You suffered severe injuries because of someone else’s carelessness or recklessness in a slip and fall, a car accident, or other incidents. You claimed the party that was at fault, and you recently got compensation from a personal injury settlement. However, you also receive Social Security disability benefits, either through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) (SSI). Would the new PI settlement money change the amount of your SSDI or SSI benefits? The simple answer is that a personal injury case settlement will not impact how much you receive SSDI benefits. But personal injury settlement can harm SSI benefits, yes.
The Social Security Administration oversees both the SSDI and SSI programs. Due to the highly diverse qualifying restrictions, each program must meet certain objectives, and the two SSA programs are affected differently by PI settlements. While SSI is a “needs-based” program for persons with assets and income below a specific level, SSDI is an “earned benefit” program available to anybody. Additionally, this indicates that various government funds are used to pay for each benefit.
How Does a Personal Injury Settlement Affect SSDI Benefits?
Your SSDI benefit will not be affected by a personal injury settlement; you will not need to do anything extra to keep receiving your full monthly SSDI payments just because you won a PI settlement. Payroll taxes you accrued throughout the years fund the SSDI benefits program. You may know these taxes as the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) or the Self-Employed Contributions Act tax (SECA). Once you have put in sufficient time at work, you are qualified for SSDI since you have earned it.
How Does a Personal Injury Settlement Affect SSI Benefits?
Your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will be reduced or eliminated once you get the settlement payment from a personal injury case. Supplemental Security Income is a “needs-based” welfare program that does not depend on your employment history. You must be disabled, blind, or at least 65 years to qualify for SSI and pass an “asset test” demonstrating your financial eligibility.
Finally, work with disability lawyers who will always defend you if you need to get your SSDI or SSI benefits.
