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WHICH DISABILITY PAYS THE MOST MONEY?

Your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit will depend on your work history and your lifetime wages.  Different disabilities do not pay different amounts, except for blindness.  

So, if you are disabled by heart disease or by depression, your benefit will be the same--based on your lifetime wages and the amount of FICA you paid into the Social Security system.

The average disability benefit in Alabama for 2023 was $1,333.89 per month, which is about $50 higher than the national average.

The maximum SSDI benefit in Alabama for 2023 was about $3,600 per month.  In 2024, this will increase to $3,822 for new claims decided on 1/1/24 or later.  This increase does not apply to persons already getting SSDI benefits before 1/1/24.

So, the amount of your SSDI benefit is not determined by the type of medical condition you have (except for blindness, which can get a higher benefit).

Also, since Social Security only pays for total disability, benefits will not increase because your medical condition worsens.  When you start receiving disability benefits you are considered "totally disabled," so you cannot become "more disabled."

Individuals who are already receiving SSDI or SSI benefits on 1/1/24 will get a 3.2 percent Cost of Living  Adjustment (COLA).   The average SSDI check in Alabama will increase by about $40 per month in 2024.

 

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