Disability Back Pay: Can I Get Back Pay for Social Security Claims?

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You've been patiently waiting for your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claim to be approved. In most cases this would be a wait of one year or more. Unless your case was one of the rare instances of an expedited claim, you likely have not received any disability benefits at this point. When your disability claim is finally approved, you will receive ongoing benefits due to your inability to work. But you should be aware that you may also be eligible for back pay.

What is Back Pay?

Back pay is the amount you should have been paid had your claim been approved going back to the date your disability has been considered to have occurred. This date is often known as the disability onset date, known as the Established Onset Date (EOD) of your disability. In reality however, the overwhelming majority of disability claims are not paid right away, or even a couple of months after an applicant applies. In general, it takes 3 to 5 months to get a decision from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and in the majority of those cases, the claim is denied and you would need to appeal your claim, which will considerably extend the process.

How is Back Pay Calculated?

Even with an approval, your claim may not be paid right away but you are entitled to pay for the time you have been waiting. If you won on appeal, you will have been waiting even longer, in some cases as long as 2 years. How ever long the wait was, back pay calculation usually goes back to the day you become eligible, which is 5 months after the EOD of your disability. This date is determined by the SSA.

What Is The 5-Month Waiting Period?

All SSDI claims are subject to the 5-Month Waiting Period before benefits can begin to be paid. This date begins at the EOD of the disability but there is no back pay for this time. There are exceptions to the 5-month waiting period for individuals who have been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), sometimes referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease or other terminal diseases. The exceptions also apply to individuals who had gone back to work, but had to stop again due to their disabilities and also for the children of the disabled worker up until age 18, or 19 if a full-time student. The 5-month waiting period also does not apply to Supplemental Security Income.

Is Back Pay Retroactive the Same as Back Pay?

No, it isn't. Retroactive pay is for the period of time going back to the EOD if there was a gap of time after the EOD and before the application date. There is a maximum of 12 months that can be paid for retroactive pay. So if your claim is filed later than one year after the onset of your disability, you can only receive retroactive benefits pay for one year going back, which will mark the beginning of the 5-month waiting period. There is however, no time limit for back pay. So if you wait more than one year to receive your disability benefits you will receive the entire amount dating back the EOD less the 5-month waiting period. This will almost always be the situation with approvals that are won on appeal.

How is Back Pay Paid?

Back pay for SSDI is generally paid back in a lump sum after your claim is approved. This usually occurs 30-60 days after your claim is approved. For SSI, payments are sent out in installments that occur six months apart. Back pay for SSI is paid out this way to avoid the recipient from receiving a large sum of money which could put them above the allowable income limit to receive benefits.

Our Disability Attorney Can Help

An experienced disability attorney can help make sure you get all the benefits and past due benefits that you are entitled to including back pay and retroactive pay. We explore every avenue to check your eligibility for back or retroactive pay. Our social security lawyer at Jackson Law Firm offers a free case evaluation and our law firm also works on a contingency bases, which means that we don't charge any attorney fees unless we are successful with your claim.