You have finally received your Social Security Disability benefits in Connecticut but still have a lingering work-related injury. You have fought for workers’ compensation benefits before receiving SSD. These benefits may affect how much money you receive for SSD.
The Social Security Administration does not determine your Social Security benefits based on private payments. However, SSD benefits may lower when workers compensation factors into your income. How much workers comp benefits affect you depends on the combined total of current earnings.
For example, if you currently bring in $10,000 before benefits, your combined workers comp and SSD benefits cannot exceed $8,000 or 80% of your average pre-disabled earnings. So, if the workers’ comp benefits push the total above that 80%, your SSD benefits will reduce to keep you within the threshold.
The SSA includes all disability payments you receive along with workers’ compensation benefits and other family member benefits when determining how much to award you. The SSD benefits reduce the exact amount over the 80% earning threshold. They base this on a monthly salary rather than a yearly.
Should your worker’s compensation benefits reduce, you should report the new amount to receive an adjustment in SSD income. The lowered amount received for workers comp can help raise that received by the SSA.
Some workers choose to receive their worker’s compensation in a lump sum. If you choose this route, the amount can affect how much you receive. You would have to speak with an SSA representative to determine how much the lump sum can affect your SSD benefits.
