Social Security and Worker’s Comp

Recently we talked about Social Security Disability and Worker’s Compensation Benefits. And the nature of benefits is that they generally sound pretty good. People want jobs with benefits. People like friends with bene… well, that point is more or less not appropriate for the issue at hand. So the question boils down to – can you double dip from both Social Security Disability and Worker’s Compensation?

Let’s assess.

Social Security Disability is a federal program designed to financially aid disabled people. Eligibility for benefits requires that the petitioner to have paid into the social security system, and that the petitioner is disabled and unable to work. Benefits are assessed based on the amount that the petitioner made in previous years.

Worker’s Compensation is a state program that is designed to assist workers who are injured in the course of employment. Eligibility is based on having employment. Benefits are based on the severity of the injury.

Off the cuff, it appears that Social Security recipients can receive Worker’s Compensation benefits at the same time. This is true. You can receive Social Security Disability and Worker’s Compensation benefits at the same time. So what’s the catch?

The catch was instituted in 1965 on the part of Congress. Here’s the skinny – the applicable law is known colloquially as the Social Security Offset. The Social Security Administration will reduce social security disability benefits if the benefits in addition to the worker’s compensation benefits exceed 80 percent of the worker’s average current earnings. Average monthly earnings are calculated based on the best year of earning in the five years before the petitioner started to receive worker’s compensation.

You can collect both Social Security Disability and Worker’s Compensationin Oklahoma, but not if the combined amount is over 80 percent of the worker’s previous average earnings.

For a free consultation with a Tulsa Oklahoma attorney about Social Security law in Oklahoma