With each new month comes a new round of Social Security benefit payments. The Social Security Administration (SSA) sends out benefit checks to an array of qualifying individuals. Included in the agency’s lengthy list of beneficiaries are retirees, survivors, disabled individuals, and Supplemental Security Income recipients. The SSA also has its payment schedule for the full calendar year uploaded on its website for the benefit of the beneficiary. On this schedule, recipients will find the payment dates for the regular Social Security benefits, as well as the Supplemental Security Income benefit.
The Supplemental Security Income benefit follows a payment structure that is independent to that of the regular Social Security benefit, with the SSI benefit typically reaching beneficiaries on the first of each month. The regular Social Security benefit, on the other hand, is comprised of the retiree benefit, the survivor benefit, and the disability (SSDI) benefit. All of these benefits follow a similar structure of payment whereby the recipients date of birth determines exactly when during the month their benefit check will reach them.
We are now on day two of October, which is also day two of a federal government shutdown. The fortunate news for all beneficiaries of Social Security is that despite the shutdown, all benefit payments will still be rolled out as per the schedule, with the SSA confirming precisely this on its blog on Wednesday. As such, here is everything you need to know about the SSDI payments for October.
What is Social Security Disability Insurance?
Aside from the Supplemental Security Income, in order to qualify for Social Security benefits, the individual will need to pay a portion of their income into the dedicated Social Security payroll tax. This will earn them work credits which will then allow them to claim benefits from the SSA upon retirement or in the event of becoming disabled.
In order to claim the disability benefit, the individual must have a disability or blindness, as well as sufficient work history (i.e. work credits). It is also worth noting that the SSA has a strict definition of disability, and as such, it will only pay out benefits to individuals with “total disability”. This means that partial disability or short-term disability will not be considered.
According to the SSA, an individual will be considered to have a qualifying disability as per the agency’s rules if all the following are true:
- You cannot do work at the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level because of your medical condition.
- You cannot do work you did previously or adjust to other work because of your medical condition.
- Your condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least 1 year (12 consecutive months) or to result in death.
The SSA also has a Compassionate Allowances (CAL) list which comprises of 300 conditions. If your condition is included on the list, the agency will flag it using technology and speed up the process.
When are SSDI benefits paid?
SSDI benefits follow a payment structure where the recipient’s date of birth determines the date on which they will receive their benefit check. The SSA pays out this benefit on the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month. Listed below are all of the benefit payment dates for October:
- October 1st, Wednesday — SSI benefit for October
- October 3rd, Friday — Social Security/SSDI for those who received Social Security before May 1997, or for those who receive both the SSI and the regular benefit
- October 8th, second Wednesday — Social Security/SSDI for recipients with birth dates from the 1st to the 10th of their respective birth month
- October 15th, third Wednesday — Social Security/SSDI for recipients with birth dates from the 11th to the 20th of their respective birth month
- October 22nd, fourth Wednesday — Social Security/SSDI for recipients with birth dates from the 21st to the 31st of their respective birth month
- October 31st — SSI benefit for November