Hi Larry,

Someone asked about collecting social security while waiting for SSDI approval. It's at the link below.Part of your answer didn't make sense to me. I don't understand why in the example the guy has to wait until he's 66 to collect disability benefits.

I'm 61. I became my ssdi application in 2020. There's a decent chance it won't be approved until after my 62nd birthday. My FRA is 67.

Assming the one date is determined to be in 2020, If I start taking reduced benefits at 62, what happens when the SSDI claim is approved?

Thanks,
Randy

https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/can-i-collect-retirement-benefits-w....

Hi Randy. My answer in the question you referenced contained a typo, which has now been corrected. The person in the example would actually qualify for Social Security disability benefits at age 62 & 5 months, not 66 & 5 months.

Anyway, in your case if you start collecting reduced retirement benefits at age 62 and if your claim for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits is eventually approved with a disability onset date that's at least 5 months prior to the month you turned age 62, then your SSDI entitlement date would precede or be the same as your retirement benefit entitlement date. And, in that case, Social Security would remove the entire reduction for age that was originally applied to your monthly benefit rate. In other words, in that case you'd receive an unreduced SSDI benefit equal to 100% of your primary insurance amount (PIA) instead of your reduced retirement benefit. Plus, of course, you'd be paid any back pay to which you're entitled.

On the other hand, if your SSDI claim is disallowed then the reduction for age applied to your benefit rate for starting your retirement benefits at age 62 would be permanent. Or, or if your SSDI claim is approved with a disability onset date that's later than 5 months before you reached age 62 then you'd be paid a reduced SSDI rate that's less than 100% of your PIA. The amount of permanent reduction would depend on the number of months that you collected reduced retirement benefits prior to your first month of SSDI entitlement.

Best, Jerry