The 2023 SSDI payment amounts and how they changed

In 2023, the average SSDI payment was $1,349 per month, but individual payments ranged from $623 to $3,822 depending on your work history and earnings record. The Social Security Administration (SSA) sets each person's payment amount based on the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA)—a calculation tied to your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusted for inflation. In October 2022, benefits increased by 8.7 percent for all recipients, the largest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in four decades. This increase carried into 2023 payments.

The reason payments vary so widely is that SSDI is not a flat benefit. Someone who worked at minimum wage for 20 years will receive less than someone who worked full-time at higher wages for 35 years. The SSA uses a formula that replaces roughly 40 percent of your average lifetime earnings, but the replacement rate is higher for lower earners and lower for higher earners. This means the system is progressive—it provides a larger percentage replacement for people with lower lifetime earnings.

Your 2023 payment amount was locked in on your approval date or your most recent cost-of-living adjustment, whichever was later. If you were approved in 2023, your first payment reflected the 2023 benefit formula and the 8.7 percent COLA that had already taken effect. If you were approved before 2023, your payment increased by 8.7 percent in January 2023 unless you had already received a COLA adjustment in a more recent year.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI payments in 2023 ranged from $623 to $3,822 monthly, with an average of $1,349, based on your individual work history and earnings record.
  • Your payment amount is calculated from your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which reflects your highest 35 years of earnings adjusted for inflation.
  • All SSDI recipients received an 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment in January 2023, the largest increase in four decades.
  • The maximum family benefit in 2023 was 150 to 180 percent of your PIA, meaning your spouse and children could receive benefits on your record up to that cap.
  • Your exact 2023 payment depended on when you were approved; new approvals used the 2023 formula, while existing recipients received the 8.7 percent increase.

How the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) determines your payment

The SSA calculates your PIA by taking your 35 highest-earning years, adjusting each year for inflation, and then averaging them across 420 months (35 years). That average is called your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). The SSA then applies a three-part formula to your AIME to arrive at your PIA. In 2023, the formula was roughly: 90 percent of the first $1,115 of your AIME, plus 32 percent of your AIME between $1,115 and $6,721, plus 15 percent of your AIME above $6,721.

These dollar thresholds—called bend points—change every year based on national wage trends. They were higher in 2023 than in 2022, which is one reason why new approvals in 2023 sometimes received higher payments than people approved in 2022, even if their work histories were similar. The bend points may support that people with lower lifetime earnings receive a higher percentage of their average earnings replaced by SSDI, while people with higher earnings receive a lower percentage.

If you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, the SSA counts zero-earning years to reach 35. This lowers your AIME and your PIA. Self-employed people, government workers with pensions, and railroad workers may have different calculations or reductions applied. If you receive a pension from work not covered by Social Security, your SSDI payment may be reduced under the Government Pension Offset (GPO) or Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), depending on your situation.

Cost-of-living adjustments and how 2023 fit into the pattern

The 8.7 percent COLA in 2023 was exceptional. From 2009 to 2020, annual COLAs ranged from 0 percent to 2.8 percent. In 2021 and 2022, increases were 1.3 percent and 5.9 percent respectively. The 2023 increase reflected inflation that had risen sharply in 2022, and the SSA was required by law to adjust benefits to keep pace. Every January, the SSA announces the COLA for the coming year based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the previous September, October, and November.

If you were receiving SSDI in January 2023, your payment increased automatically. You did not have to do anything or contact the SSA. The new amount appeared in your January payment. If you were approved for SSDI during 2023, your first payment included the 8.7 percent adjustment that had already taken effect in January, so you did not receive a separate increase later that year.

The COLA is the same percentage for all SSDI recipients, but the dollar amount of the increase varies. Someone receiving $1,000 per month received an $87 increase; someone receiving $2,000 received a $174 increase. This means higher earners received larger dollar increases, even though the percentage was identical.

Family benefits and the maximum family benefit cap

If you receive SSDI, your spouse and unmarried children under 19 (or 19 if still in high school full-time) may also receive benefits on your record. Each family member typically receives 50 percent of your PIA, but the total paid to your entire family cannot exceed the maximum family benefit. In 2023, this cap was usually 150 to 180 percent of your PIA, depending on your age and the bend points used in your calculation.

If your family benefit would exceed the cap, the SSA reduces each family member's payment proportionally. For example, if your PIA is $1,500 and your maximum family benefit is $2,250 (150 percent), and your spouse and two children would each receive $750, the total would be $3,000. The SSA would reduce each payment so the total equals $2,250. Your own payment is never reduced; only the family members' payments are adjusted downward.

