When are Retroactive Disability Payments Available?

If you are declared permanently disabled by Social Security, when are retroactive disability payments available? Well, the first thing that you need to understand is that while there are circumstances under which a person can receive retroactive benefits, they are certainly not available in all cases.

Who is eligible?

This sounds simple, but before you can file a claim for retroactive disability benefits you first have to file a claim with Social Security for disability benefits. The process can sometimes take years (which is important in this discussion of whe retroactive disability payments might be available).

Besides having an illness, condition, or injury that the Social Security Administration considers a permanant disability, if you are an adult to be eligible for benefits you must:

• worked for a long enough period of time based on your age at the time the disability began
• paid your Social Security taxes while you were working

There are tables available at www.ssa.gov where you can look up your age and see how long you needed to have worked prior to the disability, but if you have become disabled and want to file a claim with Social Security for benefits you can consult an attorney who specializes in this field who can help you and answer your questions.

I think I'm eligible for disability benefits. Now what?

The Social Security Administration is going to look at two dates when considering if you are due retroactive disability benefits.

1. The date Social Security agrees that your disability began. They call this your EOD, which stands for Established Onset Date.
2. The date that you first filed your disability claim.

Here's how this two date thing works:

Pretend your EOD was January 1, 2008, and you filed a disability claim before the end of that month, on January 28th. Less than 12 months later, in early December 2008 Social Security grants your claim and finds that you are permanently disabled.

Because less than 12 months elapsed from the date you first filed your claim, not only are you unlikely to be awarded retroactive benefits but you might even have to wait a few months for your disability benefits to begin.

However, if you EOD was January 1, 2008 and you waited until January 28, 2010 to file a claim...if you are granted disability you may receive retroactive benefits. It is possible to receive up to two years of retroactive benefits, again depending on the date of your EOD and the date you filed your disability claim.

Get Legal Help

Receiving Social Security benefits is a complex legal and medical process. You will increase your chances of a positive outcome and be better able to focus on your ongoing health issues if you retain an attorney who has a great deal of experience with Social Security disability claims.