Differences in the Qualifications to Get SSI or SSDI
While both require you to have health problems that rule out working (and this is something you have to prove using medical evidence), SSI and SSDI have different eligibility rules on your past work, income limits, financial resources limits, age and more.
Here is a rundown:
- Work History. SSDI requires you to have a substantial history of working and paying into Social Security. Paying in makes you eligible for coverage. SSI isn’t like insurance in this way. It’s a government aid program and doesn’t focus on past work requirements.
- Income Limits. SSI requires you to have income below certain levels. For SSDI, you must be unable to work enough to make a substantial income, but otherwise SSDI doesn’t focus on your income.
- Resource Limits. With SSI, you can’t own much value in savings, investments, or property other than your main home. SSDI doesn’t look at your other assets or resources. With SSDI, you paid for it, so you get it even if you have other money.
- Benefits for Dependents: SSDI can also provide benefits to your dependents, often spouses or children who also have disabilities. SSI is just for you. It doesn’t cover beneficiaries.
Much of the time, people qualify for one or the other. Either you get SSDI, because you’ve got years of work background and economic resources that are too high for SSI, or you get SSI because you have little recent work history and few economic means.
You can qualify for both SSDI and SSI in one situation: If your SSDI payments, which are calculated based on your earnings history, are low enough, you could get SSI benefits that raise your monthly total. You could also get SSI benefits to cover a gap in time before your SSDI benefits start.
If this is starting to sound confusing, the disability attorneys at Troutman & Troutman agree. We think you deserve straight answers about which disability benefits program you should apply for.
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Review of Benefits: What Do You Get With SSI vs. SSDI?
Besides the requirements to get benefits in the first place, the difference between SSI vs. SSDI is also in the types and amounts of benefits you get.
- Monthly Checks. Both programs send you monthly payments, but your SSDI payment is based on your past income while SSI is a pre-set amount for everyone. Often, SSDI is more. In 2023, for example, the average SSDI payment was $1,483, while SSI paid $914 for an individual.
- Health Care Coverage. Qualifying for SSDI benefits gives you access to Medicare health plans after a waiting period. Normally you couldn’t get Medicare until retirement age. SSI comes with Medicaid health care, called SoonerCare in Oklahoma.
- When Benefits Start. SSDI requires a minimum five-month waiting period from the time you had a qualifying impairment to when your benefit checks begin. SSI benefits start almost immediately after you’re approved.
- Benefit Reviews. Social Security checks whether your disability still qualifies for SSDI every three to seven years. (This is called a continuing disability review, or CDR.) It checks every year on your eligibility for SSI.
Behind the scenes, another difference between SSI and SSDI is the source of their money. SSDI is funded through Social Security taxes that workers and employers pay. General tax revenue pays for SSI.
You don’t have to worry and wonder what approach to take to your Social Security Disability claim.
Troutman & Troutman disability lawyers can guide you through the options—and help you secure greater stability in the face of life-altering health problems.
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You may be trying to determine if Social Security Disability benefits are right for you. You may be facing a long, complicated benefits application. Or you’ve applied and been denied. Now what? The Troutman & Troutman Oklahoma disability attorneys can help.
Disability Attorneys Answer Your Questions about Social Security
Your life has been disrupted by health problems. You’ve had to leave work. You’re worried about money. Social Security Disability benefits can provide relief, but they’re complicated. You’ve got a lot of questions. The Troutman & Troutman Tulsa disability lawyers have answers.
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