People with disabilities, their families and friends, and those who work with them in professional capacities understand that the vast majority of over- or under-payments that arise (related to Social Security Disability payments) do so because of system design. A person with a disability is very likely to be eligible for different benefits sequentially or even concurrently during her/his lifetime. Each of these benefits has different parameters. Frequently, the onus is on the individual receiving the benefits to track and then alert Social Security that their eligibility for a particular benefit has started, ended, or changed. Even when a switch from one benefit payment level to another or from one type of benefit to another is initiated by the Social Security Administration, there is a lag in the adjustment, which makes an over- or underpayment inevitable. This state of affairs is exacerbated by the Administration’s chronic understaffing and out-of-date technology. Until or unless those conditions are remedied, the first and perhaps only line of defense that a person with a disability can mount against error is their own data keeping. If you are a person with a disability, these are the data for which you should maintain your own records.
If you receive Supplemental Security Income, you need to consistently track the following:
· Any unearned income you receive. Certain unearned income is not counted by the SSA when they determine your SSI payment. This includes the first $20 per month, regardless of source as well as needs-based payments (like those generated by the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program), educational grants or fellowships unless they are used for room and board, disaster or emergency assistance payments or income of $60 or less that is received infrequently. You will want to maintain a record of unearned income and whether it does or does not fall into an excepted category. Unearned income will reduce your SSI payable dollar for dollar.
· Any earned income, whether from wages/salary or self-employment. This includes income earned in cash or even covered in barter. The first $65 per month and one half of the remainder will not be “counted” when calculating your SSI payable. Countable earned income will reduce your SSI payable dollar for dollar.
· The value of all financial accounts that you own outright at the start of each month. Accounts owned by a supplemental/special-needs trust of which you are the beneficiary, ABLE accounts, or accounts in which funds are being saved to fulfill an SSA-approved Plan to Achieve Self-sufficiency (PASS) may be excluded. If countable resources exceed $2,000 ($3,000 if you are half or an eligible couple), you are ineligible for SSI.
· Room and board, rent or “fair share” payments that you make to others with whom you live. If you cannot demonstrate that you contribute to the cost of your shelter, your SSI payable will be reduced.
· How many Social Security credits you have accumulated. For 2025, you accumulate one credit for every $1,810 in gross earnings up to 4 credits per calendar year. Once you accumulate sufficient credits for your age to be “insured”, you will become eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
· For those who are full-time students under the age of 22, records of both your age and your student status if you have earned income. Students have a much more generous earned income exclusion.
· Any information that supports either the continuation of or changes in your disabling conditions.
· Any expenditures that might be considered Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE).
· Months in which you had concurrent SSI and Medicaid eligibility.
If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance, you will need to consistently track the following:
· Your earned income from wages/salary or self-employment. This includes income earned in cash or even covered in barter.
· Where you have accumulated any Trial Work Months. For 2025, a Trial Work Month is one in which you earn $1,160 or more in gross income. Once you have accumulated nine Trial Work Months in a rolling 5-year period, you have completed your Trial Work Period.
· How many months have passed since you accumulated your ninth Trial Work Month. Your Extended Period of Eligibility comprises 36 consecutive months following your ninth Trial Work Month.
· Any expenditures that might be considered Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE). Note that IRWE are not considered when the SSA determines Trial Work Months.
· Any reasonable accommodations that might be considered an employer subsidy or special condition. Note that employer subsidies are not considered when the SSA determines Trial Work Months.
· If you are self-employed, any Unincurred Business Expenses, which are goods or services provided to your business by others at no cost to you.
· If you are self-employed, your tax returns (in particular, Schedules C and SE). This is because the SSA considers Net Earnings from Self-Employment.
· How many months it has been since you first became eligible for SSDI, because you become eligible for Medicare, 24 months after being determined eligible for SSDI.
· Any information that supports either the continuation of or changes in your disabling conditions.
If you are a person, whose disability started before age 22, you will want to notify the SSA when either of your parents files for SSDI or Social Security retirement benefits, because you might then become eligible for a Childhood Disability Benefit (CDB) also known as a Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefit. If you are not already Medicare-eligible on your own work record, you will also want to keep track of how many months you have been eligible for CDB/DAC because 24 months after that date, you become eligible for Medicare.
We are unsure of what changes may be implemented at the Social Security Administration. Since the agency was already backlogged and responses and follow-up often took a long time, any staff reductions are likely to exacerbate these issues. The best approach is to have good data, relevant to your particular benefit(s) that you can present quickly to address any issues that do arise, or the Administration believes have arisen. If you believe that you may have received an overpayment, the best practice is to conserve those funds until you have clarification.
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