Approval Rates for Social Security Disability: What to Expect
Social Security runs two national benefits programs for people confronting debilitating health problems and searching to stabilize their income:
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) – SSDI may be the most familiar program because everyone who has earned a paycheck contributed to it. This is partly where your Social Security taxes go. To be eligible for SSDI, you must have worked enough recently to earn the required number of credits to receive benefits.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – SSI is for people with limited economic resources who may never have worked or haven’t worked enough recently to qualify for SSDI. It could also be a good option for someone who worked enough to get SSDI, but at an income low enough that their SSI payments would be higher.
But when you’re wondering which one to apply for, you might ask, “Is it harder to get SSI or SSDI?”
Really, the hardest one for you to win is whichever one you don’t match as well with the qualifications.
- If you don’t have enough recent work history and tax payments to be covered by SSDI, your chances may be better with SSI.
- If you have too much in savings, investments or other resources for SSI’s strict limits on assets, you are likely better off seeking SSDI.
Whether SSI or SSDI is easier or harder will largely depend on your individual circumstances.
For both SSDI and SSI, you have to meet difficult standards for proving that your medical issues are severe enough to prevent you from doing almost any work.
SSI claims have an additional limiton assets you can own. It is very strict, and SSDI doesn’t have anything like it. For SSDI, you can have any amount in savings, investments or real estate and still get benefits. The only limit for SSDI is on your income from working.
For SSI, you can own very little. That means many SSI applications are denied before an adjudicator even looks at the medical part of the claim because the applicant doesn’t qualify financially.
Deciding how to approach a Social Security Disability claim can be confusing. An experienced disability lawyer can walk you through your case, help you apply to the correct program, and minimize technical mistakes that could lead to a denial.
At Nash Disability Law, we’ve been helping clients all around Chicago make these tricky decisions and get a financial lifeline for more than 40 years.
You pay no attorney fee until you win benefits.
WE’VE HELPED MORE PEOPLE IN THE CHICAGO AREA WIN BENEFITS THAN ANY OTHER LAW FIRM.
How SSDI and SSI Work & Which One Gives You the Better Chance of Winning
Both disability benefits programs run by Social Security have the same health-related requirements: You must have serious health problems that leave you unable to work, and the situation is long term.
They both have requirements regarding how much you can earn from working: You cannot earn more than a monthly amount set by Social Security that it considers to be “substantial gainful activity (SGA).”
The SGA limit is strictly on income from a job. It doesn’t apply to items like interest from savings, returns on investments, or income from rental property.
The key to SSI benefits is that you must also show you have less than $2,000 in combined assets, saved money, or other sources of money each month. Qualifying couples can have $3,000. They haven’t updated these numbers in a long time.
One small area of flexibility is that a few important assets don’t count against your limit—like your primary residence and one car.
For most Chicago residents, their circumstances will determine if they qualify for one program or the other.
Complicating things more: It is possible to win benefits from both programs.
- If you show you have a long-term health impairment and a sufficient work history, you can win SSDI benefits.
- If you show that your income from working was low enough that your benefits calculation puts you below what you would get from SSI, you can collect both SSDI and SSI benefits up to the SSI maximum payment.
- If you worked many years and paid into Social Security, but it’s been several years since you worked, and you have few other resources or savings, it may be possible to receive both SSDI and SSI benefits.
- Another possibility is that you could get SSI benefits during the 5-month waiting period for SSDI.
With either kind of benefit, most people will be denied at least once. With many strict rules and regulations in place, it’s how the system works.
Appealing is when you are most likely to win benefits.
If you have questions about your application or appeal for disability benefits, Nash Disability Law can evaluate your case for free.
And for people in the Chicago area who need help with benefits, we’re one of the top-ranked Illinois-based disability law firms in terms of the volume of benefits we have won for our clients.
Get your FREE disability benefits evaluation.
Another Difference Between SSI and SSDI: How Much They Pay
Because SSDI is based on your work history and how much you contributed to Social Security over the years, the benefits tend to be higher than SSI.
Social Security determines your monthly SSDI payment based on your average lifetime earnings while you were paying into the system. The more you earned, the higher your benefits, up to a limit.
The most you could possibly receive from SSDI as of 2026 is $4,152 a month. Average monthly SSDI payments, closer to what most people get, are a little more than $1,600.
SSDI also comes with access to Medicare, after a waiting period but potentially long before you would normally qualify based on age, which is a major part of the benefits you receive.
Being a need-based, not income-based program, SSI doesn’t use any past income to calculate your benefits. It simply takes a maximum amount you can receive, set by the government, and subtracts some of our resources from the total if you have resources that count.
For 2026, Social Security set the maximum SSI benefit at $994 a month for an individual. An eligible couple can receive up to $1,490 a month.
With SSI, you also qualify for immediate Medicaid health coverage.
When you’re dealing with life-altering medical problems and can no longer work, any amount helps with the burden of medical bills and daily expenses.
Give yourself the best chance to win disability benefits by calling Nash Disability Law.
We pride ourselves on helping our neighbors across Chicago find stability and peace of mind they need to live better.
