What Does A Social Security Disability Award Letter Look Like?
I am asked this question a lot. I cannot show a picture of an actual award letter because I would have to redact too much personal information and that would not be helpful. I also searched the internet for a template, but I was unsuccessful.
To bridge this gap, I created a disability award letter to show the information and what it all means. My example does not have the SSA contact information or their logo because this is just an example. I give a brief explanation of each section and I will use example numbers to show you how it all shakes out.
Keep reading to learn more.
Click here if you would like to review the entire document.
You will also receive the following publications with your Social Security Disability Notice of Award (NOA). You can click the links below to learn more about each publication that you will receive.
Okay, before we dive in, I want to point out a few things:
If you had a hearing — you will receive the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) decision in the mail BEFORE you will receive the Notice of Award. The multi-page decision from the ALJ also goes to your local SSA Field Office (FO) and then they calculate your benefits based on that decision. You may even receive a call from the SSA FO so they can properly calculate your benefits. So answer those unknown numbers because it may be the SSA FO.
You entered your banking information when you applied for disability, please make sure that you banking information is correct so there are no delays in your payments. You can change this information by logging into your Social Security account. (I will link instructions on how to set up your SSA account at the end of this post.)
You will likely receive your direct deposit BEFORE you receive your Notice of Award in the mail because electronic is always faster than snail-mail. So check your bank account and your mailbox for the good news!
Now that you have an idea of what the Notice of Award will look like and what all you will receive with your award notice, let us dive into the details and what it means for you.
Notice of Award Date
The date that your notice of award was mailed is listed below SSA’s contact information. The reason that this date is important is because you have sixty-days (plus five-days for mailing) to appeal any information on the Notice of Award that you disagree with.
If you file an appeal after sixty-five days, you will need to show good cause for late filing. Good cause would be something like: you were in the hospital and could not respond within the time limits. Or maybe they mailed the notice to the incorrect address and you are able to show that you did not live at that address when the notice was mailed. Those types of things.
Date of Entitlement
This first sentence of the award notice is your date of entitlement (DOE). In other words, this is the date that SSA calculated that you became eligible for your first disability payment.
We need to back up for a beat here. Up until now, your application was focused on the alleged onset date (AOD), which is the date that you claimed that you became disabled.
I explained a little bit about the five-month rule on the example Notice of Award, but I want to go a little deeper into this topic.
If you were awarded SSI (Title XVI), there is NOT a five-month waiting period for financial benefits.
SSA may determine that you became disabled AFTER your AOD, and they may change your AOD to the day they determined you met the criteria. If SSA changes your AOD, they will usually link it to the date of specific records in your application such as: MRI, blood work, PET scans, when your earnings were below substantial gainful activity (SGA), etcetera.
No matter what AOD that SSA uses, your AOD will be the same as your DOE. You can go back to the approval notice that you received to find your AOD.
If you were awarded SSDI (Title II), sorry friend, you have to wait five-months from your AOD to become eligible for a monthly financial benefit. Therefore, your DOE will be five-months after your AOD.
Now that we understand those two terms and how they are applied based on your application (SSI or SSDI), now we can move on to how SSA pays your benefits.
Date of Payments
So some of you will have to wait five-months, but all of you will have to wait one-month. Ugh, SSA loves to make people wait.
SSA pays disability benefits in arrears. For example: If your DOE is 08/01/2023, you will receive the payment for August in September.
I have been in the disability industry for twenty-years and I will admit that I have to count the months on my fingers and I always triple-check myself. Knowing that, I am going to give you an example of how this all shakes out.
SSI Payments
Example One
If you applied for SSI on 02/22/2022; and SSA determined that you met the criteria based on a MRI dated 01/15/2023:
Your AOD and DOE would be 01/30/2023.
Your February benefit would be paid in March.
It is August 2023 as I am writing this, so you would be eligible to six months of past-due disability benefits. Just multiply your monthly benefit times six to get your total retroactive benefit (lump-sum payment from SSA).
Example Two
If you applied for SSI on 2/02/2022; and SSA determined that you met the criteria on the date that you applied:
Your AOD and DOE would be 02/02/2022.
Your February benefit would be paid in March.
It is August 2023 as I am writing this, so you would be eligible to seventeen months of past-due disability benefits. Just multiply your monthly benefit times seventeen to get your total retroactive benefit.
SSDI Payments
Example One
If you claim that you became disabled on 02/22/2022; and SSA determined that you met the criteria based on a MRI dated 01/03/2023:
Your AOD would be 01/30/2023.
Your DOE would be 07/01/2023
Your July benefit would be paid in August.
Your August and September benefits may be paid around the same time. Some field offices are slower than others, so it depends on where you live.
Example Two
If you claim that you became disabled on 2/02/2022; and SSA determined that you met the criteria at your AOD:
Your AOD would be 02/02/2022.
Your DOE would be 08/01/2022
Your August benefit would be paid in September.
