The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for managing the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and of course, the Social Security retirement program.
Social Security disability insurance benefits are made available to claimants who can no longer work due to injury or illness. A worker must have been employed for a certain about of time (broken up into quarterly credits), so that he or she has paid into the system, before SSA will approve claimant to receive disability benefits.
The Supplemental Security Income benefits program is designed to provide money for children of low income families and disabled elderly claimants. This program does not require claimant to have ever worked or worked enough to build up a certain number of credits, but it does have strict income requirements that must be met.
Workers’ compensation benefits are provided by private insurance companies or a state injury fund, and disputes between workers and their employers’ insurance companies are adjudicated by state agencies. The main difference between workers’ compensation benefits and Social Security benefits is that workers’ compensation is designed for those injured on the job, whereas Social Security Disability Insurance benefits claimants normally suffer from an illness or injury that is not work-related or is no longer covered by workers’ compensation. In some cases, a claimant may be compensated by both workers’ compensation benefits and Social Security disability benefits.
SOURCE: Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog – Read entire story here.
