As is the case with other residents of New Jersey, you may wonder whether your SSDI payments can be impacted if you receive some other type of settlement payment. For example, like a notable percentage of recipients, you may qualify for payments both through SSDI and via a workers’ compensation settlement.
How payment offset works
Pursuant to federal law governing SSDI, there is an offset provision that governs a situation in which you receive money from certain other sources. Eligibility for both SSDI and workers’ compensation is a prime example of a situation in which a person qualifies for payments from more than one source.
The offset provision in the SSDI law mandates that a person can never be paid more than 80% of their income or wages if they become disabled. For this reason, if you qualify for SSDI and workers’ compensation, and the amount of money from both sources goes over 80% of your wages mark, an offset will occur. Your SSDI payments face a reduction of the amount needed to lower the overall benefit to you to a point at the referenced 80% mark.
Obtaining SSDI and other benefits to which you may be entitled can prove to be a complicated undertaking. While claiming and receiving workers’ compensation benefits is usually a straightforward procedure, the SSDI claims process is more complex, and initial claims are often rejected. As a consequence, if you are in need of disability benefits, you can be well served by engaging the services of an experienced lawyer.
