The Social Security Administration has rules and statutes in place that prevent what it considers to be "double dipping." In other words, if a Social Security Disability recipient received wage replacement benefits from another source for the same period time that Social Security finds the claimant disabled, Social Security will "offset" any benefits due against the amounts received from another source. Let's use an example to illustrate.
If somebody is injured on the job in Oregon and has a workers' compensation claim, the injured worker may receive temporary total disability benefits, or may resolve their claim with a disputed claims settlement or a claims disposition agreement. The money received for wage replacement or from a settlement is considered a "disability" benefit according to Social Security.
As result, if these payments were received for a period of time that includes the Social Security disability, then Social Security will offset the amount the injured worker received from the Workers' Compensation carrier, whether its temporary total disability or a settlement.
If the case involves a settlement, however, the injured worker can include language in the workers' compensation settlement that lessens the effect of the offset. Essentially, the injured worker is able to pro rate the offset by the number of months of his or her life expectancy. This results in Social Security reducing the monthly disability benefit by only a few dollars per month.
If you have a Oregon Workers' Compensation claim, and are considering a disability application, call us at 503-325-8600. We can explain the process, and your options.
