IF YOU GET SICKER, WILL SOCIAL SECURITY INCREASE BENEFITS?

 

Here's a common question I get a lot.  

 

"My medical condition has gotten a lot worse since my disability benefits started ____ years ago. I now have new medical conditions that I didn't have in the beginning. Will I qualify for higher benefits because I am sicker now than I was before?"

The short answer is, No. Social Security does not offer any "degrees" of disability. It is all or none. You are either 100 percent disabled or not disabled at all. If you have been found disabled and given a benefit, that is a set benefit that will not change due to your future health or medical condition. You are getting 100 percent of the benefit available to you.

One of my clients recently called to say:

"When you helped me get my disability in 2004, it was based on back problems. Since 2004, I have developed severe depression and I was recently diagnosed with heart failure. Will this help me get a higher benefit?"

Unfortunately, it will not. When you were approved for disability benefits back in 2004, you got 100 percent of the benefits available to you. Worsening health does not increase them.

So, how does Social Security determine your benefit? It's based on your average lifetime earnings and how long you worked and paid into the trust fund through FICA (withholding) tax. The longer you worked before becoming disabled--and the higher your wages--the higher your benefit at any given time.