The 2023 SSDI payment amounts
In 2023, the average SSDI payment was $1,349 per month. The maximum payment was $3,822 per month. The actual amount you would have received depended on your work history and the age at which you started receiving benefits — not on how severe your condition was or how much you needed the money.
These figures came from a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that Social Security applies each year. In 2023, that adjustment was 8.7 percent, one of the largest increases in decades. The 2024 COLA was 3.2 percent, which means 2024 payments were lower than what the 2023 maximum suggests you might receive today.
If you were receiving SSDI in 2023, you got a notice in December 2022 showing your new payment amount for the year. That notice came in the mail or through your my Social Security account online.
Key Takeaways
- The 2023 average SSDI payment was $1,349 per month, and the maximum was $3,822 per month.
- Your payment amount was based on your lifetime earnings record, not on your medical condition or financial need.
- Social Security applies a cost-of-living adjustment each year, which changed the 2023 amounts from 2022.
- Payments in 2024 and later years are different from 2023 because the annual adjustment changes each year.
- If you were working when you became disabled, your payment was typically higher than if you had never worked.
How your work history determined your 2023 payment
Social Security calculates SSDI payments using your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is based on how much you earned during your working years. The system looks at your 35 highest-earning years and averages them. If you had fewer than 35 years of earnings, it counts zeros for the missing years, which lowers your average.
Someone who worked full-time for 30 years at an average wage would receive a different payment than someone who worked part-time or had gaps in employment. A person who never worked at all — such as a young adult disabled before entering the workforce — would receive a much smaller payment, often called a disabled adult child (DAC) benefit.
Social Security does not adjust your payment based on how much money you have in savings, whether you own a home, or how much your medical bills cost. The calculation is purely mathematical, based on your earnings record.
When your 2023 payment started and how it changed
If you began receiving SSDI in 2023, your first payment reflected the 8.7 percent increase from the previous year. If you had been receiving benefits since 2022 or earlier, your payment automatically increased on January 1, 2023, without you having to do anything.
The amount you received in January 2023 stayed the same for the entire year unless you reported a change in your situation — such as returning to work, getting married, or having a child. If you earned more than the annual work limit (which was $15,120 in 2023), Social Security would reduce or suspend your payment for the months you exceeded that limit.
If you turned 66 in 2023, your payment may have increased if you were also receiving retirement benefits, because the two programs have different rules about how much you can earn before your payment is reduced.
Payments for family members on your SSDI record
If you were receiving SSDI in 2023, your spouse, ex-spouse, or children under 19 (or up to 22 if in high school) might also have been receiving payments based on your earnings record. These family benefits did not reduce your payment, but they did count toward a family maximum.
The family maximum in 2023 was typically 150 to 180 percent of your Primary Insurance Amount. If your payment was $1,500 per month, the family maximum might have been $2,250 to $2,700 per month total — split among you and all family members receiving benefits on your record. If the total exceeded the maximum, Social Security reduced each family member's payment proportionally.
A spouse or ex-spouse had to be at least 62 years old to receive a payment. Children had to be unmarried and either under 19, or disabled before age 22 (in which case they could receive benefits for life).
How 2023 payments compared to other years
| Year | Average Payment | Maximum Payment | COLA Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $1,349 | $3,822 | 8.7% |
| 2022 | $1,237 | $3,822 | 5.9% |
| 2021 | $1,169 | $3,822 | 1.3% |
The 2023 increase was notably larger than the previous two years because inflation was higher. The COLA is set by a formula that looks at inflation data from the third quarter of the previous year. In 2022, inflation was running high, so the 2023 COLA reflected that.
The maximum payment amount stayed at $3,822 in both 2022 and 2023, which means very few people actually received that much. Most people received between $800 and $2,000 per month, depending on their work history.
Taxes on your 2023 SSDI payments
If SSDI was your only income in 2023, you did not owe federal income tax on your payments. However, if you had other income — such as wages from work, investment income, or retirement benefits — part of your SSDI payment could have been taxable.
The tax rules are complex and depend on your combined income, which includes your SSDI payment plus half of any other income you received. If your combined income exceeded $25,000 (or $32,000 if you were married filing jointly), up to 50 percent of your SSDI payment could be taxable. If your combined income exceeded $34,000 (or $44,000 if married), up to 85 percent could be taxable.
Social Security sends a Form SSA-1099 each January showing how much you received in the previous year. You use this form to complete your tax return. If you owed taxes on your SSDI, you could pay them when you filed your return or request that Social Security withhold taxes from your monthly payment.
Work and how it affected your 2023 payment
If you worked while receiving SSDI in 2023, your payment was reduced or suspended if you earned more than $15,120 per year. This limit applied only to earnings from work — it did not include investment income, rental income, or other types of money.
The reduction was $1 in benefits for every $2 you earned above the limit. If you earned $17,120, you were $2,000 over the limit, so Social Security would reduce your annual payment by $1,000 (or about $83 per month). The reduction was applied month by month, so if you earned the overage in only some months, only those months were affected.
There was also a trial work period that allowed you to work and earn any amount for nine months without losing any benefits. After the trial work period ended, the earnings limit applied. This rule was designed to let you test whether you could work before your benefits were reduced.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I started SSDI after 2023 — will my payment be based on the 2023 amounts?
No. Your payment will be based on your earnings record and the cost-of-living adjustment in effect when you start receiving benefits. If you started in 2024, your payment would reflect the 2024 COLA (3.2 percent), not the 2023 COLA. Social Security recalculates your Primary Insurance Amount using your current earnings record at the time you begin receiving benefits.
Why was the 2023 COLA so much higher than 2022?
The COLA is determined by inflation data from the third quarter of the previous year. In mid-2022, inflation was running at its highest rate in decades, so the 2023 COLA was 8.7 percent. By mid-2023, inflation had slowed, so the 2024 COLA was only 3.2 percent. The COLA changes each year based on what inflation was doing at that specific time.
If I was receiving SSDI in 2023 but stopped working years ago, did my payment still increase?
Yes. The COLA applies to everyone receiving SSDI, regardless of when they stopped working or how long they have been on the program. Your payment automatically increased on January 1, 2023, by 8.7 percent. You did not have to do anything to receive the increase.
Can I find out what my specific 2023 payment was if I no longer have the notice?
Yes. You can log into your my Social Security account online and view your payment history, which shows every payment you received by month and year. If you do not have an online account, you can call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 and ask them to mail you a statement showing your 2023 payments.
Were 2023 SSDI payments different for people in different states?
No. SSDI payments are the same nationwide — your state does not affect the amount. However, some states also offer a supplemental payment called SSI (Supplemental Security Income) to people with low income. SSI amounts vary by state, but SSDI itself does not.