If you are disabled and unable to work as a result of your condition, you may wonder if you should apply for disability benefits. You may also wonder about your eligibility for those benefits and whether you can collect multiple benefits simultaneously. Let’s take a closer look at the law together.
What Types of Benefits Are Available?
The Social Security Administration offers two types of disability benefit programs, and eligibility will depend on your circumstances. The two types of benefits provided include:
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI): SSDI benefits are benefits that the Social Security Administration offers to individuals who are “insured.” This doesn’t mean that the individual has to have any certain type of insurance policy. Instead, the individual must have worked a job for sufficient time and regularly paid a portion of their salary in taxes to the Social Security system. In addition, the applicant must have a qualifying medical disability that has caused them to be unable to work for at least one continuous calendar year or more.
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI): As is the case with SSDI benefits, to receive SSI benefits, an applicant must have a qualifying medical condition that has rendered them disabled and unable to work for one full calendar year or more. Unlike the SSDI program, however, the SSI program is not funded by employment taxes. As a result, it is not necessary to be “insured” to be approved for benefits. Instead, an applicant must have income and resources below a certain annual limit established by the Social Security Administration.
It should be noted that regardless of the type of benefit you are approved for, the benefit amount will not depend upon your particular medical condition. Instead, it will depend on various factors, including your work history, income and resource level, and other circumstances.
How Much Can You Receive?
In 2025, the maximum available SSDI benefit is $4,018 a month, and the maximum monthly amount of SSI benefit is $967 for an individual or $1,450 per couple.
Often, those seeking benefits want to know if it is possible to collect both SSDI and SSI benefits simultaneously. The short answer to this question is yes – it is possible to collect these benefits simultaneously. This is known as receiving “concurrent” benefits.
When considering whether or not to seek concurrent benefits, it’s important to remember that if you are seeking SSI, you cannot earn more than a certain amount of income or have more than a specific amount of resources each month. In 2025, countable income cannot exceed $1,767 for an individual or $2,607 for a married couple. Additionally, the 2025 resource limit is $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 per couple.
Why and How Should You Seek Concurrent Benefits?
There are a variety of circumstances in which seeking concurrent benefits might be a wise decision. For instance, you might qualify for SSDI benefits, but those benefits might be minimal because you worked minimum-wage jobs for most of your career, and your earnings were generally low. If that is the case, collecting SSI benefits at the same time might increase your monthly income and provide additional financial support and stability. In other cases, because SSDI has a mandatory waiting period of six months, but there is no similar delay for SSI, many individuals decide to collect SSI benefits while waiting for monthly SSDI payments to start.
In addition to these benefits, it should also be noted that concurrent claims allow for faster access to essential healthcare. As a general rule, SSDI recipients are only eligible for Medicare after receiving benefits for 24 months. SSI recipients, by contrast, are usually automatically eligible for Medicaid, which could cover healthcare costs until Medicare begins. Medical care can be expensive, particularly when you are struggling with a difficult health condition. As a result, this benefit is often tremendously helpful.
Those who wish to seek concurrent benefits should know that upon reviewing your application, the Social Security Administration will determine whether or not you qualify for SSDI benefits, SSI benefits, or both. The amount you ultimately receive will depend upon various factors, including income and resource level, work history, and more.
GCC LAW – Here for You
Disability benefits are an important source of financial support and stability for those who are struggling with difficult conditions. At GCC Law, we understand exactly how important those benefits are because we’ve helped our clients pursue them with the knowledge and expertise they needed on their side. We would love to do the same for you. We know and understand every aspect of the law pertaining to disability benefits, and we’ll fight for you each step of the way. If you’re ready to get started, there’s no time like now. Give us a call today. We look forward to speaking with you soon.