HOW MUCH IS YOUR MONTHLY DISABIITY BENEFIT?

When you receive an approval letter from an administrative law judge following a hearing it will not tell you how much your monthly benefit will be.  That information will come later.

The judge who decided your case is not concerned about the amount of your benefit.  His or her job is to make a legal determination about your eligibility to receive benefits.  If you are found legally entitled to benefits by the judge, then another Social Security office will compute your monthly benefit.  You will be notified of the amount of your benefit payments in a second letter from the Social Security office.  This will usually arrive within 4 weeks after the judge's Notice of Decision has reached you. 

The second letter will tell you
  • the amount of your back pay (if any)
  • the date to expect the back pay
  • the amount of your monthly benefit
  • the day that your monthly benefit will arrive each month
 You should read this letter carefully and save it for your records.  It does take about 4 weeks to get this letter after you receive the judge's letter stating that you have been approved.

Of course, if the judge denied benefits or gave a partially favorable decision, you have the right to appeal that decision within 60 days.  Partially favorable decisions usually reduce the amount of back pay or eliminate back pay altogether because the alleged onset date of disability was changed.

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