Many workers who have suffered from job-related injuries actually have a lot of options that will provide them financial assistance to make ends meet. Two of the most common benefits that a wage earner can receive are the social security disability benefit and worker’s compensation.However, although the said benefits can be both received by an injured wage earner, these two greatly affects each other.
Until now, many people are still unaware of the difference and correlation between the two; hence the need to educate the public.
Here’s a simple distinction between the two:
Social Security is a helpful program provided by the government to wage earners with long term disabilities that hinder them from pursuing their job, whether the injuries they sustained are job-related or not. Meanwhile workers’ compensation helps wage earners who were injured in their workplace or were affected by a workplace-related illness. Its benefits include medical care and cash assistance for the lost wages and damages.
Now, if a recipient received both of the above said benefits, the total amount of earnings from those two cannot exceed 80% of the average earnings before the recipient eventually became disabled. Any amount exceeding 80% of the wage earners former average earnings is deducted from the social security disability benefits until a beneficiary reaches the age of 65 or until workers’ compensation stops.
However, recipients must take note that disability payments that came from private insurance companies do not affect Social Security Disability benefits, only those that came from government sources do.
Filing for both social security disability benefits and workers’ compensation would definitely be a very long way process. In fact, there is no room for mistakes during the process, as such may result in being denied. It is still best to have your social security disability lawyer to guide and represent you with your claims.
