Hello, I have a question? I'm in Michigan and I wonder has any one had to have their disability backpay issued out in accruments at 6months at a time? I was approved for ssi and ssdi and recieved my first installment of 2,022, then they say i cant get another until 6 months than after the third time i will get the restwhatever is left. I am confused about this because everybody i know that got back pay got it all at one time. I had about $36,000 coming but after my lawyer got his $6,000, and the department of soc service(state disability) got their money back which was
$9,956, so the rest is what i am suppose to get. BUt I haver to wait. I had planned on paying off ppl i owed and others things now i have wait even longer after waiting already for 4 years.

My oldest daughter was recently approved for SSI and that's the way they are doing her backpay too.

SSI installment processing has been around since 1996. Congress would have to change the law or your local office would have to ignore the law.

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0502101020

You could provide proof of outstanding debt for food, clothing or shelter as an exception to installments.

I understand that the program is working against you being able to pay off what you wanted too, but try to understand that the program was planned this way to help you to be able to collect the maximum benifits that you can. For many people, getting a big one time payment (say, roughly the $20 k you would be owed after the $6 k lawyer payment and almost $10k state repayment), if they didn't pay out $18,000 in one month, they would't be eligible for their SSI payment for the next month as they would have too much in assets.

Actually, the retroactive SSI and/or Social Security benefits are excluded from the $2000 resource limit for 9 months.

They cynical part of me thinks that installments of only 3 months of benefits are a way of Congress holding on to money longer. If an SSI recipient is due $15,000 in retroactive benefits (lives in California or has been waiting for 3 or 4 years). How is it helpful to pay ($674 x 3) $2022 now, $2022 in 6 months and $10,956 6 months after that? If SSI recipients need help managing their money today, why does the law let them manage the rest of the benefits in one year? Never has made sense, but it is law.

Ahh, didn't know that.

Do you know, Janke, why some people get installments and some people do get it all in one lump sum ? Is the installment set up just for those who are on both SSDI and SSI ?

Installments are only for SSI benefits.

Ahh....thanks