You might be wondering if you can receive more Pennsylvania disability benefits if your disability has worsened since you started receiving disability insurance. If your disability is making life harder, you would think you would be eligible for a higher amount of disability benefits. However, the amount of disability benefits you can receive depends on a multitude of factors other than your disability. Feel free to talk to a Pennsylvania individual disability insurance attorney to learn more.

What Happens If My Pennsylvania Disability Worsens?

If your Pennsylvania disability worsens, then a natural question of whether you can receive more disability benefits arises. After all, you might need more resources as a result of your worsened disability, and having additional monetary benefits could make life more manageable. The reality is that the Social Security Administration (SAA) does not base the amount of disability benefits you can receive on the severity of your disability.

This means you cannot receive additional disability benefits from the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. The way SSDI and SSI programs work is they base your eligibility to receive disability benefits on your income. SSDI bases your benefits on your history of income while SSI bases your benefits on your current income level. What this means is your income is what might increase or decrease your disability benefits in Pennsylvania.

What the SSA focuses on when it comes to disability benefits eligibility is whether your disability impairs your ability to work and on your past or present income. The SSA is not concerned with the severity of your disability, but simply whether your disability prevents you from earning a basic income. This is why disability severity levels have no effect on the amount of Pennsylvania disability insurance you can receive.

When Can My Pennsylvania Disability Benefits Increase?

If you are concerned about not receiving enough disability benefits, do not panic. There are some exceptions when you may experience a Pennsylvania disability benefits increase. For example, if your spouse or ex-spouse has passed away, you could receive higher survivor benefits.

You may also gain access to higher disability or retirement benefits if you have worked in the past and have been receiving disability benefits based on the work history of your spouse or parent. What you can do is switch your benefits plan to be based on your own work history. If your child earned work credits and provided half of your disability insurance, then you could be eligible for a parent’s benefit.

Past military service, being unmarried for a certain amount of time, having a disabled child under the age of 18, and having a deceased parent who was receiving benefits could all increase your benefits.

Disability Lawyer in Pennsylvania

Consider working with a Pennsylvania disability lawyer if you have questions or concerns about increasing your disability benefits. You can call Edelstein & Nelson today at 800-887-4529 for a consultation. Our legal team of Pennsylvania disability lawyers can help you figure out what your legal options are when you are in need of disability benefits.