Social Security Sickness Benefits

Those on Social Security can receive a cash benefit if they get sick. This cash benefit helps the Social Security recipient make up for lost income that resulted from not being able to work while sick. Social Security is paid for by workers paying a portion of the earnings that they make into a Social Security fund so that they can be insured against lost wages.

Eligibility

• Those receiving the sickness benefit must be between 14 and 65 years of age. They must have made at least 50 contributions to Social Security. Five contributions must have been made within 13 weeks of the illness. The employment must also be a kind of employment that pays into Social Security. The recipient must been currently employed in the job that pays into the Social Security employment. The recipient need not have to be working during the period that the recipient was considered sick. The claim of illness must be submitted within four days of the first day that the illness began. Those who have not submitted the claim within the time frame must explain why they failed to submit the claim on time.

Illness Identification

• Those who are submitting a claim to collect compensation for Social Security must identify the cause of the illness and detail the number of days that the recipient could not work. A registered doctor must sign this claim and so must the recipient. The employer must verify that the claimant actually works in the particular position.

Compensation

• The amount paid by the Social Security sickness benefit will be based on how many days the recipient was sick. The recipient is paid 80 percent of the insured income, allowing the recipient to not lose a significant portion of the income. After 26 weeks, the recipient gets 60 percent of the insurable income for another 13 weeks. The payout amount must be at least $44 each day for the first 182 days and $33 for the following 91 days.

Returning to Work

• Workers can return to work before the sick period is over if they want to. However, they must contact the Social Security Board immediately so that they will stop receiving compensation for lost wages. Workers do not receive benefits at all if they receive compensation from their employer whether or not they attend work, such as if the worker receives a flat annual salary instead of an hourly wage.

Examination

• Sometimes a Social Security benefit recipient is asked to attend an examination in order to ensure that the recipient is still sick. Those who do not attend this examination might lose their Social Security benefits. However, the recipient can give a good reason for not attending the examination. Also, recipients can lose their benefits if they do not do what they can to recover from the sickness, such as by not taking medicine or failing to perform other actions, such as physical rehabilitation.