Can I Receive Disability & Social Security During Retirement?
- You can receive disability benefits if you are a senior citizen and you have already retired. The only condition is that you must meet the program's requirements to be eligible for disability benefits. These requirements include that you have to have a long-term disability (one year or more) or a disability that will cause death. You are also required to pay Social Security tax for a specific time according to your age.
- One of the Social Security programs that pay benefits to senior citizens who plan to retire or who have retired is the Social Security Retirement program. This program pays monthly pensions to all eligible senior citizens. You can retire and get retirement benefits as early as 62 years of age. However, if you do so, your benefits will be lower than they would be if you were to retire later. To be eligible to receive retirement benefits, you must have worked and paid Social Security tax. You generally need 40 Social Security credits to receive your benefits, which is equivalent to 10 years of work.
- Supplemental Security Income is a Social Security program that pays benefits to help those with low income. To qualify to receive these benefits, you must be 65 years of age or older. If you are a younger person who is disabled or blind, you may also qualify for benefits. Those who have retired and receive retirement benefits, but whose income is low enough, qualify to enroll in this program as soon as they turn 65 years of age. Benefits are paid monthly, and the amount may vary according to your income. As of 2011, the maximum monthly amount is $1,011 for couples and $674 for single individuals.
- Medicare is another Social Security program that pays benefits to those who are older than 65 years of age and retired. (You can also qualify for benefits if you have not retired yet.) Medicare is a public health insurance program that helps with the costs of medical treatments and hospital stays. If you have paid Medicare tax, you qualify to receive free Medicare Part A benefits (hospital insurance). If you already receive retirement benefits, you are automatically enrolled in Part A and Part B (medical insurance) when you turn 65 years old. Otherwise, you must sign up three months before your 65th birthday.