What is the disability freeze?

On Behalf of | Sep 19, 2022 | Social Security Disability |

The parameters which govern Social Security programs have changed considerably over the years, in response to the needs of disabled Americans. One of the more powerful changes in Social Security Disability policy is the “disability freeze.”

Essentially, the disability freeze works to benefit Americans who suffer through periods of disability during their working years. According to the Social Security Administration, the disability freeze prevents disabled individuals from suffering a “double whammy” to their income-earning abilities and their retirement benefit packages.

The “double whammy”

One of the problems that some disabled individuals encountered in the past was dealing with periods of disability. This would often lead to “gaps” in the disabled individual’s working history. Given that the government measures traditional Social Security amount payments based on how many years an individual has earnings, this presents the “double whammy.”

In essence, without the disability freeze, disabled individuals not only lose the ability to make money from traditional employment, but this also hurts the individual’s Social Security payments when he or she retires.

The disability freeze

The disability freeze allows the Social Security Administration to ignore periods of disability when they are computing an individual’s Social Security. In order for an individual to benefit from the disability freeze, the Social Security Administration must find an individual “disabled” and unable to work.

The disability freeze is one way that the Social Security Administration has attempted to remove barriers for disabled persons. In addition, the disability freeze helped pave the way for Social Security Disability Insurance. If you have a disability, you may be eligible for the freeze.

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