What Are the Maximum Social Security Disability Benefits?

What Are the Maximum Social Security Disability Benefits?In this year 2024 the Social Security Disability Benefits Maximum amount is receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is $3,822 per month but this amount Expected to rise in 2025 due to a cost of living adjustment (COLA), as the SSA announced a 2025 COLA adjustment of 2.5%.

What Are Social Security Disability Benefits?

Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) pays monthly benefits to workers who are no longer able to work due to a significant illness or impairment that is expected to last at least a year or to result in death within a year. It is part of the Social Security program that also pays retirement benefits to the vast majority of older Americans. Benefits are based on the disabled worker’s past earnings and are paid to the disabled worker and to his or her dependent family members. To be eligible, a disabled worker must have worked in jobs covered by Social Security. In July 2017, 8.8 million disabled workers received benefits.

Qualifying for Disability Benefits in New York

Each program has specific eligibility requirements:

SSI:

• Your condition prevents you from working for at least one year
• You have limited income and assets

SSDI:

• Your condition prevents you from working for at least one year
• You’ve worked five out of the last 10 years (for most applicants)

State Disability:

• Your disability occurred off the job
• You’re under the care of a qualified medical professional

Social Security Disability Evaluation Process

There are some conditions that the SSA considers so severe that they automatically render an applicant disabled. However, many conditions require careful screening. For those, applicants must answer these five questions:8

1. Are you currently working? If you are working, you are not blind, and your earnings average more than $1,550 in 2024, then you will not be considered disabled. If you are not working, or if your income falls below Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limits, move on to question two.
2. Is your condition severe? If Social Security determines that your condition does not interfere with basic work-related activities for at least twelve months, then you will not be considered disabled. If your condition has or will interfere with basic work-related activities for at least twelve months, move on to question three.
3. Is your condition found in the list of disabling conditions? Social Security maintains a list of disabling medical conditions that automatically qualify you as disabled. If your condition is not one of these, then Social Security will determine if it is severe enough to qualify. If it is deemed severe enough, you will be considered disabled and your application will be approved. Move on to question four.
4. Can you do the work you did before? If your condition does not interfere with your ability to do the work that you used to do, then you will not be considered disabled. If it does, move on to question five.
5. Can you do any other type of work? Finally, if you can’t do the work that you did previously, then Social Security will determine whether you can do some other type of work. If Social Security determines that you can adjust to other suitable work (taking into account your medical condition, age, education, previous work experience, and other factors), then you will not be considered disabled and your claim will be denied. If you cannot adjust, then your claim will be approved.

How Much Is the Disability Benefit?

The disability benefit is linked through a formula to a worker’s earnings before he or she became disabled. The following figures show how the disability insurance benefits compare to prior earnings for a worker who became eligible for benefits in 2014 at age 55.

*Average indexed earnings

The average benefit paid to disabled workers in June 2017 was $1,172 a month or about $14,064 a year.