It is most unfortunate when a close loved one of yours sadly passes away. This may be a challenging mourning period if you are going through some personal things yourself at the same time; such as, if you incurred or were diagnosed with a physical, mental, or emotional disability. With this, you may be looking into an application for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, or you may already be collecting these monthly payments from the Social Security Administration (SSA). But if your loved one left you with a significant inheritance in their estate plan, you may contemplate whether your SSDI eligibility has since shifted. That said, please continue reading to learn what happens if you inherit money while collecting SSDI benefits and how one of the experienced lawyers in SSDI eligibility in New Jersey, at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur, can help you go about this appropriately.
What happens if I inherit money while collecting SSDI benefits?
For starters, eligibility for SSDI benefits entails your having a physical, mental, or emotional disability that majorly prevents you from maintaining substantial gainful activity, in regards to your level of work activity and amount of earnings from said work. Of note, the SSA discloses a list of eligible disabilities on its website.
Then, from here, SSDI eligibility is dependent on your work history. That is, how long and how recently you have worked. This is because your monthly SSDI benefits payments are meant to be funded by the payroll taxes you technically paid when you worked.
This is all to say that your eligibility for SSDI benefits may be based on the earned income from your work history rather than your unearned income. With this, an inheritance from a loved one may be categorized as your unearned income. Therefore, the amount of money currently in your possession after this may not jeopardize your eligibility.
Under what circumstances should I report my inheritance to the SSA?
You should know that your eligibility for SSDI benefits is continual rather than permanent. This means that the SSA may periodically review the state of your disability to decipher whether you still meet the criteria for this benefits program. But even at this time of review, you may not have to report your recent inheritance with the SSA. Again, the SSA is only concerned about your disability status and your work history, not your current assets.
However, you may want to tread on the side of caution and report an inheritance if it actively generates income for you. For example, if your inheritance came in the form of a real estate property, which you rent out for profit. Or, if your inheritance funds are reinvested and you receive interest income or dividends from it. This is because, under circumstances such as these, your inheritance may constitute an earned income. Ultimately, earned income, whether from your work activity or another resource, may be of importance to the SSA.
Going about your SSDI benefits claim should not be done without the wise legal counsel of one of the skilled lawyers in SSDI eligibility in New Jersey. So please call to schedule your free initial consultation with us at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
