Independent guide · not the SSA
SSDI · Social Security Disability Insurance
SSDI: disability benefits, step by step
SSDI is for workers who can no longer work because of a medical condition that will last a year or more. This guide uses SSA's own data: payment dates, the 2027 amounts, hearing waits for every office and decisions in every state.
Waiting period. SSDI is paid from the sixth full month after the date SSA finds the disability began.
Initial claims allowed. Share of initial disability decisions allowed by the state agencies, August 2025 to July 2026.
Median wait for a hearing. Across 158 hearing offices, August 2026.
SSDI in plain words
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) pays monthly benefits to people who worked in jobs covered by Social Security and cannot work for a year or more because of a medical condition. The amount depends on the worker's earnings record. SSA estimates the average for all disabled workers at $1,701 a month after the 2027 raise. A state agency decides the medical part of the claim.
2027 amounts and next payment dates
- Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026SSI payment for December 2026
- Nov. 10, 2026 · Nov. 18, 2026 · Nov. 25, 2026SSDI in November 2026, by birth date (1st–10th, 11th–20th, 21st–31st)
SSDI by state
Each state page shows how the state's disability agency decided claims in the last 12 months, its hearing offices and the number of disabled workers by county.
- Alabama32.6% allowed
- Alaska58.1% allowed
- Arizona29.9% allowed
- Arkansas35.0% allowed
- California34.9% allowed
- Colorado32.2% allowed
- Connecticut41.5% allowed
- Delaware38.5% allowed
- District of Columbia33.0% allowed
- Florida40.9% allowed
- Georgia35.4% allowed
- Hawaii37.2% allowed
- Idaho35.7% allowed
- Illinois36.9% allowed
- Indiana33.8% allowed
- Iowa40.1% allowed
- Kansas46.4% allowed
- Kentucky30.0% allowed
- Louisiana37.7% allowed
- Maine38.9% allowed
- Maryland43.7% allowed
- Massachusetts35.4% allowed
- Michigan34.9% allowed
- Minnesota38.8% allowed
- Mississippi35.6% allowed
- Missouri39.5% allowed
- Montana38.4% allowed
- Nebraska41.9% allowed
- Nevada36.3% allowed
- New Hampshire44.2% allowed
- New Jersey33.5% allowed
- New Mexico40.8% allowed
- New York36.5% allowed
- North Carolina37.8% allowed
- North Dakota40.3% allowed
- Ohio37.0% allowed
- Oklahoma33.9% allowed
- Oregon36.2% allowed
- Pennsylvania36.5% allowed
- Rhode Island45.2% allowed
- South Carolina37.3% allowed
- South Dakota39.3% allowed
- Tennessee34.3% allowed
- Texas36.3% allowed
- Utah37.6% allowed
- Vermont46.0% allowed
- Virginia37.0% allowed
- Washington33.5% allowed
- West Virginia34.1% allowed
- Wisconsin36.9% allowed
- Wyoming41.0% allowed
Free tools
Questions people ask
Is SSDI the same as SSI?
No. SSDI depends on your work record. SSI is based on financial need and does not require work history. Some people get both. See SSI vs SSDI.
How long does an SSDI decision take?
It varies. If a claim goes to a hearing, the median hearing office took 8.0 months to hold it in August 2026.
Can this site help me apply?
No. Only SSA takes applications: online at ssa.gov, by phone at 1-800-772-1213 or at a local office. This guide explains the steps.
Independent guide · not the SSA. Green Tips 1 US is a private guide. We are not the Social Security Administration, we are not part of it, and we do not take applications.
Sources: SSA, How Does Someone Become Eligible? (disability benefits, Web Archive copy of Oct 16, 2026); SSA, 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet (Web Archive copy of Oct 25, 2026); SSA State Agency Monthly Workload Data (SSA-SA-MOWL.csv), August 2025 to July 2026; SSA Office of Hearings Operations: hearing office locator file, average wait until hearing (Aug 2026), average processing time and ALJ dispositions (12 months through Jul 31, 2026); SSA, Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments 2026 and 2027 (Publication 05-10031). Official site, typed by hand: ssa.gov. Read in October 2026; data dates as noted.