When a disability prevents you from working, the lack of a steady income creates serious financial challenges. A Social Security Disability payment, also known as Social Security Disability Insurance, can provide the money you need to overcome those challenges.
It’s therefore understandable that you’d want to know how much to expect in monthly SSDI benefits. Here is everything you need to know about SSDI disability benefits, as well as the monthly payments available for those who qualify for the Supplemental Security Income program.
Disability Benefits and The Social Security System
When you pay Social Security taxes on the income earned by working at a job or through self-employment for a long enough duration, you become insured and eligible for retirement benefits. Social Security Disability payments are for workers younger than retirement age who are unable to work due to a disability.
The Social Security monthly check you receive as a disabled worker through the SSDI program continues only until you reach full retirement age. The SSDI payments stop, but you continue to receive monthly payments because the disability benefits automatically convert to Social Security retirement benefits.
How Much Do You Receive In Monthly Social Security Disability Benefits?
The disability payment amount you get through SSDI depends on your average lifetime earnings from jobs or self-employment that were subject to payment of Social Security taxes. According to the Social Security Administration, the SSDI program pays the following in 2025:
- Average monthly benefit to disabled workers: $1,580.
- Average monthly benefit to disabled worker with a spouse and children: $2,826.
- Maximum monthly SSDI benefit payment a disabled worker can receive: $4,018.
Benefit payments through the Social Security Administration may change annually because of a cost-of-living adjustment. For example, retirement, disability, and survivor benefits in 2025 were higher than in 2024 due to a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment based on the rate of inflation.
Disability benefit payments available through Supplemental Security Income
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, managed by the Social Security Administration, provides monthly disability benefits to adults and children. It does not require a work history for eligibility purposes, unlike the SSDI program. Instead, it imposes limits on your income and resources because SSI eligibility is based on financial need.
If you meet the eligibility restrictions, the maximum disability payment amount through SSI is $967 for individuals and $1,450 for couples. These amounts are for 2025 and can change annually through the same cost-of-living adjustment that affects Social Security Disability monthly benefits.
The amount you receive each month from SSI could be less than the maximum benefit, depending on the income you receive from other sources. For example, someone whose work history makes them eligible for SSDI may also qualify for SSI benefits, but their SSI payment is reduced by the amount they receive monthly from SSDI.
Working While Receiving Month Social Security Disability Payments
The Social Security Administration has programs to encourage people receiving SSDI to test their ability to work during a nine-month trial work period. Any month when you reach more than $1,160 from working counts as one of the nine trial work months, which need not be used consecutively. In fact, you have 60 months to use them.
The advantage of a trial work period is that you can test your ability to return to work without jeopardizing your disability benefits. You can earn as much as you can during a trial work month without it affecting your eligibility for SSDI.
Typically, you would not be eligible for benefits by earning more than the substantial gainful activity (SGA) limit, which is $1,620 in 2025. However, during a trial work period, you can keep what you make at work along with your full monthly SSDI benefits even when earnings exceed the SGA amount.
Consult An Experienced Disability Benefits Representative
An excellent source of advice and guidance about your monthly Social Security Disability payment is a disability representative or advocate. Schedule a consultation with a representative committed to looking out for your best interests.
