The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains one of its most important programs in the United States: disability benefit payments, popularly known as SSDI. These payments are aimed at those people with a severe and long-term disability that prevents them from working.
That disability must be evaluated and approved by the SSA, following strict medical criteria, and must be substantiated with accurate diagnoses and verifiable documentation. They must have previously worked and paid Social Security taxes. The SSA uses a “work credit” system to evaluate this. Generally, at least 40 credits are needed, of which 20 must have been earned in the last 10 years before the disability (although there are exceptions for younger people).
Who else can receive SSDI in 2025?
In addition to the disabled worker, who is the primary beneficiary, SSDI payments can also support:
- Current spouse: You can receive benefits if you are 62 or older, although the amount is reduced if you start collecting them before full retirement age.
- Ex-spouse: You must have been married for at least 10 years to the person receiving SSDI, not currently married to another person, be age 62 or older, and not qualify for any other SSA-distributed self-benefits greater than what you would get as an ex-spouse.
- Children under the age of 18 or up to 19 if they are still in high school: Each child can receive up to 50% of the parent’s benefit amount, but there is a total family limit that the SSA sets, which is usually between 150% and 180% of the total benefit.
- Adult children with a disability that began before age 22: An adult child can receive SSDI payments if their disability began before they turned 22 and they meet Social Security disability criteria. This type of benefit is known as “Child Disability Benefit” (CDB), even if the child is already an adult. It doesn’t matter if you never worked or paid Social Security taxes: what matters is that one of your parents is receiving SSDI or retirement, or has died and been insured by the SSA.
The May Calendar: four confirmed payment dates for SSDI
For all of these groups of beneficiaries, there are four dates already set by the SSA for the distribution of benefits.
- May 2: This advance payment applies to beneficiaries in exceptional situations:
- Those who received Social Security benefits before May 1997.
- People who they live outside the United States.
- Those whose state pays your Medicare premiums.
- Beneficiaries who receive both SSDI and SSI (Supplemental Security Income).
Originally scheduled for May 3 (Saturday), the payment was moved to Friday, May 2, following SSA policy of avoiding non-business dates.
- May 14: Corresponding to second Wednesday of the month, applies to those who were born between 1 and 10 of any month.
- May 21: He third wednesday, for those born between 11 and 20.
- May 28: He fourth wednesday, aimed at those whose birthdays are between 21 and 31.
What happens if I receive SSDI and SSI at the same time?
People who claim both SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) saw their first SSI payment on May 1, and will see a second deposit on May 30, which is the month of June (June 1 falls on a Saturday, and the SSA does not do transactions on weekends). In between, they will receive their SSDI payment on one of the four dates mentioned above, either May 2, 14, 21, or 28.
As of January 2025, the maximum monthly Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payment in the United States is $4,018, after applying a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
The maximum amount of US$ 4,018 per month is granted to people who had high income during their working life (35 countable years), contributed Social Security taxes constantly and without errors in the amounts, and requested benefits after reaching full retirement age, or met program requirements for early claim. It is estimated that in 2025 the average monthly SSDI payment is somewhere around $1,751.