Under some conditions workers may be eligible to receive both workers’ compensation benefits and disability benefits if they have work-related injuries or illnesses. However, the compensation that they receive will be affected by receiving both. Workers are not able to receive the full amount of both Social Security Disability benefits and workers’ compensation benefits at the same time.
Normally the monthly amount that a disabled worker receives can be no more than 80% of the amount earned when fully employed. Disability benefits are reduced to account for workers’ compensation in what is called a “workers’ compensation offset” when they are over the state’s threshold. This means that dollar for dollar the weekly wage benefits that you receive from your workers’ compensation settlement will be offset by the Social Security benefits you receive. For example, if you are receiving $1,000 for your Social Security benefits per month and receive $100 for your workers’ compensation settlement, then your total payment from Social Security benefits will be reduced to $900.
In most cases, the workers’ compensation settlement that you receive may be structured as a lifetime pay out. This structure can be made to reduce or eliminate your workers’ compensation offset by lowering the amount paid to keep you under the threshold amount or to reduce the amount offset by as much as possible. The goal here is to receive as much compensation from both the Social Security benefits and the workers’ compensation claim. If the Social Security benefits are temporary, spreading out the workers’ compensation claim until after the Social Security benefits are paid out could be more beneficial.
Your Social Security benefits will be affected by a workers’ compensation settlement. However, there are ways to structure the settlement to lower the adverse effects of the payments by the workers’ compensation settlement. By structuring the workers’ compensation payments throughout a lifetime, you will be able to minimize the negative effects of any offset.
The Nomberg Law Firm handles both workers’ compensation claims as well as Social Security disability claims. If you have any questions about your workers’ compensation settlement or benefits and their relationship to your Social Security benefits, please call the attorneys at the Nomberg Law Firm (205) 930-6900 or contact us here.