SSDI, SSI & Retirement | Social Security Disability Insurance & Supplemental Income | theSITREP
#VAbenefits #theSITREP #VANewEngland
If you are retiring and have Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income, you may be wondering how your SSDI or SSI will be affected. This episode is part of a video series that answers questions about Specialty Topics regarding VA benefits (see link below for playlist)… be sure to SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss future episodes! Links for additional videos about VA disability, VA home loans, VA health care, and more are below.
AI GeneratedMay contain errors
So, Brian, before we close our conversation, one of the last questions that I wanted to ask you
is what happens with SSDI and SSI when I hit retirement age?
All right. For SSDI, it's a little easier to understand. When I reach full retirement age,
and depending on your age, what that is, for most people now, unless you're my age, it's 67.
If you were born between 1955 and 1960, it slides. But once I reach full retirement age,
if I'm on SSDI, my SSDI is converted to a retirement benefit at about the same amount
of money that I was getting on SSDI. Unless I worked while on SSDI, I might get a little bit
more, but Social Security has always told us it wouldn't be less. The advantage is,
once I'm a retiree, there are no work rules. I can do whatever I want, and I will get my full
amount. SSI, on the other hand, at age 65, SSI is going to convert from SSI disabled to SSI elderly.
You get a little bit more money, but unfortunately, the work rules stay in place
as long as someone's on SSI. Now, if you have an individual on SSI, because when they applied,
they may have had the 40 credits they needed, but they weren't in the right place, because
to be eligible for SSDI, you have to have worked five of the previous 10 years.
So we have some people that are on SSI, but when they reach full retirement age, or actually in
this case, when they reach 62, early retirement age, that will be converted into an early
retirement benefit. They'll collect their retirement benefit instead of the SSI.
And the reason for that is because SSI is a need-based program, you have to apply for and
accept all of the benefits available. So if I'm on SSI and I have enough credits to qualify for
retirement, as soon as I reach 62, which is the early retirement age, that will kick in. If not,
I will keep SSI for the rest of my life. Where SSDI, as I said, when you reach full retirement
age, it's converted from a disability benefit to a simple retirement benefit.