What if you are unemployed and are receiving unemployment benefits can you still get social security disability payments?

Answer 1

Generally speaking, No. There may be extenuating circumstances depending on the state involved where you worked and the nature of the disability. Technically, you wouldn't get disability unless you were disabled and couldn't work and you couldn't receive unemployment if you were unable to work. Check your state in the Related Link below for more information.

Answer 2

The reasoning behind the Disability Benefits program, is to grant a monthly check to those people who are "no longer able" to perform the duties required to hold their job, or work due to some medical issue. But Unemployment Benefits should be paid when a person finds themselves without a job, but still "perfectly able" to work if they could only find a job. The process seems to work so the person receiving the unemployment benefits must be actively seeking work. So, paying both benefits to the same person wouldn't seem reasonable, they are at odds, one paying because you can't "do the" work another paying because you can't "find" work.

Another Answer:

Yes, you can get both at the same time. This is a very confusing issue. But as explained above, the two are different types of income, and neither one is "wages", and that is what makes it so that one does not affect the other by definition. It seems counter-intuitive, but the bottom line is that neither Unemployment Compensation nor Social Security Disability Income affects the other. You can get both at the same time.

Unemployment compensation is not earnings or wages, you are not receiving it for being an employee or having employment. SSDI income is also not work. You do have to report the income on taxes at the end of the year, but it is not wages, so you do not have to report it as work to the Unemployment office. One way to think of it is, if it is listed on a W2, then it is work. If it is taxable income but not work, it will be on the W9.

The US Government definition of earned wages for disability purposes is:

"For purposes of determining whether Social Security benefits are payable, a person's earnings for a taxable year are the sum of pay for services as an employee plus all net earnings from self-employment (minus any net loss from self-employment) for that year."

For unemployment benefits, even though you received SSDI, that is not earned wages, and you were available to work. You just were unable to find a job that you could do with your particular disability. But you were available and you were actively seeking employment that you would be able to do with the disability.

The disability rules about allowable amounts of wages that one can earn in a trial period without affecting benefits does not come into play. Unemployment benefits are not wages.

See the related links section below for links to this information at the US Government Social Security site

Check your state in the Related Link below for more information.

Answer 3

Technically and legally, yes, but there are risks involved.

While the Social Security Administration doesn't prohibit people on (SSDI) disability from receiving unemployment checks, state unemployment regulations usually require all unemployment recipients to be willing and able to accept full-time work.This creates a conflict, because you're generally not eligible for Social Security disability benefits if you're capable of full-time work.

When you file for unemployment compensation, all states require you to provide your Social Security number (authorized under Internal Revenue Code of 1954, 26 U.S.C. 85, Sections 6011(a), 6050(b), 6109(a), P.L. 98-369, Section 1137(a)(1)). They will share information about your claim with other government agencies to determine how unemployment affects other benefits you may receive, such as Medicaid and food stamps.

If you are in the process of filing for Social Security disability, the conflict between simultaneously claiming to be incapable of "Substantial Gainful Activity" (SGA), which generally translates to full-time work, and contractually agreeing that you're willing to accept full-time work (under state unemployment regulations) in exchange for unemployment compensation, mayresult in being denied disability status (most initial claims and first appeals are denied, anyway).

If you persist with the disability claim and proceed to a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), it will take approximately 18 months to two years from the date you originally filed the claim until your hearing date.

By then, your unemployment compensation will (probably) have been exhausted and you will either have been forced to accept employment (thus ending your disability claim for all practical purposes) or will continue to be unemployed or be under-employed. This may be a factor in the judge's decision to award or deny disability, but it will not necessarily prevent you from receiving disability benefits. The disability determination process is usually long, and should not be viewed as a way of generating quick cash.

You may want to consult with a disability attorney before taking action.

Answer 4

You may apply for Social Security Disability Benefits. They will then determine whether or not you are qualified. Just because you are currently out of work certainly does not mean that you are qualified. If you were just working fairly recently, I can tell you that you will probably be denied.

Answer 5

No. If you are Disabled, you cannot work, therefore you cannot get Unemployment. If you can work, you are not disabled and therefore should not be on

Social Security Disability Benefits. It's an either/or thing, one but not both -at least not legally, and if you DO pull it off, expect to lose ALL your benefits, or at least to have the $$ amount you should not have gotten on one program taken out of the other, regardless of how badly you need the money.

HTH!!

Answer 6

You don't say where you are - so I'll have to answer as per UK law... I would say no. If you're simply unemployed, but capable of working, you can claim unemployment benefit. If you're on a disability allowance - that means you're incapable of work (and are thus not entitled to unemployment benefit). To claim unemployment benefit, you must be actively seeking work. If you're incapable of working, you're not entitled to unemployment benefit ! You cannot meet the criteria of BOTH benefits !

Answer 7

Yes, the two are unrelated and receiving either will not affect the other one.

Answer 8

To collect unemployment you have to be actively seeking work and able to do the work. Receiving Social Security Disability implies you may not be able to either, so probably not.