savings Program.