The 2017 SSDI payment amounts

In 2017, the average SSDI payment was $1,171 per month. The highest payment anyone could receive that year was $2,687 per month. These numbers came from your work record and earnings history—the Social Security Administration calculated them based on how much you had earned and paid into Social Security before you became unable to work.

The actual amount you would have received in 2017 depended entirely on your individual earnings record. Someone who had worked at minimum wage for ten years would receive far less than someone who had worked at a higher wage for thirty years. Social Security did not give everyone the same payment; it gave you a percentage of what you had earned.

These 2017 figures are historical. If you are looking at your current payment amount, it will be different because Social Security adjusts payments each year for inflation. The structure of how payments are calculated, however, has remained the same since then.

Key Takeaways

  • The average SSDI payment in 2017 was $1,171 per month, with the maximum possible payment at $2,687 per month.
  • Your 2017 payment amount was based on your lifetime earnings record, not on need or how disabled you were.
  • Social Security calculated your payment using a formula that replaced a percentage of your average earnings before you stopped working.
  • Payments in 2017 included a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that reflected inflation from the previous year.

How Social Security calculated your 2017 payment

Social Security used a three-step process to turn your earnings history into a monthly payment. First, they looked at your highest thirty-five years of earnings and adjusted them for inflation to account for wage growth over time. Then they calculated your average monthly earnings across those years. Finally, they applied a formula that replaced a percentage of those earnings—a higher percentage of your first dollars earned, and a lower percentage of dollars earned above a certain threshold.

This formula meant that two people with very different earnings histories would not receive payments that were proportional to their earnings. Someone who earned $20,000 a year for thirty-five years would receive a higher percentage of their earnings replaced than someone who earned $80,000 a year for thirty-five years. Social Security was designed to replace a larger share of income for lower earners.

The exact percentages and thresholds used in the 2017 formula changed slightly each year. The bend points—the dollar amounts where the replacement percentage changed—were adjusted annually based on national wage trends.

The 2017 cost-of-living adjustment

In 2017, Social Security applied a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to all SSDI payments. This meant that if you received SSDI in 2016, your 2017 payment was 2 percent higher. The COLA was meant to help your payment keep pace with inflation so that your purchasing power did not shrink year to year.

The COLA percentage was not chosen by Social Security. It was determined by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a measure of inflation published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In years when inflation was very low or negative, the COLA could be 0 percent, meaning no increase. In 2017, inflation was modest, so the adjustment was 2 percent.

Why your 2017 payment might have been different from the average

The average payment of $1,171 was just that—an average. Half of all SSDI recipients received more than that amount, and half received less. Your specific payment depended on how much you had earned during your working years and how long you had worked before becoming unable to work.

If you had worked for only ten years before becoming disabled, your payment would have been lower than someone who had worked for thirty-five years at the same wage. If you had taken time out of the workforce—for caregiving, education, or unemployment—those years of zero or low earnings counted against your average and lowered your payment. Social Security dropped your five lowest-earning years from the calculation, but if you had fewer than thirty-five years of work history, they filled in the remaining years with zeros.

Age also mattered. If you had become disabled before age 22, Social Security used a different calculation method that could result in a lower payment. If you were receiving SSDI as a widow, widower, or child of a worker who had died, your payment was based on that worker's earnings record, not your own.

The maximum and minimum payments in 2017

The maximum SSDI payment in 2017 was $2,687 per month. This was the most anyone could receive, regardless of how much they had earned. To reach this maximum, you needed a very high lifetime earnings record and to have worked long enough to have thirty-five years of substantial earnings counted.

There was no official minimum payment for SSDI in 2017, but payments were typically at least a few hundred dollars per month. The lowest payments went to people who had worked very briefly before becoming disabled or who had earned very little during their working years. If you had worked for only a few years at minimum wage, your payment might have been in the $300 to $500 range, though the exact amount depended on when you became disabled and the specific years you worked.

How 2017 payments compare to today

The 2017 figures are no longer current. Social Security has applied a COLA adjustment every year since then, and the average payment has grown. However, the way payments are calculated has not changed. If you want to know what your current payment is or what it might be, the same principle applies: Social Security looks at your earnings record and applies the current year's formula and COLA.

You can see your own earnings record and a projection of your future SSDI payment by creating an account on ssa.gov and viewing your Social Security Statement. This statement shows your actual earnings history and estimates what you might receive based on your current record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was the average SSDI payment so low in 2017?

SSDI is based on your earnings record, not on your living expenses or how disabled you are. Many recipients had worked at lower wages, taken time out of the workforce, or had shorter work histories. SSDI was designed to replace a portion of lost earnings, not to cover all living costs. Most recipients also receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or other information to reach a livable income level.

Could you receive more than the maximum payment in 2017?

No. The $2,687 maximum was a hard cap. Even if your earnings record would have calculated to more, you could not receive more than that amount. The maximum was set by law and adjusted each year for inflation.

Did your 2017 payment change if you went back to work?

Your SSDI payment itself did not change, but your benefits could be affected by work. If you earned above the substantial gainful activity (SGA) limit—which was $1,170 per month in 2017—Social Security could determine that you were no longer disabled and stop your benefits. There were work incentive programs that allowed some earnings without losing benefits, but they had specific rules and time limits.

How did the 2017 payment compare to SSI payments?

SSI and SSDI are different programs. SSDI is based on your work record; SSI is based on financial need. In 2017, the maximum SSI payment was $773.39 per month for an individual. Many people received both SSDI and SSI if their SSDI payment was low enough to may have access to them for SSI's need-based supplement.