Social Security

Technically and legally, yes, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

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 already receiving Social Security Disability(SSDI), and you are filing an unemployment claim that shows you earned more than an average of $1,000 per month, the Social Security Administration will consider you to have engaged in Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA), which will cause problems.

The SSA allows people on disability to attempt to reenter the workforce without penalty by providing nine non-consecutive trial work months during which you can earn in excess of $1,000 per month without jeopardizing your benefits. However, any month that you earn more than $720 is counted toward your trial work period (TWP), so if you have already used up your nine-month allotment andyou continued to earn in excess of $1,000 per month, the Social Security Administration may terminate your disability status or may initiate a Continuing Disability Review (CDR) to determine if your disability status should beterminated.

If you earned more than $1,000 per month for more than nine months, you may be required to repay the Social Security Administration for overpaid benefits and you may also be terminated from disability.

On the other hand, if you file for unemployment compensation based on earnings averaging $1,000 per month or less (below SGA), the unemployment claim is legitimate and shouldn't raise any red flags.

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.

For information regarding your specific circumstances, contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213, or seek consultation with a disability attorney.

Yes this is possible BUT the benefits may be reduced because of provision of the law. For more information, go to the SSA.gov web site and use the search box for Windfall Elimination Provision (Publication No. 05-10045).

If you receive a pension from employment in which you did not pay Social Security taxes and you also qualify for your own Social Security retirement or disability benefit, your Social Security benefit may be reduced, but not eliminated, by WEP. The amount of the reduction, if any, depends on your earnings and number of years in jobs in which you paid Social Security taxes, and the year you are age 62 or become disabled. In 2008, the maximum monthly reduction was $355.50.

This is not an IRS form. SSA-25 is a form from the Social Security Administration that allows a spouse who is at least 62 years old, but has not yet reached full retirement age, to receive Social Security benefits based on the other spouse's income. Choosing to receive retirement benefits early results in a permanent reduction of the monthly payment, even after that person reaches full retirement age. Once the form is completed and signed, the spouse is bound by the terms of the agreement.

The benefit reduction is calculated according to a formula noted in the SSA explanation, below.

Form SSA-25 (01-2010) EF (01-2010) Certificate of Election for Reduced Spouse's Benefits

"A spouse's insurance benefit may be payable for months between age 62 and full retirement age (FRA), even if you do not have in your care a child of the worker under age 16 or disabled entitled to a child's insurance benefit.

"Choosing to receive spouse's insurance benefits before FRA will result in a permanent reduction in your monthly benefits. Since such benefit will be at a permanently reduced rate and will continue at a permanently reduced rate even after FRA, the law requires that we obtain a certificate of election if you wish to receive the permanently reduced benefit.

"The amount of the reduction is 25/36 of 1 percent for each of the first 36 months from the start of the permanently reduced benefits to, but not including, the month you reach FRA.

"The reduction is 5/12 of 1 percent for each such month in excess of 36. In addition, if another beneficiary(ies) other than the wage earner (e.g., a student child beneficiary) is entitled to a monthly benefit on this Social Security number, election for a reduced spouse's benefit may cause a reduction in total monthly benefits. These reduced benefits may be paid for as many as 12 months before the month this certificate is filed. No reduced spouse's benefit may begin before the month you are 62. If you are eligible for retirement insurance benefits in the month this certificate takes effect, you will be considered to have applied for them."