The 2018 SSDI payment amounts

In 2018, the average SSDI payment was $1,182 per month. The maximum payment that year was $2,788 per month for someone at full retirement age. However, the amount you would have received depended on your own earnings history, not on these averages — the Social Security Administration calculated each person's benefit separately based on how much they had earned while working.

These figures are historical. If you are looking at your own 2018 payment or trying to understand what someone received that year, the actual amount would have been lower than the maximum and likely different from the average, because it was tied to that person's specific work record.

Key Takeaways

  • The average SSDI payment in 2018 was $1,182 per month, but individual payments varied widely based on each person's earnings history.
  • The maximum SSDI payment in 2018 was $2,788 per month for someone at full retirement age.
  • Your 2018 payment amount was calculated from your Social Security earnings record, not from a fixed schedule.
  • If you were receiving SSDI in 2018, your payment would have increased slightly in January 2018 due to the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

How the 2018 COLA affected payments

In January 2018, SSDI payments increased by 2 percent — the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for that year. This meant that if you were receiving SSDI in December 2017, your January 2018 payment would have been 2 percent higher. The COLA is calculated each year based on inflation and is applied automatically to all SSDI recipients.

The 2 percent increase in 2018 was modest compared to some years. In 2017, the COLA had been 2 percent as well. In 2016, there had been no COLA at all — payments stayed flat because inflation had been too low.

Why individual payments differed so much

The Social Security Administration does not pay everyone the same amount. Instead, your SSDI payment in 2018 was based on your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is calculated from your earnings record. The higher your earnings had been while you were working, the higher your PIA, and therefore the higher your SSDI payment.

Someone who had worked full-time at a high wage for many years would have received a much larger payment than someone who had worked part-time or at lower wages. A person who had worked for only a few years before becoming disabled would have received a smaller payment than someone with a longer work history.

The maximum payment of $2,788 applied only to people who had earned enough to reach the highest benefit tier and who were at full retirement age. Most SSDI recipients received less.

How to find your specific 2018 payment

If you were receiving SSDI in 2018 and want to know what your payment was that year, you can check your Social Security Statement online through your my Social Security account at ssa.gov. The statement shows your payment history month by month.

If you do not have a my Social Security account, you can create one at ssa.gov/myaccount. You will need your Social Security number, email address, and a way to verify your identity. Once you log in, you can view your payment history going back several years.

If you received SSDI in 2018 but no longer do, you can still view your historical payment records the same way. The Social Security Administration keeps records of all payments made.

Comparing 2018 payments to other years

SSDI payment amounts change every year because of the COLA. In 2019, the COLA was 2.8 percent, so payments increased more than they had in 2018. In 2020, the COLA was 1.3 percent. In 2021 and 2022, the COLA was much higher — 5.9 percent and 8.7 percent respectively — because inflation had risen significantly.

If you are trying to compare what someone received in 2018 to what they receive now, you cannot straightforward look at the average payment amount, because the average changes as the population of recipients changes and as COLA adjustments compound over time. The only way to know what a specific person received in 2018 is to look at their own payment history.

Why 2018 matters for your current benefit

If you became disabled in 2018 or applied for SSDI that year, your benefit calculation would have used your earnings record up to that point. Your PIA would have been frozen at the amount calculated when your claim was approved. Even though your payment has increased since then due to annual COLAs, the base amount — your PIA — was set in 2018.

Understanding what the payment structure was in 2018 can help you understand how your current payment was calculated. The formula and the rules have not changed; only the dollar amounts have adjusted upward with inflation each January.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was the 2018 SSDI payment amount the same for everyone?

No. The 2018 average of $1,182 was just the middle point. Individual payments ranged from much lower to the maximum of $2,788, depending on each person's earnings history. Two people could have been disabled in the same year but received very different payments.

Did SSDI payments go up in 2018?

Yes, by 2 percent in January 2018. This was the annual COLA. If you were receiving SSDI in December 2017, your January 2018 payment was 2 percent higher than your December payment.

How do I know what I received in 2018?

Log into your my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount and view your payment history. You can see month-by-month records going back several years. If you do not have an account, you can create one using your Social Security number and email address.

If I became disabled in 2018, is my payment still based on 2018 earnings?

Your benefit is based on your earnings record through the month you became disabled or applied, whichever came first. If you became disabled in 2018, your Primary Insurance Amount was calculated using your earnings through that point. Your payment has increased since then only because of annual COLAs, not because your earnings record changed.