How to track disability back pay

by Tim Moore, Disability Representative in North Carolina

How do you track your disability back pay? I think the question is really, “How do I get the status of my disability back pay?”

To answer this, let’s start with how cases get to that point, i.e. where your back pay gets worked on? So, let’s lay out those scenarios.

1. If your case is approved by a disability examiner at DDS, either on a disability application or on a reconsideration appeal, then it immediately gets sent back to the Social Security office where you applied. And this happens whether your claim is for SSI or SSD. The Social Security office adjudicates the claim and this gets the monthly benefits and the back pay started.
2. If your case is approved by an administrative law judge at a disability hearing, and the claim is for SSD, or Social Security Disability, then the case goes immediately to a payment center where it is adjudicated and this gets the monthly benefits and the back pay started.
3. If your case is approved by an administrative law judge at a disability hearing, and the claim is for SSI, then the case goes back to the Social Security office where you applied so the PERC, or end-line interview, can be done. This interview is done because Social Security must be sure that you meet the non-medical requirements for SSI concerning assets, otherwise known as resources, and income. The case will be adjudicated by the Social Security office which will get the montly benefits and back pay started.

How do you get the status of your back pay?

Regardless of where your case goes after the disability approval is made, you should probably call your local Social Security office where you filed.

If you have disability representation, provided by a disability lawyer, or a disability representative advocate, such as myself, you may want to contact them so they can do the status followup for you.

About the author: Tim Moore has been interviewed by the New York Times on the topic of Social Security Disability and SSI benefits in an article entitled “The Disability Mess” and also by the Los Angeles Times on the subject of political attempts to weaken the Social Security Disability system. He is an Accredited Disability Representative (ADR) in North Carolina. For assistance on a disability application or Appeal in NC, click here.

More information:

When Do You Get A Social Security Disability Award Letter?
How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability?
Filing an application for disability
What makes you eligible for disability?