If you are disabled and unable to work, you may be wondering whether or not you should seek disability benefits from the Social Security Administration, and if so, what type of benefit you should pursue. You may know that the Social Security Administration offers more than one type of benefit for disabled individuals, and you may be uncertain as to whether you could receive one or both types of benefits. These are normal and understandable questions to ask. Let’s take a closer look at the law together.

What Types of Benefits Are Available?

The Social Security Administration offers two types of disability benefits. These include:

• Social Security Disability Insurance: Supplemental Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI benefits for short, are benefits that the Social Security Administration provides to individuals who have a medical condition that the Social Security Administration considers to be disabling, and that has rendered them unable to work for one continuous calendar year or more as a result of that condition. In addition, the applicant must be “insured.” Being “insured” doesn’t mean having a particular insurance policy. Instead, the Social Security Administration considers an individual to be “insured” if they worked at a job for a sufficient amount of time, through which they regularly paid a portion of their salary through employment taxes into the Social Security system.

• Supplemental Security Income: As with SSDI benefits, in order to receive SSI benefits, an applicant must have a medical condition that the Social Security Administration considers to be disabling, and that has rendered them unable to work for one continuous calendar year or more as a result of that condition. Unlike the case with SSDI benefits, however, an applicant does not need to be “insured” to receive SSI benefits. Instead, they must have income and resources below a certain annual limit established by the Social Security Administration.

Depending upon your circumstances, you may wonder if you can receive both benefits simultaneously. The short answer to this question is yes.

What is a Concurrent Claim?

A “concurrent claim” is the term that the Social Security Administration uses to refer to someone who is seeking SSDI and SSI benefits simultaneously.

As noted, to be approved for SSI benefits, an applicant must have income and resources below a certain limit established annually by the Social Security Administration. This limit can be somewhat complicated as it is greater in some states than others, and if you are working and earning some money, a different limit may apply. Consulting with an attorney regarding the particular limits in any given year is, therefore, essential.

Ultimately, however, if your income and assets are low enough to receive SSI benefits and you also worked a job for a sufficient time and paid taxes into the Social Security system to receive SSDI benefits, you may want to consider the possibility of filing a concurrent claim. While this is a possibility, it’s important to remember that your SSDI benefits may be so high that even if you would otherwise be able to receive SSI benefits, the income limits will prevent doing so.

How Much Can You Receive?

It’s important to understand that regardless of whether you pursue a claim for SSDI benefits, SSI benefits, or both, there are maximum monthly amounts for each type of benefit.

In 2025, the maximum monthly SSDI payment that an individual can receive is $4,018. The maximum monthly SSI payment that an individual can receive in 2025 is $967 for an individual, and the maximum monthly payment for a couple is $1,450. Typically, SSI payments are made on the first day of each month, and SSDI payments are made based on the recipient’s birthday. If the intended payment date falls on a weekend or holiday, the payment will typically be made on the first business day immediately preceding the scheduled payment date.

Although payments used to be mailed as a check, today, almost all payments are made through direct deposit. Those who receive disability benefits can decide if they want to provide their bank account information or choose a debit card provided by the Social Security Administration to which benefits will be deposited each month.

Muse Disability – Here For You

At Muse Disability, we know that when you’re struggling with a disability, the last thing you need is additional stress and worry. When you’re trying to adjust to living with a challenging condition, you don’t need to worry and wonder about how you’ll continue to provide for yourself and those you love. That’s why we’re here to help. We know and understand every aspect of the process of pursuing a claim for disability benefits, and we’ll walk with you each step of the way. If you’re ready to get started, give us a call today. We look forward to speaking with you soon.