If my Long Term Disability is stopped because I turned 65 and I am also receiving Social Security Disability,( which my LTD paid for so I could get), can I check with Social Security Disability for an increase. My LTD was half my income and now I can't pay my bills. Yes, I should have prepared but life happened and originally this was an injury at work. I had no choice but to sign this contract.

Hi,

The amount of your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit is determined based on an average of a variable number of your highest years of earnings. Other factors, such as your living expenses and other income, have no impact on your SSDI benefit rate. Therefore, if your long term disability (LTD) insurance stops, it would not make you eligible for a higher Social Security benefit. Your SSDI benefits will convert to regular Social Security retirement benefits at the same benefit rate when you reach your full retirement age (FRA).

SSDI benefits are sometimes offset in whole or in part if a person is also receiving Worker's Compensation or Public Disability Benefits (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0452125001). If your LTD is in fact Worker's Compensation or a Public Disability Benefit, then a change in the rate or stoppage of the benefit could then affect your SSDI rate and you would want to notify Social Security of the change.

Social Security does administer a separate needs based benefit called Supplemental Security Income (SSI), so if your income and assets are relatively low you may want to see if you'd be eligible for SSI. There's an SSI screening tool on the following website that might help you determine if you could qualify for SSI: https://ssabest.benefits.gov/.

Best, Jerry