[Forget-Me-Nots]

How does Backpayments work exactly? Can I get backpayment? And what is retroactive payments? I've looked for answers for this in Google but I'm still a bit confused.

My initial application was January 27th I believe, I still haven't heard back from Determination Services. So if Approved for SSI I will start receiving backpayments?

[Perna]

They decide their date X when you become eligible. If they take more time determining your case, you still get everything from date X. It is not about your application date but their determination of when you become eligible. If, for example, you get denied, appeal, and that gets accepted, it will be as if they took more time determining your case so you get all the money as if you were approved the first time and the denial never happened.

Originally Posted by Perna

They decide their date X when you become eligible. If they take more time determining your case, you still get everything from date X. It is not about your application date but their determination of when you become eligible. If, for example, you get denied, appeal, and that gets accepted, it will be as if they took more time determining your case so you get all the money as if you were approved the first time and the denial never happened.

I read about retroactive pay or whatever it's called and got the impression that one year is the max they will pay. Did I understand that correctly?

[Perna]

Ah, here it's explained clearly:

The Difference Between Retroactive Disability Benefits and Back Payments | Disability Secrets

Back Pay is from when applied to when approved and Retroactive is only for Social Security (SSDI) and has to do with when you became disabled. Since one gets Social Security Disability because someone has paid into the Social Security system through their work, that is the person's money, not the system's.

The 1-year thing makes sense to me, George, (so is probably not right :-) since people might get denied and appeal and laws change so they may be eligible where they weren't before, etc. It is "supplemental" income and not really about one's disability (like SSDI is) but about needing more to live on because one is disabled and cannot work as much. Everyone working/paying taxes has to help pay that bill, there's no automatic money like with Social Security being taken out of one's paycheck for one.

Thanks Perna. I guess I subconsciously added a D to SSI while reading the original post

[Forget-Me-Nots]

Thanks for the explanations, I know I have a chance to get SSI with my disability the problem is when, there is just alot we have going on now, I could definitely use medicare for the MRI, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a job straight out of college because of my disability even with my new found skills. I don't want to keep taking out loans, the backpayments would be the only good thing about the wait. I would be very disappointed if I don't get them. So I wanted to be sure that I could get them. I am in month 5 now going into 6.