Submitted by Charre on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 07:38
I read in one of your other posts that men don't make more than women if they get SSDI but it seems like there are differences between how much people get. I'm a woman and I met a guy at physical therapy last week who is younger than me but when we started talking about the hassle of getting SSDI benefits I found out that he gets more than me. Why is that. It makes no sense to me because we're both disabled.
Calculation of Social Security Disability benefits
The amount of money that a person will collect in monthly SSDI benefits is calculated using a fairly complicated formula. So, yes, some people do collect more SSDI benefits than other people, but it is not based on gender, and men do not get higher SSDI payments than women. The amount is based on work history and what you paid into the system before your disability developed. Unlike SSI, SSDI is not a needs based or welfare system, but an insurance program. You, and the man you met, paid into the system while paying FICA taxes during your employment. Hope that clears it up for you.