After a life of hard work to provide for yourself and your family, a disabling illness or injury can force you to retire sooner than you planned. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD) exists to help people in this situation continue to make ends meet. But as you budget for your post-work years, it would help if you knew how much you should expect to receive in benefits for your disability.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) sets each recipient’s monthly payments based on their work and salary histories. Without a sufficient history of working for a salary or being married to someone who collects SSD, you cannot qualify. The longer you worked and the higher your average salary was during your work years, the more you can expect to receive once you are approved for SSD benefits.
The amount paid can change from year to year. For 2022, the average monthly SSD payment is $1,358. Payments range from about $800 to $1,800 per month. A cost of living adjustment (COLA) is expected to increase payments by around 8.7 percent in 2023. SSA makes COLA decisions based on factors like rising prices of consumer goods like food and clothing.
Vital income for disabled workers
As you can see, SSD payments tend to be fairly modest. But they are a vital source of income for millions of disabled and chronically ill Americans, including many people here in Torrance. Getting approved can be tricky. SSA rejects most initial applications. But the agency provides the chance to appeal a denied claim. Working with an SSD attorney can significantly increase your chances of a successful appeal.
