When Will I Get My Social Security Retroactive Pay?

Why Haven’t I Received My Social Security Disability Retroactive Pay?

What are Retroactive Social Security Disability Benefits?

Retroactive Social Security Disability benefits are amounts paid for the months a person was disabled and unable to work before they applied for SSDI. There is a limit of twelve months of retroactive Social Security Disability benefits that can be paid.

To qualify for retroactive Social Security Disability benefits, the applicant must be able to prove that they were disabled at least five months before their application date.  This is because the date of entitlement to benefits doesn’t start until five months after the “Established Onset Date” (“EOD”) of the disability.

So, to collect the full 12 months of retroactive Social Security Disability benefits, the applicant must show that he or she was disabled for 17 months or more before applying for SSDI. All Social Security Disability retroactive payments are paid as one lump sum.

Keep in mind that retroactive Social Security Disability benefits are different than Social Security Disability Back Payments. Click Here to read about the difference between Social Security Disability Back Payments & Retroactive Payments.

When Will I Get my Retroactive Social Security Disability Benefits?

Unfortunately, if you have been granted Social Security Disability retroactive benefits, but have not received your lump sum payment yet, you are not alone. Our experienced Long Beach Social Security disability lawyers have been seeing significant delays when it comes to the Social Security Administration paying of retroactive benefits.

Previously, on average, our Social Security disability lawyers would see claimants receive their retroactive benefits within three months or so of when their monthly benefits commenced. However, within the last year or so, our Social Security disability lawyers have been seeing extreme delays in the release of these retroactive benefits.

Processing of Retroactive Social Security Disability Benefits varies from SSA office to office. In worse case scenarios, some local SSA payment centers are taking an additional eight to twelve months to release retroactive benefits.

This is no doubt because the payment centers are extremely understaffed – and experiencing huge backlogs as a result. So the SSA is concentrating on making monthly benefits their top first priority, pushing retroactive benefit payments to the back burner.

In some cases where a claimant can prove “dire need” – such as lacking the money for food, shelter or medication – the SSA claims that it will try to release retroactive benefits sooner. To prove “dire need” the claimant must submit documentation such as eviction or foreclosure notices, shut-off notices, etc. in order to expedite the retroactive benefit processing. Social Security Disability recipients with terminal illnesses, and/or “wounded warriors” with active duty injuries, may also qualify to have their retroactive benefits expedited.

Our Long Beach Social Security Lawyers Can Help

While our experienced Long Beach Social Security disability lawyers are hopeful that these timeframes will improve, it is probably unlikely. The current administration has put a freeze on hiring that includes Social Security employees.  And President Trump’s proposal to cut almost 70 billion dollars to the Social Security Disability program in the next decade, pretty much guarantees that Social Security backlogs will only get worse instead of better.

The best approach is to hire an experienced Social Security disability lawyer as soon as possible in the application process – in order to avoid any delays in approval – so that you begin collecting monthly benefits as soon as possible.

If you are disabled and believe you may be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits -including back pay or retroactive pay – our experienced Long Beach Social Security lawyers will offer you a free consultation. Our lawyers can explain how much you may be able to collect, how long it may take, and the best way to ensure you receive the maximum Social Security Disability benefits for which you qualify.

Free Consultation with Long Beach Social Security Lawyer: 562-622-4800