How Much Does SSI and SSDI Pay Together?
If you have a medical condition causing a disability that prevents you from working, you may be experiencing the challenges of the Social Security system. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), two disability benefit programs administered by the Social Security Administration, can be complex and confusing.
For instance, about 6.3 million people receive disability benefits through the SSDI, with 3.4 million receiving them through SSI. What may surprise you is that 1.1 million people receive disability benefits through both programs simultaneously. It’s called concurrent benefits, and it can be beneficial for anyone qualifying for only a small SSDI monthly benefit payment.
The disability benefits team at the Clauson Law Firm believes you deserve all of the benefits available, and the only way to get them is by understanding the disability programs. This article explains SSDI and SSI with a focus on what it takes to be approved for combined disability benefits. You’ll also learn how much to expect in combined disability benefits, as well as when during the month to expect them.
SSDI Eligibility And Benefits
When you work at a job or through self-employment and pay Social Security taxes on the money you earn, you contribute to the Social Security retirement and disability system. Working long enough and recently enough makes you eligible for retirement benefits when you reach retirement age. Workers who become disabled before full retirement age may be eligible for disability benefits through the SSDI program.
SSDI eligibility depends on meeting medical and non-medical requirements. The non-medical requirement is a work history based on work credits. You earn work credits based on your work income, but the earnings per work credit amount set each year by the government. For 2025, a person receives one work credit for each $1,810 earned up to a yearly maximum of four.
As a general rule, you need 40 work credits, with 20 of them earned within 10 years of becoming disabled, to qualify for SSDI benefits. However, the age at the onset of the disability results in younger workers requiring fewer credits than workers disabled later in their careers. For example, workers disabled before they are 24 may be eligible for SSDI with only six work credits earned within three years of the onset of a disability. A 27-year-old worker needs 12 credits earned within six years of the onset of a disability.
How much you receive in monthly SSDI benefits depends on your average lifetime earnings. The maximum benefit payable in 2025 is $4,018, but the average monthly SSDI payment is $1,580. If you worked at low-paying jobs and had a short work history, your SSDI payment could be substantially less than the average.
SSI Eligibility And Benefits
The SSI program does not require a work history for eligibility. Financial need determines whether or not you qualify for SSI benefits. You must meet the following income and resource limits:
- Have no income or only limited income.
- Individuals may not have resources or assets exceeding $2,000 in value.
- Eligible couples may not have resources exceeding $3,000 in value.
The maximum monthly SSI federal benefit payment for an individual is $967 in 2025. Eligible couples can receive as much as $1,450. Some states supplement the federal benefit.
If you have income, only some of it counts toward determining eligibility for SSI or how much you get each month. SSDI and other Social Security benefits count as unearned income, but you may exclude the first $20 of unearned income you receive during a month. The remainder of the income counts toward reducing the monthly SSI benefits you receive.
You Must Be Disabled To Qualify For SSI Or SSDI
The medical requirement for eligibility for benefits through SSDI and SSI uses a federal standard. You must be unable to do substantial gainful work activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment or a combination of impairments. The impairments must have lasted or be expected to last for at least one year or be expected to result in death. The Social Security Administration uses a different definition for children applying for SSI benefits.
The Application Process And Concurrent Benefits
The application you fill out and submit to the Social Security Administration (SSA) for disability benefits does not require that you choose between SSI and SSDI. The SSA makes the decision for you during its application review process. If you meet the eligibility criteria for both programs, you could be approved for concurrent benefits.
When you receive the letter of approval, SSDI and SSI monthly income payments may not begin immediately. The SSI benefits start right away, but you may experience a delay before receipt of the first SSDI payment.
There is a five-month waiting period for SSDI benefits. Depending on the date your disability began and how long it took to process your application for benefits, the five-month waiting period may not have expired. Applicants whose disability results from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease, do not have a waiting period.
To help illustrate how concurrent benefits work, assume you qualify for the full federal SSI monthly benefit of $967 and $400 from SSDI. You’ll begin receiving $967 immediately from SSI until the end of the SSDI waiting period.
Once the waiting period ends, and you begin receiving SSDI benefits of $400 a month, the SSI monthly disability benefit limits decrease by $380 ($400 unearned income from SSDI minus the $20 monthly unearned income exclusion) to $587. Your current benefits are $587 from SSI and $400 from SSDI.
Medical Coverage And Concurrent Benefits
Applicants approved for SSDI benefits become eligible for Medicare 24 months after their benefit payments begin. People approved for SSDI benefits with ALS do not have a waiting period for Medicare, and a shorter waiting period applies to individuals approved for benefits with end-stage renal failure.
When you qualify for SSI, you may be eligible for Medicaid coverage immediately without a waiting period. The federal and state governments jointly fund the Medicaid program. States determine eligibility based on their own guidelines and broad eligibility criteria from the federal government. If you qualify for Medicaid, you avoid a health insurance gap caused by the waiting period until Medicare eligibility begins. Medicaid becomes the secondary payer or coverage provider after you become eligible for Medicare.
The benefit of dual coverage through Medicare and Medicaid is broader coverage. The Medicare that you get with SSDI includes Parts A and B. Part A pays costs related to hospitalizations for up to 60 days and short-term care in a skilled nursing facility. Medicare Part B pays for doctors’ visits, physical therapy, and other medically necessary outpatient services.
Medicaid covers services that Medicare does not, including long-term care in a skilled nursing facility or nursing home, in-home personal care services, prescription drugs, eyeglasses, and hearing aids. These services are covered even after the 24-month waiting period when Medicare coverage starts.
When To Expect Payment Of Concurrent Benefits?
Now that you have the approval letter and know the monthly SSI and SSDI payment amount, you may wonder about the payment date. Concurrent benefits do not follow the same payment schedule normally used for SSI, SSDI, and retirement benefits. Social Security processes SSI benefit payments on the first day of each month.
SSDI and Social Security retirement benefits are paid on the second, third, and fourth Wednesday of each month, depending on your birth date as follows:
- Second Wednesday: Birthdates on the first through tenth day of the month.
- Third Wednesday: Birthdates on the eleventh through twentieth day of the month.
- Fourth Wednesday: Birthdates on the twenty-first through the thirty-first day of the month.
If you qualify for concurrent benefits, you’ll receive payment of your SSI benefits on the first day of the month. Your SSDI benefit payment does not follow the date of birth system. Instead, the SSDI portion of the concurrent benefits is processed on the third day of each month, regardless of the day of the month you were born. Any benefit payments scheduled for a federal holiday or weekend are processed on the business day immediately preceding the holiday or weekend.
When You Need Help With Disability Benefits, Turn To Clauson Law
Founded more than 15 years ago to help people throughout North Carolina and across the country meet the challenge of the Social Security disability process, the Clauson Law Firm continues providing people with disabilities with outstanding representation and skillful guidance from the initial application through the appeal process. We aggressively fight to get you the disability benefits the law entitles you to receive by seamlessly guiding your claim through the system and overcoming obstacles that may arise.
Our experienced staff of disability attorneys recognizes the financial stress of being unable to work because of a disabling medication condition, so we take our responsibility seriously and treat you with compassion and understanding. Learn more about the difference Clauson Law can make in your life by contacting us today for a free consultation and claim evaluation.
