are you on SSDI? If yes, do whatever you want.

Save it, give it away, pay your debts, gamble, travel, bury it in the backyard, buy a HDTV and Blue Ray DVD player and a nice recliner and subscribe to Netflix, get your teeth fixed, get your roof fixed and a new furnace for your home. Whatever you want. It may be the last time in your life that you have a lump sum of money, so making good choices for your comfortable future may be in your best interest.

Are you on SSI? If yes, do whatever you want but keep receipts and don't give it away (like share the wealth with the adult children) unless you don't care if SSI penalizes you for a few or many months for giving away your money. Also, if you want to stay on SSI, don't buy a second house or a second car or any other countable resource that exceeds $2000. Also, the retroactive benefits are excluded from the $2000 resource limit for 9 months so you don't have to spend it all today.

Hi again Janke!
No, I am not on SSI. I am on SSDI.
Thank you so much for your reply!

Can you imagine if there were rules on retroactive pay spending ofter paying 15% of your income for this benefit for years? I've never heard of rules on spending your money that you are entitled to, but it wouldn't suprise me one bit if SS or some other bored angency would attempt it.

Forgot to add that you probably should save something for income taxes in case you owe any. Ask your tax preparer.

Jimking, I didn't even think of that! Youa re so right!
Janke, yup! I spoke to the tax preparer about my taxes on it.

Thank you!

I just found out today that I was approved for SSI, and have a question. You can't give any of it away without being penalized? So if I wanted to give a portion of my back pay to my mom for rent for living here with her, I cannot do that? If so, I will accept it--I just want to know for sure either way. I would like to give her the money I haven't been able to because I haven't had any income.