Social Security Disability pays you the amount you will receive when you reach full retirement age. If you’re between the ages of 62 and 67, you may find yourself running out of cash while you wait for a favorable disability decision. Getting Social Security retirement benefits early while still awaiting a decision can offer a welcome relief, but doing so will affect your benefits later.
For more financial planning help, check out work with a financial advisor.
Register your 60-year-old disability
register Social Security in your golden years may help you make a quicker decision than applying when you’re younger, but that’s no guarantee. Social Security’s disability assessors look at your previous work history and your medical condition. To be considered permanently disabled, your conditions must be something that prevents you from doing any work permanently, not just the job you currently do.
When you’re in your 20s, it’s hard to prove that there won’t be a job you can train for the next 40 years that will suit your conditions and needs. As you near retirement age, it will be much easier to prove that your conditions prevent you from working for the next few years.
How long does it take to make a disability decision?
Even if you’re the right age for you, it can still take a long time to get approved for Social Security Disability. The timelines depend on many factors, including your condition, how quickly your medical source responds, and whether your application was randomly selected for quality assessment. On average, you will receive an initial decision three to six months after submitting your application.
In general, the more serious conditions for which you have seen multiple doctors or been hospitalized to make a decision faster than those that are more difficult to diagnose or those with no medical history. People with advanced cancer will get approval very quickly, while someone with knee pain who has never seen a doctor may have a harder time.
If your initial application is denied, you will file an appeal at the reconsideration level if you disagree. The average time limit for a reconsideration decision is six months. If your reconsideration is denied, you will file an appeal at the hearing level and appear before a judge, a process that can take one to two years, depending on your area.
You do not need an attorney to file any of these appeals. Self-filing an appeal online at ssa.gov immediately after receiving a decision can save you about 60 days in initial processing time. Claims still need to be manually entered by a Social Security officer if you’re mailing them, which can lead to significant delays depending on staffing shortages at your local office .
How early retirement while waiting works
get it early retirement in the meantime Social Security is easy. You will apply online at SSA.gov and choose whichever month you want to receive your benefits. If you need payment to get started quickly, choose the earliest month. Your application will be processed within a few weeks. You can apply for early retirement three months before your 62nd birthday, but you won’t receive your benefits until two months after your birthday.
When you take Early retirement In the meantime, your final disability check will decrease by the number of months you received the check. Each individual’s Social Security amount is different based on how much they paid into the system during their years of employment. You can view your monthly benefits breakdown by creating a My Social Security account online.
Each month you receive an early retirement check will give you a reduction factor on your monthly disability check once you are approved. The reduction factor is equivalent to retiring a month earlier. So the longer your decision takes, the lower your check will be.
Example: Jane is eligible for $2000 at age 67 and $1400 at age 62. Jane applied for disability benefits, was denied, and filed an appeal. She decided to apply for early retirement in the meantime. After a year, she was approved. Because she received benefits for 12 months, there are 12 deductions for her final disability amount. Instead of $2,000 monthly, she will receive $1,866 monthly for her disability check.
Retiring early in the meantime can also affect pursuit. You will only receive a refund for the difference between the number of checks you received and the amount you were eligible for as a result of your disability. This can result in a relatively small due diligence check and can make it difficult to find an attorney to take on your case if you decide you want one.
Pros and cons of retiring early in the meantime
The biggest advantage of retiring early in the meantime is that you can have a source of income during tough times. There is no real way to predict how long a disability decision will take. The process can be quick, or you may have to go through several rounds of appeals and years of waiting. Early retirement applications are processed quickly, so you can always wait until you are close to needing the money before applying.
The main downside to retiring early in the meantime is that benefits will be reduced long after you’ve been approved. While the reduction is relatively small if you get a quick decision, it can be significant if you wait years. Additionally, if you are unwilling or unable to file the application yourself, it may be difficult for you to hire an attorney to file the application for you. Attorneys are paid out of salary, and applying for early retirement in the meantime will significantly reduce your outstanding payment because you received most of it directly.
Key point
Getting Social Security early while waiting for a disability decision will reduce the amount you’ll be eligible for once approved. The reduction corresponds to the number of months you receive benefits while you wait and is relatively small if you get a quick decision. Retiring early while you wait can be a wise move to keep your family stable if you need one.
Retirement Tips
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If you have access to a 401(k)make sure you use it — and make the most of it suitable employer you have.
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