How to Determine Your Monthly Social Security Disability Earnings

When you apply for Social Security disability benefits, you may be wondering how to determine your average indexed monthly earnings. Before worrying about the exact amount you can receive, you need to apply. The first thing that you need to do is make sure that you qualify for disability benefits. This requires a lot of attention to detail and a well-structured case.

How to qualify for Social Security disability benefits:

1) You must have a qualifying medical condition.
Your condition needs to meet a listing in the bluebook. This lists the conditions that qualify for disability benefits. Your condition should be listed here in order to qualify. This has specifics about each condition. If you have questions about this, you can ask your doctor if your condition qualifies.

2) Your medical condition must last for at least 12 months or be terminal.
The condition that you have must be long-term. It needs to either last for at least a year or be expected to be terminal. The severity of your condition must reach a certain level in order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits.

3) You must provide adequate medical documentation.
It’s imperative to provide detailed medical documentation. This should include your diagnosis, medical tests, medications and test results. Include a statement about how your condition affects your ability to work as well.

How to find out your averaged indexed monthly earnings:

1) Your condition does not dictate how much you will receive.
Your specific disability will not determine your monthly payments. Instead, there are other factors that will determine this number.

2) The amount you’ve paid into Social Security affects your payments.
The amount you’ve paid in matters in determining how much your monthly payments will be. This is something that you can look into further on the Social Security Administration website.

3) There are other things that can affect your monthly amount.
Medicare coverage as well as taxes can reduce your monthly payments. Make sure to take this into account when working on your budget.

4) Backpay may be available.
It can take a while for your application to be approved, so this backpay can be very helpful since you probably haven’t worked since you applied.

If you have any questions in regards to the application or appeals process, please contact us!