There are several types of income that could threaten government benefits eligibility for a disabled person. In terms of injuries, two common occurrences are the award of workers compensation benefits or the settlement or court award for injury compensation.
Social security benefits could be affected in different ways by various types of income. Here is a brief discussion of two situations some people may face. Anyone in Georgia who is collecting social security disability income should probably take note of these technical details before pursuing either of these matters to conclusion.
Disabling injuries, when they occur outside of the workplace, are sometimes accompanied by a personal injury lawsuit. Should a disabled party win a court award or receive a settlement payment, it may affect certain government benefits. As explained on FindLaw, one way to potentially avoid this becoming an issue could be to place the personal injury funds in a special needs trust.
Workers’ compensation payments are another possible issue. According to the SSA, social security disability benefits should not exceed 80% of a disabled person’s average current income at the time of the disabling injury. This cap is also applicable to many other types of federal, state or local benefits. When all of these together become higher than the limit, then a reduction could apply to bring things back to 80%.
The SSA brochure also mentions that lump sum workers’ comp payments could potentially affect social security benefits. Regardless of the source of funds, it would probably be prudent to take everything into account from a legal perspective before agreeing to any payment plan.
