The 2020 SSDI payment amount

In 2020, the highest monthly payment for Social Security Disability Insurance was $3,113 for a worker who had reached full retirement age. Most people received less than this maximum because the amount depends on your own earnings record — specifically, how much you paid into Social Security through payroll taxes over your working years.

The actual payment you would have received in 2020 was based on a calculation Social Security calls your Primary Insurance Amount, or PIA. This number comes from your average earnings during your highest-earning years. Two people the same age could receive very different monthly amounts because they had different work histories.

In January 2020, all SSDI payments increased by 1.6 percent — this annual adjustment is called a Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA. This meant that if you were receiving SSDI in December 2019, your January 2020 payment was 1.6 percent higher. The 2020 COLA was smaller than some years because inflation that year was low.

Key Takeaways

  • The 2020 maximum SSDI payment was $3,113 per month, but most recipients received less based on their own work history.
  • Your payment amount comes from your earnings record — the wages you paid Social Security taxes on during your working years.
  • All SSDI payments went up by 1.6 percent in January 2020 due to the annual cost of living adjustment.
  • If you were working when you became disabled, a higher lifetime income generally meant a higher SSDI payment.

How your earnings history determined your 2020 payment

Social Security looked at your highest 35 years of earnings to calculate your PIA. If you had worked fewer than 35 years, they counted zeros for the missing years, which lowered your average. This is why someone who worked steadily for 40 years typically received more than someone who worked 20 years, even if both became disabled at the same age.

The calculation also adjusted your past earnings for wage growth over time, so earnings from 1990 were not compared directly to earnings from 2015. This adjustment meant that your payment reflected what your earnings would have been worth in the year you turned 60 (or the year you became disabled, if that was earlier).

Family members who could receive payments based on your 2020 record

If you were receiving SSDI in 2020, your spouse and children might also have been receiving payments based on your work record. These family payments did not reduce your own amount — they came from a separate family benefit pool. However, the total amount all family members could receive together had a cap, usually between 150 and 180 percent of your own payment.

A spouse at full retirement age could receive up to 50 percent of your PIA. A spouse under full retirement age received less. Children under 19 (or 19 if still in high school) could each receive up to 75 percent of your PIA. If the family total exceeded the cap, Social Security reduced each family member's payment proportionally.

Supplemental Security Income versus SSDI in 2020

SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are different programs with different payment amounts. In 2020, the federal SSI payment was $783 per month for an individual and $1,175 for a couple. SSI is a needs-based program — it goes to people with low income and resources, regardless of work history. SSDI is based on your own earnings record.

Some people received both SSDI and SSI in 2020, a situation called concurrent receipt. This happened when someone's SSDI payment was below the SSI limit. Social Security would pay the SSDI amount first, then SSI would top it up to the SSI federal rate (though some states added extra money on top of the federal amount).

Work incentives that affected your 2020 payment

If you were working while receiving SSDI in 2020, your payment might have been reduced or stopped depending on how much you earned. Social Security had a Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) threshold — in 2020, this was $1,260 per month for non-blind workers and $3,367 for blind workers. If your monthly earnings exceeded this amount, Social Security could find that you were no longer disabled.

However, Social Security also offered work incentives that let you keep some or all of your SSDI payment while working. The Trial Work Period let you work for nine months (not necessarily consecutive) without any reduction to your payment, as long as you reported your earnings. After the trial work period ended, you entered the Extended may be able to access Period, where you could still receive your full SSDI payment for up to 36 months if your earnings stayed below SGA.

How 2020 payments compared to other years

The 2020 COLA of 1.6 percent was lower than the 2019 COLA of 2.8 percent. In 2021, the COLA increased to 1.3 percent. These year-to-year changes reflected inflation in the economy — when inflation was higher, the COLA was higher, and vice versa. Someone who had been receiving SSDI for many years would have seen their payment grow gradually through these annual adjustments.

If you are trying to understand what your own 2020 payment would have been, you can create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov and view your Social Security Statement. This statement shows your earnings history and an estimate of what you would receive at different ages. The statement is free and does not require you to be receiving benefits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did some people receive different amounts in 2020 even though they were the same age?

SSDI payments are based on your own earnings record, not on your age or how long you have been disabled. Someone who earned $80,000 per year for 35 years would receive a much higher payment than someone who earned $25,000 per year for 35 years, even if both became disabled at age 50. Your payment reflects what you paid into Social Security.

Did the 2020 COLA explore to everyone receiving SSDI?

Yes, the 1.6 percent increase in January 2020 applied to all SSDI recipients, including family members receiving payments based on someone else's work record. The only exception was people who had not yet reached age 62 and were receiving SSI instead of SSDI — their payments followed SSI rules, which sometimes differed.

What if I had worked part-time most of my life — would my 2020 payment have been very low?

Not necessarily. Social Security uses your 35 highest-earning years, so if you had some years of full-time work mixed in with part-time years, the full-time years would count more heavily. However, if all 35 years were part-time, your average would be lower than someone who worked full-time. The calculation is based on what you actually earned, not on how many hours you worked.

Could I have worked and still received my full 2020 SSDI payment?

Yes, if your earnings stayed below the SGA threshold ($1,260 per month in 2020) or if you were in your Trial Work Period. During the nine-month Trial Work Period, you could earn any amount and still receive your full payment. After that, you had 36 months of Extended may be able to access where you could work below SGA and keep your full payment.