hi larry,iwas granted ssd in 1995 I took a57000 from compensation in 1999 I now get about 900 a month in ssd, iturned 62 in nov. born in 1953,anything to increase my ssd or take retirement,my wife also has private retirement pension with ssd is there anything I can do to increase my ssd or take retirement or both.i would like your input,as you realize 900 a month medicines, does not go far.

Hi,

If your disability benefit is being reduced due to receipt of a worker's compensation settlement, it's possible that it could be advantageous for you to apply for reduced retirement benefits. You can't receive both benefits, but sometimes reduced retirement benefits are higher than disability benefits if the latter is reduced due to receipt of worker's compensation.

If your reduced retirement benefit is higher than the disability benefit, there would likely be no disadvantage to applying for it. As long as you remain technically entitled to disability benefits until you reach full retirement age (FRA), your benefit amount will reset to the full unreduced rate effective with the month of FRA attainment.

Also, if your wife is receiving Social Security disability benefits, it may be possible for you to receive an excess spousal benefit on her account. However, her benefit amount would have to be more than double your amount for that to be possible.

Best, Jerry