SSI

What is State Disability?

State Disability Insurance (SDI) is a California insurance program run by the Employment Development Department. Insurance programs work by having a large group of people pay a monthly fee, called a premium, to receive a benefit when certain events happen. If you have fire insurance, for example, you pay a monthly premium that goes into a fund along with the premiums of everyone else on the policy. If your house burns down, the insurance company will take money from that fund and give you a check. The system works because most of the people paying premiums don’t ever have a fire, but they want to be protected in case they do. See below for a list of the “events” that SDI covers.

Paying into SDI

Most California employees have to pay into the SDI system and are therefore covered by SDI. If you’re covered, you automatically pay the SDI premium through a payroll tax. This means that every time you get a paycheck, part of it goes to the SDI program. In 2007, this amount is 0.6% of your paycheck. Sometimes this is called your SDI contribution.

The contributions of the roughly 12 million Californians covered by SDI are set aside in a state fund.

SDI taxes income up to $83,389 a year. Another way of thinking about this is that the maximum amount that you have to pay to SDI is $500.33 for 2007 (which is 0.6% of $83,389).

Eligibility for the SDI Benefit

SDI should pay you a benefit if you have paid into it and can’t work for one of the following reasons:

You have a disability not related to your job. SDI defines disability as “any mental or physical illness or injury which prevents you from performing your regular and customary work”. This is a broader definition than the one used by the federal Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI).
You are pregnant. Although pregnancy isn’t an “illness or injury”, it is a medical reason for missing work.
You need to take Paid Family Leave (PFL). PFL replaces part of your income when you miss work to care for a sick relative or to bond with a new child. It became part of the SDI program in 2004.

You also have to meet the following requirements:

If you’re employed, you have to be disabled or miss work for more than 7 days. These days have to be consecutive for your own disability, but not for PFL.
If you’re not employed, you have to be actively looking for work. You have to be under the care of a medical provider during the first 8 days of your disability and stay under a medical provider’s care while you’re getting SDI benefits. Z
You have to have $300 in wages during your base period.
On your initial claim, you might be able to adjust your onset date to meet some of these requirements. Once you file your claim, however, your onset date cannot be changed.

You Can Get State Disability and SSI or SSDI Benefits if you qualify. State Disability Insurance generally lasts a year. If you and your doctor think that you are going to be disabled for longer than a year, you should apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). This is a federal disability insurance program that you’ve paid into through income taxes. If you’ve paid into the system for a long enough period of time, you can get a benefit. SSDI requires that your disability lasts longer than a year, so it can pick up where SDI leaves off. If you are on SSDI and SDI at the same time, your SSDI will be reduced. REPAYMENT OF “INTERIM” STATE DISABILITY ASSISTANCE If you receive State Disability Assistance (SDA) while you apply for SSI (Supplemental Security Income), DHS may take part of your back SSI benefits as repayment for the SDA. (Other items SSI may use your back money to pay)

What is Unemployment Insurance? Unemployment Insurance program provides assistance to people who have lost their job through no fault of their own.

What is Workers Compensation? WORKERS’ COMPENSATION: Workers’ compensation statutes typically require that your illness or injury be work-related before you can receive workers’ compensation benefits; however, SSDI does not require a causal connection between your medical condition and your work. You may receive workers’ compensation benefits for partial incapacity; but SSDI requires that you be totally incapacitated from substantial gainful work. Workers’ compensation may pay benefits for periods of disability shorter than a year; but SSDI requires that your disability last or be expected to last at least a year. In many instances, a person may be eligible for both Workers’ compensation and SSDI. You can get Workers Compensation and SSI or SSDI at the same time but The Social Security Administration may reduce the amount of the disability check of anyone who is also getting Workers’ Compensation benefits. Also, if you settle your Workers’ Compensation claim for a lump sum, you must tell both Medicare and Social Security, so that the federal government will not be paying for treatment or lost wages that should be funded by another system.

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