Q & A
What is the disability waiting period?
Answer:
Social Security disability requirements include a waiting period of five full calendar months before entitlement to benefits can begin. Benefits are paid starting for the sixth full month after the date a disability is determined to begin. Called the onset, this date is when the person became disabled and not when the application was submitted or the decision made.
For example, say someone’s Social Security disability due to illness or injury begins on Sept. 22, 2014, the onset date. The waiting period is the five full months of October 2014 through February 2015 with payment effective for March. Since Social Security payments arrive the following month, payment for March comes in April. Read more…
Source: Howard Kossover, (howard.kossover@ssa.gov) Social Security Public Affairs Specialist
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