Injured or sick workers in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas are able to get both Social Security Disability benefits from the federal government and Ohio workers’ compensation benefits for their conditions.
It usually makes sense to pursue both benefits if the worker is eligible. After all, an injured or sick worker usually needs as much financial support as possible and should take advantage of all the means available.
However, there a couple of things Ohio workers need to keep in mind when pursuing both workers’ compensation and SSDI.
Workers’ compensation and Social Security use two separate processes
The first thing to remember is that obtaining Social Security Disability and workers’ compensation are two separate processes, one federal and one state. As such, there are two sets of rules and procedures.
Importantly, you don’t automatically get one because you qualify for the other. Eligibility for the two programs is different.
For workers’ compensation, the key is that the illness or injury has to be related to work. After that, the person may be eligible for medical reimbursement and lost income, even if they are disabled only temporarily.
On the other hand, a person can only qualify for SSDI if they have worked long enough to become eligible and if they have a recognized disabling medical condition. The condition either has to be terminal or expected to last for more than one year. The condition does not have to be work-related.
The federal government will cap Social Security Disability benefits
Also, when an Ohio resident is getting both workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability, the Social Security Administration will cap the amount of SSDI income.
Between workers’ compensation and SSDI, a worker wlll get no more than 80% of what they earned prior to their disability.
To show how this cap works, say a worker makes $5,000 a month and gets disabled. They receive $3,000 a month in workers’ compensation. Even if they are eligible for a higher payment, the Social Security Administration will at most pay $1,000 a month because $4,000 is the 80% cap.