I receive SSDI and was born in Dec of 1956. I'm getting close to full retirement age. Since I also had a student loan that was canceled as ling as I remain disabled, my question is once I hit FRA, am I deemed by SSA to be instantly not disabled anymore? Since they were the ones that notified FedLian that I was disabled inbthe first place, will they report that I maxed out and am no longer disabled?

Hi. When you reach your full retirement age (FRA), your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits will automatically convert to regular Social Security retirement benefits. That conversion happens not because Social Security deems you to no longer be disabled, but simply because at that point it no longer matters whether you're disabled or not. SSDI benefits are calculated at a rate of 100% of a person's primary insurance amount (PIA), as are Social Security retirement benefits if a person starts drawing them at FRA. Therefore, once you reach FRA it is irrelevant whether or not you're disabled as far as Social Security is concerned.

My expertise is limited to Social Security benefits, so I can't tell you what if any impact the conversion of your SSDI benefits to retirement benefits might have on your student loan. You may want to check with the agency responsible for the loan.

Best, Jerry