Every month, the Social Security Administration sends out payments for the five programs it oversees. While retirement benefits are the most well-known, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), sometimes known as Disability, is a close second.
The Social Security Administration provides a monthly check to persons with disabilities that prevent or severely impair their ability to work. This incapacity to work must last at least a year and have a negative impact on their quality of life.
Spouses and caregivers of disabled people may also be eligible for some benefits based on the disabled person’s record, but qualifying is more difficult, and such benefits are delivered through Family Benefits, another program run by the Social Security Administration.
Furthermore, in order to be eligible for disability benefits, a person must have a work record that allows them to access the benefit, which means they must have worked and paid payroll taxes to the Social Security Administration for at least 5 of the previous ten years.
Many recipients who qualify for Disability payments are also eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is designed to assist persons with limited income, resources, and disability or blindness in making ends meet. Unlike other benefits, SSI is compatible with the remainder of the Social Security Administration’s benefits.
The SSDI calendar for December
Social Security benefits have a very set schedule that is determined by three factors: the type of benefits you receive and when you began receiving benefits. While it is important to understand the overall rules of distribution, it is also important to understand the specific monthly calendar to ensure that no errors are made with your benefits.
- SSI payments: paid for all beneficiaries on the first of every month. This is the only payment that is compatible with otherSocial Security benefits which is why it is in a separate category.
- SSDI payments for beneficiaries that started receiving benefits before May 1997. These are distributed on the third of every month.
- SSDI payment for beneficiaries that started receiving benefits before May 1997. Those are distributed on different dates through the month based on a birth date schedule. As a general rule, recipients whose birthdays fall on 1st-10th of the month will receive their benefits on the second Wednesday of any given month, those born on 11th-20th will receive payouts on the third Wednesday, and those with birthdays on 21st-31st will see their payments on the fourth Wednesday.
Given the changes that a month as complicated as December can bring, it is important to know the entire distribution schedule:
- November 29: Which this year was black Friday (not a National Holiday, contrary to popular belief, if it was shops would not be open to accommodate the shopping sprees) saw theSSI payment for the month of December. This is because the 1st of the month fell on a Sunday.
- December 3: SSDI payment for all who started receiving benefits before May 1997 went out without change.
- December 11: SSDI payment for those born between the 1st and 10th of any month and started after May 1997 also went out as planned.
- December 18: SSDI payment for those with a birthday between the 11th and 20th of any month and who became beneficiaries after May 1997 went out yesterday as scheduled.
- December 24: SSDI payment for those born between the 21st and 31st of any month, beneficiaries after May 1997. The payment should be distributed on the 25th, but that is Christmas Day, and thus a National Holiday. This means that the payment is delivered in advance to ensure that beneficiaries are not negatively affected by any potential delays.