Do Lump Sum Workers’ Compensation Settlements Affect Social Security Disability?
When a workplace injury leads to a workers’ compensation settlement, you may have to navigate complex rules and regulations, including those associated with your Social Security disability. The experienced workmans’ comp attorneys at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help.
Workplace injuries can cause a severe and sudden change to your everyday life, forcing you to live with pain, suffering, and emotional distress while making it, so you cannot work and pay your bills. Generally, suppose you receive a workers’ compensation settlement for your injuries. In that case, it is neither reported as income nor taxed, giving you some freedom to relax and gain control over your financial situation. However, workers receiving a workmans’ comp settlement for their injuries which are also on Social Security disability, may fall into what is known as the “workers’ compensation offset.” Depending on certain mitigating factors, SSI benefits may be reduced by your settlement.
When you apply for Social Security disability benefits, the government requires you to disclose any workers’ compensation payments you may be receiving.
For more than 60 years, Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys has been the go-to firm for injured workers and their families. Our workers’ comp lawyers can help you navigate the system and manage your multiple benefits programs — especially when each one has its own reporting requirements. We have earned national recognition and have been named among the Best Lawyers in America, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania, and Best Law Firms via U.S. News and World Report. In 2016, the legal guide Best Lawyers named Christopher Munley, Workers’ Compensation Lawyer of the Year.
The experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help you better manage multiple benefits programs, including social security disability, ensuring you keep the money you deserve.
Whether you receive lump-sum payments or installments, managing workers’ comp and SSI can be tricky. Our team of experienced workers’ comp settlement lawyers can help you streamline the process.
How Can Workers’ Comp Settlements Affect Your SSDI Payments?
The Social Security Administration uses complex calculations to determine whether or not your workers’ comp settlement will reduce your SSDI payments. According to their most recent publications, “if you receive workers’ compensation or other public disability benefits, AND SSDI benefits, the total amount of these benefits cannot exceed 80% of your average current earnings before you became disabled.” Figuring out these numbers, especially while recovering from an injury, can be time-consuming and emotionally draining. Worse still, a mistake could be costly to you and your family.
At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, our team of proven and experienced workers’ compensation attorneys can help you manage multiple benefits programs. We know that you need to focus on your recovery and your family, which is why we handle the rest. Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys’s workmans’ comp lawyers use a contingency fee model. We never send you an hourly bill, and we don’t receive any money unless you win. And if you don’t win, you won’t owe us anything.
Contact Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys for a free consultation by calling or email us today.
Am I Required to Report My Workers’ Comp Settlement to the Social Security Administration?
Multiple benefits programs, including workmans’ comp settlements, have different reporting requirements. The workers’ compensation attorneys at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help.
An on-the-job injury can cause you and your family years, if not a lifetime, of pain and emotional distress. Medical bills, job loss, pain, and suffering make for an emotionally traumatizing experience that doesn’t disappear once the visible scars heal. The workers’ compensation system is meant to help you recover so you can move forward with your life.
Your workman’s comp case may be settled in several different ways, depending on what’s most beneficial for you. Settlement types include:
- Agreement – A contract in which both sides agree to all settlement terms.
- Compromise – An agreement that occurs when both sides can’t agree. The final decision goes before an oversight committee.
- Lump-sum- A lump-sum agreement is, as the name suggests, one lump sum payment for your on-the-job injury. Once paid, it usually bars you from future compensation for your injuries.
Which type of agreement is best depends on many different mitigating factors. However, the one thing that remains the same with every workers’ compensation settlement is that it must be reported to the Social Security Administration if you are also receiving SSI or SSDI. All benefit programs have their own reporting requirements, and each one must be followed by a strict letter of the law.
At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, our team of experienced workers’ compensation attorneys can help you manage multiple benefits programs, giving you the time you need to care for your health and family. Call us today for a free consultation.
Chat live, email us, fill out our contact form, or call (855) 866-5529 for a free consultation today.
What is the Workers’ Compensation Offset?
Many workers injured on the job are eligible for both SSDI and workmans’ comp, but, according to the law, a workers’ compensation settlement may reduce social security benefits.
If you were injured on the job and receive social security disability benefits, you might have to take a reduction in your benefits. According to Pennsylvania law, the workers’ compensation offset deems that eligible employees receiving benefits may have to offset their earnings by reducing their social security compensation, but the rules can be complicated. With over five decades of experience in workers’ compensation cases, the proven team at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help.
Following are a few rules governing the workers’ compensation offset for individuals receiving both workmans’ comp and social security disability. A complete list of the rules and regulations can be found at the Social Security Administration website.
- If you are an individual of Social Security Retirement Age, the workers’ compensation offset will not affect you.
- The workmans’ comp offset applies when SSDI benefits and workers’ comp benefits are in excess of 80% of average earnings.
- The Social Security Administration will exclude certain costs from their calculations, including legal fees, medical expenses, and more.
- Workers’ compensation offsets affect both lump-sum payments and installments.
- If your employer’s insurer is reimbursed for the workers’ compensation settlement, your SSDI benefits may be refunded to you.
When an on-the-job injury threatens to complicate multiple benefits programs for you and your family, you should contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. The proven team at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help you navigate the system, so you can focus on healing.
How to Calculate Average Current Earnings
The Social Security Administration will apply the workers’ compensation offset once SSDI and workmans’ compensation combine to be in excess of 80% of your current average earnings. The federal government has a complicated formula for calculating your Average Current Earnings to determine whether or not your disability benefits will be reduced.
To calculate Average Current Earnings, the SSA will use the highest of the following:
- Either the unindexed primary amount of your insurance or the average monthly wage used to determine your SSDI benefits
- The top five or the average monthly salary from the top five consecutive years you earned while on the job
- The average monthly wage from the one calendar year when your disability began
When dealing with the SSA, you need experienced attorneys who understand the system. You want a workers’ compensation attorney who can manage multiple benefits programs and who will fight for you. Moreover, you want a lawyer with expertise who can assist you with deadlines and filing requirements.
We offer a confidential and free consultation to assess your needs and prevent you from losing the benefits you are qualified for.
Chat live, email us, fill out our contact form, or call for a free consultation today.
Contact a workers’ compensation attorney to determine if you will lose your SSI following a settlement today.
For more than 60 years, Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys has been the go-to firm for people who suffer from personal injuries and their families. We have decades of experience dealing with workers’ compensation and the Social Security Administration. The workmans’ comp attorneys at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys understand how to deal with government bureaucracy so you can heal from your injuries.
At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, we believe that cost should not stand in the way of justice for the injured. Therefore, we do not collect a fee for our services unless we recover your benefits.
Chat, email, or call us today to arrange a free consultation with an injury lawyer.
