The 2018 SSDI payment structure

In 2018, the average SSDI payment was $1,182 per month for a disabled worker. The maximum payment that year was $2,788 per month. These figures were set by a formula tied to your earnings record and adjusted each year based on the national average wage index — a measure of how much money American workers earned on average in the prior year.

Your individual payment amount depended on how much you had earned during your working years, not on how severe your disability was. Someone who worked in a high-wage job for many years would receive a higher payment than someone who worked part-time or in lower-wage jobs, even if both had the same disability. The Social Security Administration (SSA) calculated your payment using your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation.

If you were receiving SSDI in 2018, your payment was determined by a benefit formula that applied a percentage to your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — a figure SSA calculated based on your lifetime earnings. For most disabled workers, the payment was 100 percent of the PIA. Family members who may have access to on your record — such as a spouse or child — received a percentage of your PIA, and the family maximum (the total amount all family members could receive together) was typically 150 to 180 percent of your PIA.

Key Takeaways

  • The average SSDI payment in 2018 was $1,182 per month, and the maximum was $2,788 per month for a disabled worker.
  • Your payment amount was based on your lifetime earnings record, not on the type or severity of your disability.
  • The 2018 payment amounts reflected a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) from 2017, the smallest increase in years.
  • If family members received benefits on your record, the total paid to all of them combined could not exceed the family maximum, which ranged from 150 to 180 percent of your Primary Insurance Amount.

How the 2018 COLA was calculated

In October 2017, the SSA announced a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2018. This meant that if you received $1,000 per month in 2017, your 2018 payment would be $1,020. The COLA is calculated by comparing the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the prior year to the third quarter of the current year.

The 2 percent increase in 2018 was historically small. From 2009 to 2011, there had been no COLA at all because inflation was flat or negative. The 2018 increase reflected modest inflation in the economy that year. The COLA is applied automatically to all SSDI payments, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, and Medicare premiums.

Why your 2018 payment might have differed from the average

The $1,182 average was just that — an average. Your actual payment could have been significantly higher or lower depending on your work history. If you had worked for 35 years in jobs that paid well above the national average, your payment could have been close to the maximum of $2,788. If you had worked fewer years, had gaps in your earnings record, or had worked in lower-wage jobs, your payment would have been lower than the average.

Your payment also changed if you had family members receiving benefits on your record. If you were married and your spouse was also receiving SSDI on their own record, each of you received your individual amount. But if your spouse or children were receiving benefits based on your earnings record, the total paid to your household was capped at the family maximum. In 2018, this meant that if your PIA was $2,000, your spouse and children combined could not receive more than $3,000 to $3,600 total (150 to 180 percent of your PIA), and your own payment might have been reduced to stay within that cap.

How 2018 payments compared to other years

The 2018 payment amounts were higher than 2017 because of the 2 percent COLA, but lower than they would become in later years. In 2019, the COLA increased to 2.8 percent, and in 2020 it jumped to 1.6 percent. By 2022, the COLA was 8.7 percent — the largest increase in four decades — because inflation had risen sharply after the pandemic.

If you had been receiving SSDI continuously from 2018 onward, your payment would have grown each year by the announced COLA, assuming you did not have any work activity that triggered a Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) review or other changes to your case. The 2018 baseline was the starting point for all those future adjustments.

What happened if you worked while receiving 2018 SSDI

In 2018, if you earned more than $1,180 per month (the SGA limit that year), SSA could have found that you were engaging in substantial gainful activity and reviewed your case. This did not automatically end your benefits, but it triggered a process called a Continuing Disability Review (CDR). During a CDR, SSA examined whether your medical condition had improved enough that you were no longer disabled.

If your earnings were below the SGA limit, you could work and still receive your full SSDI payment. Additionally, the Trial Work Period (TWP) allowed you to test your ability to work for nine months (not necessarily consecutive) without any reduction in benefits, regardless of how much you earned. After the TWP ended, you entered the Extended may be able to access Period (EEP), during which you could still receive benefits for any month your earnings fell below the SGA limit.

Taxes on 2018 SSDI payments

In 2018, SSDI payments themselves were not subject to federal income tax for most recipients. However, if you had other income — such as wages, self-employment income, or investment income — a portion of your SSDI payment could become taxable. The IRS used a formula based on your "combined income" (adjusted gross income plus nontaxable interest plus half your SSDI payment) to determine whether any of your benefits were taxable.

If your combined income was below $25,000 (or $32,000 if you were married filing jointly), none of your SSDI was taxable. If it was above that threshold, up to 50 percent of your benefits could be taxable, and in some cases up to 85 percent. This rule applied in 2018 and continues today. Many SSDI recipients received a form SSA-1099-B each January showing the amount of benefits paid in the prior year, which they used to calculate their tax liability.

Medicare may be able to access tied to 2018 SSDI status

If you were receiving SSDI in 2018, you became covered by Medicare after you had been on the SSDI rolls for 24 months. This meant that if you started receiving SSDI in January 2018, your Medicare coverage would begin in January 2020. Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) was automatic and free. You could choose whether to enroll in Medicare Part B (medical insurance), which had a monthly premium in 2018 of $134 for most beneficiaries.

Your SSDI payment amount did not change when you turned 65 and became may be able to access for Social Security retirement benefits. Instead, your SSDI payment converted to a retirement benefit of the same amount. If you had family members receiving benefits on your record, they continued to receive their payments under the same rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the maximum SSDI payment in 2018?

The maximum SSDI payment for a disabled worker in 2018 was $2,788 per month. This was the highest amount any individual could receive based on their own earnings record. Family members receiving benefits on your record had their own maximum amounts, typically 50 percent of your Primary Insurance Amount for a spouse or child.

Did everyone receiving SSDI get the 2 percent raise in 2018?

Yes, all SSDI beneficiaries received the 2 percent COLA increase in 2018, applied to their payment starting in January 2018. The only exceptions were beneficiaries whose payments were affected by other rules, such as the Government Pension Offset or Windfall Elimination Provision, which applied to people with government pensions.

How did SSA know what to pay me in 2018 if I had never worked?

If you had never worked or had very minimal earnings, you would not have may have access to for SSDI in 2018. SSDI is based on your own work record. If you were disabled and had no work history, you would have been directed toward Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a different program with its own payment amounts and rules.

Could my 2018 SSDI payment be garnished or reduced?

SSDI payments could be reduced or garnished in specific situations: to repay an overpayment SSA had made, to satisfy a court order for child support or alimony, or to pay federal taxes owed. Creditors could not garnish SSDI payments for credit card debt or other consumer debts. If you believed a reduction was incorrect, you could request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.