SSDI checks are up from one year ago: How much and when will you receive your check?

Compared to March 2023, the average SSDI payment made last month was 4 percent higher. There are multiple factors that lead SSDI and other benefits offered by the Social Security Adminstration (SSA) to increase. The greatest is the cost-of-living adjustment applied to benefits each year to protect beneficiaries’ purchasing power. This year, a 3.2 percent increase has been tacked onto benefit amounts. The other 0.8 percent can be explained by the increased salaries of disabled workers who qualify for benefits. If the incomes of new beneficiaries are higher than those of recipients who have been receiving benefits, the average income of the entire group will move upward.

the Over the last year, 318,000 additional people have received SSDI benefits, bringing the total to 8,736,000, of which 7,510,000 are disabled workers, and the remaining are spouses and children of disabled workers.

Yesterday, SSDI recpeients with birthdays between the 11th and 20th of any month received their checks, with those with birthdays between the 21st and the 31st set to receive their April payment next Wednesday, the 24th.

Those approved for SSDI benefits should be aware of the waiting period.

Between 2010 and 2019, around twenty percent of initial claims made for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) were approved. If you are one of the few whose claim is accepted, don’t be surprised if your first check takes months to receive. If your application for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is approved, you must wait five months before receiving your first SSDI benefit payment. Future beneficiaries should consider this timeline and budget for the lack of income they could face until their payments begin to be sent.

There is no waiting period if your disability arises due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and you get approved for SSDI benefits on or after July 23, 2020.

Why is there a waiting period?

Federal law requires the waiting period for benefits to be sent. According to a benefit handbook published by the Social Security Adminstration (SSA), “under the law, your payments can’t begin until you’ve been disabled for at least five full months.”

How long can one receive SSDI benefits?

This varies on a case-by-case basis. If one’s condition does not improve, then the benefits will be continued. However, the SSA, once your benefits begin, will not be stopped unless your condition improves and you are allowed to return to the workforce. The SSA may “review your case periodically to make sure you still have a qualifying disability,” but no firm deadlines or dates are provided in the handbook.