It is August 2023 as I am writing this, so you would be eligible to eleven-months of past-due disability benefits. Just multiply your monthly benefit times eleven to determine your total retroactive benefit (lump-sum payment from SSA).
Benefit Payment Dates Are Based On Your Day Of Birth
One more caveat and we can move on.
The date that SSA pays your monthly benefit is based on you day of birth (DOB).
In general, here [is] how we assign payment dates:
- If you were born on the 1st through the 10th of the month, you’ll be paid on the second Wednesday of the month.
- If you were born on the 11th through the 20th of the month, you’ll be paid on the third Wednesday of the month.
- If you were born after the 20th of the month, you’ll be paid on the fourth Wednesday of the month.
Source: SSA Blog
Auxiliary Benefits
This portion of the Notice of Award may or may not apply to you. I will explain first so you can decide whether or not to skip this section.
Auxiliary benefits are paid to the spouse and dependent children of the SSDI applicant. If you were not awarded SSDI or if you do not have dependent children (only for those in high school or younger), you are not eligible and you can skip to the next section.
If you have children naturally or by adoption, you may be eligible for payments for your children and your spouse that cares for your children. There is criteria that must be met first:
Your spouse (or ex-spouse, if married longer than ten-years) may qualify for auxiliary benefits if they are caring for your child that is sixteen-years-old or younger.
Your children may qualify if they are still in high school or younger; they have never been married; and they are enrolled in school full-time.
Your maximum family benefit will be calculated by your local SSA field office (FO). The maximum is generally 150% - 180% of your monthly disability benefit amount.
You will need to contact SSA to apply for auxiliary benefits.
Medicare
Medicare is that nice little bonus that you receive with your Social Security Disability benefits. The date that you will become eligible for Medicare is a little easier to calculate.
If you were awarded SSDI, your Medicare coverage will begin twenty-four-months AFTER your date of entitlement (DOE). This is a total of twenty-nine-months from your alleged onset date (AOD).
I recommend with everything within me — please work with a Medicare Expert when enrolling in Medicare. I have seen far too many applicants paying for coverage that they can get for free. Look, I get it, you are scared because you have been through hell. But, fear is not a reason for you to overspend. Ask around and get recommendations from people that you trust. Ask others on the internet in reputable communities. Search the internet for reputable Medicare Experts. They can guide you on what is best for your unique situation. Trust me, they can save you lots of money and a lot of hassle.
Please beware, there are penalties for not enrolling in Medicare by their pre-determined deadlines. I am not a Medicare Expert, so I will leave you with that warning because that is all I know on that topic. An expert will guide you through all the deadlines.
Medicaid
If you were awarded SSI benefits, you will be automatically approved for Medicaid in most states. Please contact your local Department of Children and Family Services to determine if you are eligible. Most states have an online application and it takes about 30 - 45 for a response on your application.
Your Appeal Rights
If you disagree with anything on you notice of award or your approval notice, you have the right to appeal the decision.
You can submit an appeal with any evidence that you feel supports your theory for an adjustment. However, I will strongly caution you with many years of experience:
When you appeal one thing — you appeal the whole thing. SSA will not just review the things that you pointed out — they will review the entire decision. This review will be performed by someone new, so they may have a different opinion of your claim and how it relates to the law. Yes, I have seen approvals that turned into denials and it happens FAST.
Friend, there are no take-backs in appeals, so I am cautioning you to consider this:
How much money are we really talking about? If it is 1 - 8 months of benefits, leave it be. It is not worth the headache. Do you really want to put yourself through that again? You have too much to lose for this gamble.
If you really want to appeal, please speak with a Disability Expert before you appeal. Get a fresh set of eyes on it and see what they say. If they agree with you, great! You have your confirmation to proceed with your appeal. If they do not agree with you, this is confirmation to leave it alone.
If you would like for me to review your decision and give my opinion, simply schedule a free consultation so we can discuss your options.
Conclusion
This was much longer than I planned. Sorry about that. I hate serving up a wall of text, but I really wanted to answer the most common questions I receive regrading award notices. I hope that you found this post helpful.
I also want to take a moment to congratulate you on your disability application approval. That is no easy feat — but you found success. I am so happy for you!
Resources
If you still have questions about your award notice or your decision, schedule a FREE consultation with us. *Please note that if you are working with a Social Security Disability Representative, please contact your rep directly because I am unable to speak to a colleague’s client. It would be unethical.
If you have questions about workers comp, long-term-disability and/or state disability income offsets, please click here to read my blog post about disability benefits. Read through the pros and cons for the type of disability payments that you receive to see if your Social Security Disability benefits will be reduced due to additional sources of income.
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If you would like to view the entire Notice of Award example above, please click here.
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Finally, if you want to send us a quick question or feedback, you can email us: helpme@unboundclaims.com
We try to respond to our email inquiries within twenty-four hours, so please be patient.
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