How much money you get if you are approved depends on two things – your PIA (how much you draw monthly) and how much, if any, past-due benefits you are entitled to.

The amount you receive on a monthly basis if your claim for Social Security disability benefits is approved is called your PIA. The “primary insurance amount” (PIA) is the benefit (before rounding down to the next lower whole dollar) a person would receive if he/she elects to begin receiving retirement benefits at his/her normal retirement age. At this age, the benefit is neither reduced for early retirement nor increased for delayed retirement. Generally, you receive what you would receive at full Social Security retirement age. Your PIA is calculated using the Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) must first be calculated before the PIA can be determined. The government takes three percentages of the AIME—fixed at 90%, 32%, and 15%—to calculate the PIA.

When you are awarded Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you might also be entitled to past-due benefits. How much Social Security Disability back pay you are due is dependent upon the date you became disabled. The regulations allow you the right to collect benefits for the 12 months preceding your disability application. (Note, the first five months of your disability are not compensable; there is a five-month waiting period during which benefits are not owed.) For example, if you applied for disability on January 1, 2020, you could potentially be paid back pay for the time from January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019.

People often ask how much they will receive on disability if they win. Of course, if they don’t win their case the answer is $0. Getting money from a disability claim requires it to be successful. Call Chad Brown Law today at (336) 962-5373 to see how we can help you win your Social Security disability claim and get the money you deserve.