I am 62 1/2 yrs, born January, 1957. I have been out of work since July 2019. I have required work credits and in fact have worked 2 jobs up until 2016, now I can't even work one job. I am applying for social security disability. Since I cannot function, I thought I would retire from my position and receive my company pension, since this will not be enough monies to live on I don't know how to proceed. Should I file for SS disability first, then regular social security so I can at least have a little more money come in monthly? Or do I just wait to see if I get denied then file for regular social security? I understand it could take up to 2 yrs to either be approved/disapproved. If it is correct to file soc security disability first, how long should one wait to file for regular social security. I was told if I file for soc security disability, I cannot file and collect regular social security that I would need to wait until either approved or disapproved. Thanks for your help

Hi,

You're allowed to file for both Social Security retirement benefits and Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits simultaneously or at different times. If you file for SSDI and your claim is approved you'll receive your full unreduced retirement age rate, which is also called your primary insurance amount (PIA). However, if you file for Social Security retirement benefits and you end up being paid for any months prior to your date of SSDI entitlement, your benefit rate will be reduced for age. Any reduction for age applied to your benefit rate for months prior to your month of SSDI entitlement would be permanent. And, if you aren't approved for SSDI then the full reduction for age applied to your Social Security retirement benefit rate would be permanent.

For example, say Julie files for Social Security retirement benefits and SSDI simultaneously at age 62 1/2. Julie's PIA is $2000, but she starts out being paid a reduced retirement rate of $1500 in return for starting her benefits early. If Julie is later approved for SSDI and her SSDI entitlement date is determined to be earlier than or in the same month that her retirement benefits started, her benefit rate would be revised to $2000 and she would suffer no negative effects of having temporarily drawn her retirement benefits while her SSDI determination was pending.

However, if Julie's SSDI claim is disapproved or approved with a later entitlement date than her entitlement date for retirement benefits, then at least part of the reduction for age applied to Julie's benefit would be permanent. For example, say Julie's first month of entitlement to SSDI is the month she turns age 63. In that case, the reduction for age applied for drawing retirement benefits from age 62 1/2 to age 63 would be permanent, and instead of receiving her full PIA of $2000 Julie would receive a reduced rate of $1933. But, if Julie's SSDI claim was never approved she would be stuck with a permanently reduced retirement benefit rate of $1500.

If you think that you may qualify for SSDI benefits then you should almost certainly apply for them. If you're approved, it would be like drawing your full retirement age benefit rate early. I can't advise you whether or not to file for reduced Social Security retirement benefits, but hopefully the explanation provided above will be helpful in making your decision. You may also want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore and compare all of your various options.

Best, Jerry