What Is Social Security Back Pay and How Is It Calculated?

So, I often get asked, “Am I entitled to back pay when I apply for my Social Security disability benefits?” Back pay meaning I’ve been out of work for a period of time and I’ve been disabled. So, what happens to all that time? So the answer is with some qualification, yes, you absolutely can get back pay when you fill out the application to initially apply for social security that date, right? You can backdate your back pay one year. So, as long as you win your case and you have a doctor’s testifying or medical records that show that your disabling condition happened one year prior or even longer to your application date, then your back pay can go back to that one year. So, in SSI, you cannot get any period before your application date. Your benefits would start at application. But in SSDI, as long as you filled out the application, we go one year before that and we have medical records to prove that you were disabled one year prior to that period, then you’re entitled to the back pay.