Why You Should Apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Benefits While You Are Receiving Long Term Disability (LTD) Claim or Your LTD Claim is Pending

Getting Social Security Disability May Protect Your Continued Receipt of LTD Benefits

Almost all ERISA long term disability plans will offset (decrease) your LTD benefit by any amount you receive from Social Security for your disability. If you win your Social Security claim and the LTD insurance company has to pay you less money per month, they have a smaller financial incentive to deny LTD claim. In addition, Social Security Disability requires the tougher “total disability” from any job. Most LTD plans only require you to be disabled from your “own occupation” initially. Winning SSDI benefits will strengthen your claim for LTD benefits.

Medicare Benefits

Regardless of your age, 24 months after your date of entitlement to SSDI benefits, you are eligible for Medicare benefits, which includes Part A (hospital benefits) and Part B (medical benefits). A variety of Medicare Advantage plans also are available to you.

Prescription Drug Coverage

Once you’re entitled to Medicare, you also are eligible for Medicare Part D, the prescription drug plan.

COBRA Extension

If you receive SSDI benefits, the length of your COBRA benefits may be extended an additional 11 months. This means that instead of only 18 months of COBRA benefits you will be entitled to a total of 29 months.

Long-Term Disability (LTD) Benefits

If you have private long-term disability insurance, your provider most likely will require you to seek SSDI.

Protected Retirement Benefits

When you reach retirement age, SSDI ends and you transition to Social Security retirement benefits. SSDI entitlement “freezes” your Social Security earnings record during your period of disability. Because those years will not be counted when computing future benefits, your Social Security retirement benefits may be higher. Without SSDI and the “freeze” of your earnings record, the Social Security Administration will treat your years of disability as years in which your earnings are zero. This could reduce your Social Security retirement benefits when you retire.

Dependent Benefits

If you receive SSDI benefits and you have a dependent under age 18, he or she also may be eligible for benefits.

Return-to-Work Incentives

Social Security will provide you opportunities to return to work while still paying you disability benefits.