Ask Larry

Does My Sister In Law Need To Apply For Her Disability?

My sister in law applied for spousal disability when she turned 60 from my deceased brother. Afterwards she became disabled while working. She receives his benefits but her job is paying her also. Does she need to apply for her disability and can she still receive her pay from job.

Hi. I'm not sure what you mean by 'spousal disability'. There's no such Social Security benefit, although there is such a thing as a disabled widow(er) benefit (DWB). DWB benefits technically end at age 60, though, because at that age a widow(er) can qualify for regular widow(er) benefits regardless of whether or not they are disabled.

So, I'm going to assume that what your sister in law receives are widow's benefits. In that case, if she is still under her full retirement age (FRA) she could apply for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits, but that would only increase her total benefit rate if her SSDI rate is higher than her widow's benefit rate. If her SSDI rate would be lower than her widow's rate and if she ends up being approved for SSDI benefits, then her SSDI benefits would just offset her widow's benefits dollar for dollar. In other words, she'd keep getting the same total benefit amount unless her SSDI rate is higher than her widow's rate.

If your sister in law is still working and if she's under FRA, she could probably only qualify for SSDI benefits if her monthly earnings average below substantial gainful activity (SGA) level. The current monthly SGA level in 2021 is $1310 for non-blind individuals, and for people who are blind it is $2190.

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Sep 9 2021 - 1:33pm
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