Get Latest WorkWORLD

Regular SSDI Offset for WC and PDB

If you are an employee in any state except those with Valid Reverse Offset Plans -- or if you are a Federal employee in any State -- then your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) - Title II benefit may be reduced because of Workers' Compensation(WC) or certain Public Disability Benefit (PDB) payments.

NOTE: If your disability began before 6/1/65 or you became entitled to SSDI before 1/1/66, then Workers' Compensation does not reduce your SSDI cash benefit. If your disability began before 3/1/81 or you became entitled to SSDI before 9/1/81, then PDB payments will not reduce your SSDI cash benefit.

If your SSDI benefit is subject to the Regular Offset, then the total of benefits payable to you (and to any others who receive benefits based on your earnings record) plus your WC and/or PDB payments cannot be higher than:

·        80 percent of the amount SSA calls your Average Current Earnings (ACE); or

·        Your Total Family Benefit (TFB) amount (whether or not you have a family receiving benefits) payable in the first possible month of offset.

NOTE: WorkWORLD will, in most cases, correctly compute your Regular Offset (plus or minus $1). Since the rules regarding offsets are so complicated, however, you should always check with both SSA and the agency that administers your WC or PDB about offsets and make sure that each is informed about all disability benefits you receive.

Additional Information about the Regular Offset:

Your PDB payment may reduce your SSDI benefit even if the PDB is not based on work activity.

Your PDB payment may reduce your SSDI benefit whether or not a WC benefit is also causing a Regular Offset.

Any benefits payable after offset is applied, are paid to the worker first. If the amount payable after offset exceeds the worker's normal unreduced benefit, the excess is distributed proportionately to any others who receive benefits based on the worker's earnings record.

SSDI benefits and regular WC or PDB payments do not have to be based on the same injury or illness for the Regular Offset to apply.

If your SSDI disability began on or after 2/18/81, Regular Offset applies until age 65 or the month that WC and/or PDB payments stop (taking into account the rules for Lump Sum (LS) allocations when appropriate). If your SSDI disability began before 2/18/81, Regular Offset applies until age 62 or the month that WC and/or PDB payments stop.

Source

Some information for this topic was drawn from the SSA Program Operations Manual System (POMS), DI 52101.005 Social Security Amendments with Workers' Compensation/Public Disability Benefit (WC/PDB) Offset Provisions available online at:
https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0452101005

WorkWORLD™ Help/Information System

   Share/Save: Click the button or link at left to select your favorite bookmark service and add this page.

This is one topic from the thousands available in the WorkWORLD™ software Help/Information System.
Complete information about the software is available at: http://www.WorkWORLD.org