Your spouse can receive benefits at any age if they are caring for your child under 16. Otherwise, your spouse must be at least 62 to receive a reduced benefit, or at least full retirement age (66 to 67, depending on birth year) to receive an unreduced benefit. Divorced spouses may also be may have access to to benefits on your record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years and they have not remarried.

How work history affects your 2023 payment amount

Your SSDI payment reflects only the years you worked and paid Social Security taxes. If you took time out of the workforce—for caregiving, unemployment, illness, or any other reason—those years count as zero-earning years in your calculation. The SSA drops your five lowest-earning years (including zeros) before calculating your average, but if you have more than five years below your highest earnings, those lower years still pull down your average.

Someone who worked full-time for 30 years and took five years off will have a lower PIA than someone who worked full-time for 35 years, all else equal. Someone who worked part-time or at lower wages throughout their career will have a lower PIA than someone who worked full-time at higher wages. This is why two people approved for SSDI in the same month can have very different payment amounts.

If you worked in a job not covered by Social Security—such as certain federal government positions, some state and local government jobs, or railroad work—those years do not count toward your SSDI benefit. However, if you also worked in covered employment, your benefit is calculated only from the covered years. The WEP may reduce your benefit if you have a non-covered pension and also receive SSDI.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) versus SSDI payment amounts in 2023

SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are separate programs with different payment structures. SSDI is based on your work history; SSI is a needs-based program for people with low income and resources. In 2023, the maximum SSI payment was $914 per month for an individual and $1,371 for a couple. These amounts are much lower than the SSDI average of $1,349, and SSI has strict resource limits ($2,000 for an individual, $3,000 for a couple).

Some people receive both SSDI and SSI, a situation called concurrent receipt. This happens when your SSDI payment is below the SSI federal benefit rate. The SSI payment tops up your SSDI to the SSI maximum. However, SSI has income and resource limits that SSDI does not, so receiving both programs is less common than receiving SSDI alone.

Your state may also supplement SSI with additional state funds, which would increase the maximum payment available to SSI recipients in that state. SSDI has no state supplement; the federal payment is the same everywhere.

How your 2023 payment changed if you returned to work

If you worked while receiving SSDI in 2023, your benefit was not automatically reduced or stopped. Instead, the SSA used work incentives to allow you to test your ability to work without losing benefits when ready. The most important work incentive is the Trial Work Period (TWP), which allows you to work and earn any amount for nine months (not necessarily consecutive) without affecting your SSDI payment.

After your TWP ended, the SSA used the Extended may be able to access Period (EEP), which lasted 36 months. During the EEP, your SSDI payment continued if your earnings fell below the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level. In 2023, SGA was $1,470 per month for non-blind workers and $2,590 for blind workers. If you earned more than SGA, your payment was suspended for that month, but you could resume benefits in future months if your earnings dropped below SGA again.

After the EEP ended, if you continued to work and earn above SGA, your SSDI benefits would terminate. However, you could request reinstatement within five years if you stopped working or your condition worsened. The SSA also offers other work incentives, such as the Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), which allows you to set aside income and resources for a work goal without affecting your SSI or SSDI payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my 2023 SSDI payment different from my neighbor's if we were both approved the same year?

Your payment is based on your individual work history and earnings record, not on when you were approved. Two people approved in the same year can have very different lifetime earnings, years worked, and ages at approval. The SSA calculates each person's PIA separately using their own AIME, so payments vary widely even among people approved together.

Did my 2023 payment include the 8.7 percent increase, or do I get that in 2024?

If you were receiving SSDI on January 1, 2023, your payment increased by 8.7 percent in January 2023. If you were approved during 2023, your first payment already included the 8.7 percent adjustment. You do not receive it again in 2024; the 2024 COLA is a separate adjustment announced in October 2023 and applied in January 2024.

What happens to my payment if I earn too much money from work?

During your Trial Work Period, you can earn any amount without losing benefits. After that, if you earn above the SGA level ($1,470 in 2023 for non-blind workers), your benefit is suspended for that month. If your earnings drop below SGA in a future month, your benefit resumes. After your Extended may be able to access Period ends, sustained earnings above SGA will terminate your benefits, but you can request reinstatement within five years.

Can my spouse receive benefits on my SSDI record, and how much will they get?

Your spouse can receive up to 50 percent of your PIA if they are at least 62 years old, or any age if caring for your child under 16. However, the total paid to your entire family cannot exceed 150 to 180 percent of your PIA. If family benefits would exceed this cap, each family member's payment is reduced proportionally.

If I have a non-covered government pension, does it reduce my 2023 SSDI payment?

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) may reduce your SSDI if you have a pension from work not covered by Social Security. The reduction is roughly 50 percent of your non-covered pension, but not more than 50 percent of your PIA. The exact reduction depends on your birth year and when you became may be able to access for the non-covered pension. Contact the SSA to learn whether WEP applies to you.