During a Social Security disability case most claimants are curious about the date in which they are entitled to benefits, considering that the process, for most applicants, can take the better part of two years because of a lengthy appeals process.
The good news is Social Security will pay benefits retroactively to an extent, but many times benefits do not go all the way back the established disability date.
By law, Social Security is allowed to pay disabled insurance benefits (DIB) to medically approved beneficiaries one year prior to the initial application date, no matter what the actual Established Onset Date (EOD) of disability.
For example, if Social Security actually finds that a disability applicant was found to be disabled in June of 2009, but the DIB application date was June of 2011, the earliest Social Security would go back to pay retroactive benefits would be June of 2010. At the time of completion of a disability insurance case, many people are entitled to several years’ worth of back pay because applicants are waiting a long time for a final decision on their case.
Now, for the other type of Social Security disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the retroactive date in which Social Security will pay benefits is different from that of a DIB case. Social Security rules authorize that SSI payments are permitted to begin only from the SSI application date because SSI is a needs-based system, which is different from DIB, which is a system in which the disabled worker paid into the Social Security system in which benefits are based. Considering disability cases, for most people, take up to two years to decide, regardless of which program an applicant might qualify for, most has substantial retroactive benefits coming their way if the applicant is found disabled.
