Can I Get Disability and Unemployment Benefits at the Same Time in Illinois & Indiana?
When you lose your job, unemployment insurance (UI) can keep you financially afloat until you find a new one.
When health problems won’t let you work, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits ease the burden of mounting bills and costs of daily life.
Does getting unemployment insurance rule out Social Security Disability benefits?
It’s complicated. In some cases, you can collect both UI and SSDI benefits. But it’s extremely tricky.
The challenge is that the main requirements for UI and Social Security Disability benefits contradict each other.
To qualify for unemployment, you must declare you can work and you’re looking for a job. To qualify for Social Security Disability, you must prove you can’t work and earn a substantial amount for at least a year.
It’s hard to find the space between, where both these things can be true. Every case is unique, and it depends entirely on your individual situation.
If you’re trying to decide on applying for disability benefits, and you’re in Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin, Waukegan, Gary or any place in Chicagoland, Illinois or Northwest Indiana, talk to Nash Disability Law about your health and employment situation.
And you don’t have to live nearby to work with us. Because most Social Security disability hearings are held by phone, we can represent you no matter where in the country you live.
Nash Disability Law has been helping people win disability benefits, including in many complicated situations, for 40 years. We will evaluate your disability claim for free. And if we represent you for Social Security Disability, you’ll pay no attorney fee until you win.
WE’VE HELPED MORE PEOPLE IN THE CHICAGO AREA WIN BENEFITS THAN ANY OTHER LAW FIRM.
What Scenarios Allow Me to Collect Both UI and SSD?
In both Illinois and Indiana, unemployment insurance is run by the state.
The federal government, through the Social Security Administration (SSA), manages disability benefits.
Collecting unemployment doesn’t automatically disqualify you from applying for Social Security Disability. It’s just an extra challenge because Social Security adjudicators may see your filing for unemployment as evidence you can work.
You must prove you’re unable to work, or Social Security will deny your disability claim.
Successfully filing for both kinds of benefits comes down to timing. Here are the general situations where you could get both:
- Health problems caused you to lose your job, and you begin collecting unemployment before your Social Security Disability claim is processed. (Social Security Disability takes longer.)
- Your health grows worse while you’re on UI, leading you to pursue Social Security Disability benefits.
- If you’re collecting disability but want to try to return to work, Social Security allows you to keep your disability benefits while you’re looking. In that scenario, you can also apply for unemployment.
- Social Security allows you to work a little and keep your benefits. If this applies to you, unemployment may also be an option during your job search.
To thread the needle between these state and federal requirements takes a very well-planned approach.
Social Security denies most claims. They typically reject two out of every three initial applications. People at Social Security reviewing your disability claim could see your unemployment benefits as a red flag. They could interpret it as you declaring you’re able to work.
But at the very least, you may be able to collect unemployment during the transition to disability benefits.
If you have questions, talk to Nash Disability Law. We take a personalized approach to helping people get disability benefits, and we can help you find a path forward to ease the financial burden your health problems have caused.
Get your FREE disability claim consultation.
What Are the Differences Between Social Security Disability and Unemployment Insurance?
Securing unemployment benefits is significantly easier than collecting Social Security Disability Insurance.
Unemployment provides a basic financial bridge while you’re out of work and looking for a new job. Social Security requires a mountain of evidence to prove you have a disability that rules out working.
Another big difference is that unemployment is temporary. In both Illinois and Indiana, you can only collect UI payments for 26 weeks in a one-year benefit period.
Social Security Disability benefits, on the other hand, last as long as you can continue to show you have a disability that prevents you from working, until you reach retirement age.
These differences lead many people to start collecting unemployment benefits before applying or being approved for Social Security Disability.
Another wrinkle is that Social Security Disability allows you to earn a limited amount per month from work. Go over that, and your benefits disappear.
If your earnings are under the SSDI limit, but then you lose that job, you can collect UI because of those lost wages.
As you can see, it’s complicated.
There’s no special carve-out in either program for people who lost their jobs because of a disability or lost their jobs and later developed a disability.
You may need careful wording on your application as you describe what you can and cannot do for pay.
It’s best to find someone who has been through this process before. Nash Disability Law has helped thousands of people with the disability program.
We will work to maximize your benefits to bring stability and peace of mind during a difficult time.
