What is the difference between SSDI and SSI?
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are paid to those who have worked long enough and have paid taxes into Social Security and meet other qualifying criteria. The amount of monthly SSDI benefits is determined by how much the person earned before they became disabled. Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) benefits are paid to those who have either not worked long enough to qualify for SSDI benefits, or who may have never had an opportunity to work. To receive SSI benefits, an individual must meet certain criteria, as well as prove that they have limited financial resources. The SSI benefit amount may change as their financial situation changes.
Social Security Disability (SSDI) is best thought of as an insurance program. A recipient has to have worked a certain amount in his or her lifetime to qualify for benefits. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) on the other hand is considered to be a form of welfare and is needs based, meaning that a person must be very low income with very few assets in order to qualify. Both programs pay benefits to disabled persons who qualify under the physical and mental impairment guidelines set by Federal regulations 2. I have a denial. What happens now? If the decision is the initial denial, you must file a Request for Reconsideration with the Social Security Administration. If it is the second denial (after the review based on your Request for Reconsideration), then you must file a Request for Hearing. You have 60 days from the date of a Social Security determination to request a review of that decision. Failure to timely file the appropriate paperwork with the Social Security Administration wil
SSDI is essentially insurance benefits you earn based upon premiums you have paid into the system through your payroll taxes while employed. The amount of your monthly SSDI benefit is determined in part on your earnings record. For an estimate of that amount, contact Social Security and request an Annual Statement. SSDI coverage requires that you have been employed for certain periods prior to the onset of your disability. The law currently requires that you demonstrate earnings in twenty (20) of the forty (40) calendar quarters prior to becoming disabled, or five (5) years of employment out of the prior ten (10) years. Without such earnings, you do not have “insured status”. SSI, by contrast, pays a lesser benefit in a standard amount to individuals who otherwise qualify as disabled but do not have “insured status” for SSDI.
