If you live in Philadelphia and have the misfortune of being unable to work because of a medical condition, financial assistance may be available in the form of disability pay from the Social Security Administration. Pennsylvania does have a state-sponsored short-term disability program or a law that requires employers to cover employees under a temporary disability plan, so Social Security disability may be your only option unless your disability is the result of a job-related injury or illness.

Getting Social Security disability pay is not easy, and more than two-thirds of the people who submit applications each year are refused the benefits they believe they deserve. One way to ensure that your application for disability benefits avoids the mistakes and omissions that can lead to delays and a denial of benefits is by working with a disability advocate at London Eligibility.

How much you receive as Social Security disability pay depends on which of the two programs approves your claim for benefits. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are separate programs for people with long-term disabilities that have different eligibility rules and benefits.

How Much Does Disability Pay Through SSDI?

In order to qualify for monthly disability pay Philadelphia through SSDI, you must have a work history and paid Social Security taxes on the income. The work can be at jobs as an employee, or you could be self-employed. The key factor is that you paid federal taxes on the income and you worked long enough to accumulate enough work credits to qualify for SSDI.

A work credit is what Social Security uses to determine if you meet the work required to get disability pay through SSDI. You acquire work credits based on annual earnings. For 2023, you receive one credit for every $1,640 that you have in earnings up to a maximum of four credits per year.

Younger workers who become disabled generally need fewer credits to qualify for SSDI than do workers who become disabled. A disability advocate can review your work record with you to determine whether you have the required number of credits to meet the work requirement for SSDI.

Meeting the work requirement is only part of the eligibility process to get disability pay through SSDI. You must be disabled according to the definition applied by Social Security.

According to federal regulations, you are disabled if you have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that makes you unable to engage in substantial gainful activity. The impairment or a combination of impairments must have lasted or be expected to last for at least 12 months or be expected to cause your death.

How much you receive in disability pay in Philadelphia through SSDI does not depend on the number of work credits. Instead, the monthly benefit is calculated using your lifetime earnings from employment and self-employment where you paid Social Security taxes. The payment of taxes on income is important because some people, such as railroad workers, do not pay into the Social Security system and are not covered by it.

The maximum monthly SSDI benefits payment is $3,627. The amount that you actually receive may be less based on your lifetime earnings. The average monthly SSDI benefit in 2023 is $1,483 according to the Social Security Administration.

How Much Does Disability Pay Through SSI?

The SSI program uses the same disability definition as is used to determine eligibility for SSDI, but it has different non-medical requirements. As a need-based program the income and assets that you have available to acquire food and shelter cannot exceed specific limits. For instance, the total value of resources that you own cannot exceed $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples.

The resource limit may seem extremely low, but there are certain assets that do not count toward the limits, including:

• 1). Land and a home used as your principal residence.
• 2). A motor vehicle used by you or a member of your household primarily for personal transportation.
• 3). Household goods and personal effects, including wedding and engagement rings.

There are other exclusions that may apply to you, so let a disability advocate review them with you to determine whether you meet the requirements for eligibility.

If you are disabled or statutorily blind and meet the non-medical requirements, you can receive as much as $914 a month in disability pay from SSI in 2023. Couples may get $1,371. A Social Security disability pay chart shows the current SSI monthly payment amounts.

What you actually receive from SSI may be less than $914 if you have other sources of income. You could receive more disability pay in Philadelphia because the state supplements the federal SSI benefit with a state benefit. There are, however, conditions for the state benefit in Pennsylvania that your disability advocate will review with you.

Learn More About Disability Pay Philadelphia

The best way to ensure that you get all of the Social Security disability that you deserve is by letting a disability advocate at London Eligibility assist you in the application process. If you already filed an application for SSDI or SSI that was denied, London Eligibility can appeal it to have the decision overturned. Contact us today for a free consultation.