The Social Security Administration (SSA) imposes income limits on most people who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). If you’re still getting payments from the military after becoming disabled, does that affect your SSDI eligibility?
Military income continues for up to a year after service members become disabled, but that doesn’t stop them from applying for SSDI. Instead of gauging your ability to engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA) on your income, the SSA will base it on the value of the work you are able to perform. Military payments don’t impact SSDI eligibility, and neither do veteran disability benefits.
For a free case review from our Arkansas disability lawyers, call (479) 316-0438 today.
Can I Get Military Payments and SSDI?
Failure to engage in substantial gainful activity, or SGA, is one of the non-medical program requirements an applicant must satisfy to receive SSDI benefits. Limits on SGA are computed annually to keep pace with inflation. The purpose of a screen for individuals who are earning excessive amounts of SGA is two-fold.
First, it encourages only those who are seriously disabled to apply for benefits. Secondly, absent some form of fraud, it ensures that only those individuals who truly need disability benefits receive them.
However, when this screen is applied mechanically it can appear to complicate the ability of a service member to receive SSDI benefits. This is because even after a severe injury, most servicemen and servicewomen continue to receive full pay temporarily, which will result in the individual seemingly exceeding the limits on SGA.
Is My Military Income Considered Evidence of SGA for SSDI Benefits?
Fortunately, income is not necessarily evidence of SGA for all service members, and DI 10505.023 issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) accounts for this very situation. Those in active military service who are being treated for severe impairment typically continue to receive their full pay for up to a year, so SGA isn’t assessed based on continued military income received.
Rather, SGA should be assessed on non-monetary grounds. Regardless of the location for work where the injured or disabled service member was assigned, the claims examiner must “compare the activity with similar work in the civilian workforce and determine its reasonable worth.”
This lets you keep getting your military pay throughout your application for SSDI, as long as you are not physically able to perform a substantial level of work.
How is SGA Assessed for Service Members Seeking SSDI Payments?
As mentioned, since continued military income isn’t considered evidence if substantial gainful activity, the SSA must use other parameters to determine SSDI eligibility.
Rather than assessing your military income, which may remain unchanged while you are being treated for a severe impairment, the SSA should assess the objective value of your job’s work activities and their exertional requirements. That is, the claims examiner will look to determine whether the job requires activities such as sitting, standing, lifting, carrying, walking, speaking, manual dexterity in the fingers, and the other job requirements.
Comparisons between military and non-military workplaces and responsibilities can be subjective, and our lawyers can step in if the SSA deems your work activity above the SGA limit for nonmonetary criteria, appealing the decision with updated medical records, witness statements, and other evidence as support.
How to Prevent Military Work Activity from Impacting SSDI Payments
While the benefits applicant himself or herself is often the primary source of information regarding the job duties, additional sources of documentation can be useful in situations where it is difficult to define the job based on first-hand information alone.
Additional documentation from different sources can help establish the actual value of the work performed by the serviceman or servicewoman. Military occupation manuals can be used to correlate a military job to a civilian job as listed in the Department of Labor’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT).
However, if outside sources contradict the military member’s allegations regarding his or her duties and responsibilities, additional corroborating evidence is necessary. A commanding officer (CO), senior non-commissioned officer, or other military personnel with supervisory and administrative duties and knowledge can confirm the benefit applicant’s reports.
Do Military Disability Payments Impact SSDI Payments?
If you are a veteran, you may get disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and SSDI benefits from the Social Security Administration simultaneously. If you believe SSDI payments were miscalculated because of your VA disability benefits, call our lawyers, and we can get to the bottom of the situation.
The criteria requirements for veteran disability benefits and SSDI benefits differ. Your eligibility for veteran benefits is based on your service in the military and disability, while your eligibility for SSDI is based on your work history and disability. You pay into the system to receive Social Security benefits when Social Security taxes are removed from your military paychecks.
Your SSDI benefit shouldn’t be reduced if you get VA disability benefits, and vice versa.
What if I Receive Military Payments and Need SSDI?
If you currently receive military payments of any kind and are permanently disabled, you may also be eligible for SSDI. Contact our lawyers. We can help you with the entire application process and calculate your deserved monthly benefit.
You need a qualifying condition to get SSDI, and we can see if your diagnosis aligns with any in the SSA’s listing of impairments. Even if it is not an exact match, you may qualify if your condition is close enough to one specifically mentioned by the SSA.
Disabled service members generally only receive pay and allowances continuation for up to a year, after which point they may have to rely on SSDI. You don’t need to wait to start your application, and you may even be eligible for expedited claims processing as a member of the military.
Rely on Our Disability Attorneys’ Experience
For a free case assessment from our Fayetteville AR disability lawyers, call (479) 316-0438 today.