The 2018 attorney fee cap for SSDI cases
In 2018, Social Security set the maximum fee an attorney could charge for representing you in an SSDI case at $6,000. This was the highest amount allowed under federal law, regardless of how much back pay you received. The cap applied to all SSDI cases decided that year, whether your case went to a hearing, was approved on reconsideration, or was won at any other stage of the process.
This $6,000 limit was not new in 2018—it had been the cap since 2006. What changed year to year was how Social Security calculated whether an attorney's fee fell within that cap. The agency looked at the total back pay you were awarded (the money owed from the date you became disabled to the date you were approved), and the attorney's fee had to be the smaller of either 25 percent of your back pay or $6,000.
Because the cap stayed the same while back pay amounts varied widely, the real fee an attorney charged depended entirely on your case. Someone with $15,000 in back pay might pay $3,750 (25 percent), while someone with $50,000 in back pay would still pay only $6,000 (the cap), even though 25 percent of their back pay would have been $12,500.
Key Takeaways
- The 2018 attorney fee cap was $6,000, the maximum any attorney could charge for an SSDI case that year.
- Your attorney's actual fee was whichever was smaller: 25 percent of your back pay or $6,000.
- Social Security had to approve the fee before the attorney could collect it, and the agency deducted the approved amount directly from your back pay.
- The $6,000 cap applied to all SSDI cases, but cases involving representative payees or special circumstances sometimes had different rules.
How Social Security calculated the fee in 2018
The calculation was straightforward in theory but could produce very different results depending on your back pay amount. Social Security took 25 percent of whatever back pay you were awarded, then compared that number to $6,000. Whichever was lower became your attorney's fee.
This meant that if your back pay was $24,000 or less, your attorney's fee was 25 percent of that amount. Once your back pay reached $24,000, the fee hit the $6,000 cap and stopped climbing. For every dollar of back pay above $24,000, your attorney received nothing additional—the fee stayed at $6,000.
The fee was calculated only on back pay, not on any ongoing monthly benefits you would receive going forward. If you were approved for $1,500 a month in ongoing SSDI payments, that future income did not factor into the attorney's fee at all.
How the fee was paid in 2018
You did not write a check to your attorney. Instead, Social Security withheld the approved fee directly from your back pay and sent it to your attorney's office. This happened automatically once Social Security approved both your case and the fee amount.
Your attorney had to request fee approval from Social Security before the case was decided. The attorney submitted a form (the fee petition) that showed the work done and the amount being requested. Social Security reviewed this request and either approved it, reduced it, or denied it.
Once you received your back pay, the approved fee amount was already gone—Social Security had already deducted it. You received the remaining back pay in a lump sum. This meant you never had to worry about paying your attorney out of pocket, but it also meant your actual cash payment was reduced by whatever fee Social Security approved.
What happened if your attorney charged more than $6,000
An attorney could not legally charge you more than $6,000 in 2018, even if they wanted to. Social Security's fee approval process was the gatekeeper. If an attorney requested more than $6,000, Social Security would reduce the request to $6,000 and that was the maximum the attorney could collect.
Some attorneys worked on a contingency basis, meaning they only got paid if you won. Others charged hourly rates but still had to stay within the $6,000 cap. Either way, the cap was absolute—there was no way around it through negotiation or special circumstances.
If an attorney tried to bill you directly for fees beyond what Social Security approved, you could report this to your state bar association. Attorneys are bound by professional rules that prevent them from charging clients more than what the law allows.
Cases that had different fee rules in 2018
Most SSDI cases followed the standard $6,000 cap, but a few situations had their own rules. If you had a representative payee (someone appointed to manage your benefits because you could not manage them yourself), fee rules could be more complex. Social Security sometimes required additional approval steps or documentation in these cases.
Cases involving a minor child's SSDI benefits also had special considerations. If you were the parent or guardian of a child receiving SSDI, the fee structure might differ slightly, though the $6,000 cap still applied to the attorney's total fee.
Cases that involved both SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits sometimes required separate fee calculations for each program, though the total fee still could not exceed $6,000 in 2018.
Why the $6,000 cap mattered in 2018
The cap meant that attorneys had a financial incentive to win cases quickly and efficiently. A case that took 100 hours of work and a case that took 500 hours of work both capped out at $6,000, so attorneys could not straightforward bill more hours to earn more money.
For you as the client, the cap provided protection. You knew the maximum you would lose from your back pay to attorney fees. It also meant that attorneys could not charge different fees based on how much back pay you received—the structure was the same for everyone.
The downside was that some complex cases might not attract attorney representation because the fee cap made them unprofitable for the attorney. If your case required extensive work and your back pay was low, you might have had difficulty finding an attorney willing to take it on.
How 2018 fees compare to other years
The $6,000 cap in 2018 was the same as it had been since 2006. Social Security did not adjust this cap for inflation or any other factor—it remained fixed at $6,000 year after year. This meant that the real value of the cap actually decreased over time as the cost of living rose.
Before 2006, the fee cap was lower. In the 1990s and early 2000s, attorneys could charge up to 25 percent of back pay with no dollar cap at all. The $6,000 cap was introduced as a reform to protect clients from extremely high fees in cases with large back pay awards.
After 2018, the cap remained at $6,000 for several more years. The cap has only changed when Congress passed new legislation, which happens rarely. If you had an SSDI case in 2018 or are reviewing old case records, the $6,000 figure was the law that applied.
Frequently Asked Questions
If my back pay was $10,000 in 2018, how much would my attorney charge?
Your attorney's fee would be $2,500 (25 percent of $10,000). Since this amount is below the $6,000 cap, the 25 percent calculation applies. Your back pay would be reduced by $2,500, and you would receive $7,500 in cash.
Could an attorney in 2018 charge a flat fee instead of using the back pay percentage?
No. The fee structure was set by federal law and Social Security regulations. All SSDI attorneys in 2018 had to follow the same rule: 25 percent of back pay or $6,000, whichever was smaller. Flat fees, hourly rates, or other arrangements were not permitted.
What if I disagreed with the fee amount Social Security approved in 2018?
You could request that Social Security review the fee decision. You would file a written objection explaining why you believed the fee was too high. Social Security would reconsider, though they rarely reduced fees that fell within the legal cap. You could also contact your state bar association if you believed the attorney acted improperly.
Did the $6,000 cap explore to appeals after 2018?
If your case was still ongoing after 2018, the fee rules that applied depended on when the case was decided. Once your case was approved and fees were paid in 2018, that was final. If your case continued into later years, the fee cap in effect during those years would explore instead.
Could my attorney charge me a separate fee for the fee petition itself?
No. The attorney's entire fee for representing you, including the work of requesting fee approval from Social Security, had to fit within the $6,000 cap. There were no additional charges on top of this amount.