How Much Will I Get?
One question that we often get involves the amount of benefits awarded. Social Security has a complicated formula, called your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which they use to determine the precise amount of your monthly check. The easiest way to get a rough idea of what your check might be is to figure out what your monthly salary has been, then take 80% of that number. Unfortunately, to do this you have to adjust your average salaries for things like inflation, which for most people is more math than they want to do on their own.
In addition to your monthly benefits, you may also be able to secure some support for your dependents, such as your children. In fact, if you have children who are under age 18 during your disability period, you may get up to an additional 50% to help out. In other words, if you expect to get $1200 for yourself, and you have three children, you will get $1800 total. Below a certain level of earnings, children are not covered. It is important to remember is that you get the same additional money for having 1 child or for having 10 children; you don’t get more money per child. Interestingly, before 1978, each child received a minimum amount, no matter how much you earned each year. Big families of low wage earners could receive more money in one month that the workers had contributed over their lifetime, so this was changed. Eligibility for child’s benefits continues until the las child turns 18 but only if still in high school.
If you are found disabled, a monthly check will be sent to you. There is a five-month waiting period. Also, for payment purposes, the date you became disabled is the first day of the next month. So for example, March 2 through 31 counts as April 1. In most cases, however, by the time SSA agrees that you are disabled, it has been years since the disability began. Therefore, they count up all of the monthly checks you would have gotten during that them and give they to you in one lump-sum payment. This lump-sum can be particularly helpful if you have an advocate’s help because his or her fee is taken out of that check, and never out of your future monthly checks.
