My husband applied for SS Disability when he was 60 and is now awaiting a hearing to determine approval or not. He is now turning 62 and we are getting ready to apply for his SS retirement benefits. How will this affect his benefits if approved for SS disability?

Hi,

If your husband's claim for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits is approved and his first month of SSDI entitlement is retroactive to a month that is the same as or earlier than his first month of entitlement to Social Security retirement benefits, then the fact that he filed for retirement benefits won't have any net effect. In that case his higher unreduced SSDI benefits would simply replace the lower reduced retirement benefits.

If a person is not eligible for SSDI and files for their Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, their reduced benefit rate is paid at between 25% to 30% less than their full retirement age rate, or primary insurance amount (PIA), depending on their full retirement age (FRA). SSDI benefits are paid at 100% of a person's PIA, so they basically permit a person to draw their full rate early.

If your husband is approved for SSDI but his entitlement date is not retroactive to the same month as his first month of entitlement to retirement benefits or earlier, then he would retain a percentage reduction for any months that he was paid retirement benefits prior to his first month of SSDI entitlement. The percentage reduction amounts to 5/12ths of 1% or 5/9ths of 1% per month depending on the person's age at the time of entitlement to retirement benefits and SSDI. Our software can handle all of the various calculations involved in a case like your husband's.

Best, Jerry