In Virginia, you can get workers’ compensation if you are unable to do your job due to injury or illness. You can also get Social Security Disability if you are disabled. But Social Security disability benefits can be reduced if you receive Virginia workers’ compensation payments. There are some ways to avoid this “negative impact” on a disabled person’s benefits.

THE HISTORY OF THE OFFSET

Congress decided many years ago that if a worker receives workers’ compensation and Social Security disability at the same time, this would be a “double payment” of benefits. Workers’ compensation in Virginia pays an injured worker two-thirds (2/3) of their average weekly wage when they are out due to injury or illness. Social Security, on the other hand, pays the disabled worker a benefit based on his or her lifetime earnings. Congress decided that if the combination of the two benefits exceeded 80% of what was considered the worker’s salary, then the Social Security benefit should be reduced for every dollar that his payment exceeded 80% of the injured worker’s salary.

NO COMPENSATION FOR RETIREMENT BENEFITS

The reduction mentioned above does not apply to early retirement benefits. Therefore, if the injured worker claims Social Security retirement benefits, there would be no compensation. Therefore, if one is 62 or older in some circumstances, it may be wiser to claim retirement benefits to avoid compensation. This is a strategic decision that should be discussed with an attorney specializing in the matter.

AVOID COMPENSATION BY EXECUTING A SUMA LUMP AGREEMENT

An experienced attorney can avoid compensation in another way. This is done by resolving the disabled workers’ compensation case. But in the settlement, the money is prorated over the person’s life expectancy. For example, if the person is 40 years old, the person may have a life expectancy of 40 more years or 2,080 weeks. Then you can take the $ 100,000 payoff (for example) and divide it by the 2,080 weeks. This would produce a weekly amount of only $ 48.07. This amount of just $ 48.07 per week would be too small to reduce the federal disability benefit.

THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT USING AN EXPERIENCED LAWYER

When a settlement is presented to the Commission in Virginia, the Commission will try to ensure that it is in the best interest of the claimant. But a specialist lawyer in this field should be used.