Ask Larry

Is It Common To Have A Discrepancy In My SSDI And FRA Benefit Rates?

I have been collecting SSDI on my own record since 3/1996 at age 36. I am also receiving 60% of my original private retirement amount under a disability plan I purchased and paid for thru my employer. I am now 62 and I know that my SSDI would be converted at my retirement age of 66 years and 10 months, full retirement age. However, there is a reduction in my FRA payment amount from SSA since I have been receiving cost of living increases annually on my SSDI. It seems as if my FRA has not kept up with the increases on the SSDI. Is this discrepancy common? Or is there something I have to file to get this corrected? I can retire at 65 on my private record with 100% of my private retirement amount, will this impact my SSDI?

Hi. I don't know what reference you're looking at when you refer to your full retirement age (FRA) being lower than your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit rate, but apparently the amount you're seeing there is wrong. Quite simply, when you reach FRA your SSDI benefits will be converted to regular Social Security retirement benefits, and your monthly rate will stay the same. There are some extremely rare occasions when a person's benefit rate after the conversion could be somewhat higher than their full SSDI rate, but the benefit rate would never go down as a result of the conversion.

Nothing that you do with regard to your private retirement account would have any effect on either your SSDI benefits nor your future Social Security retirement benefits.

Best, Jerry

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Posted: 
Oct 11 2021 - 4:58pm
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