If I Get Approved for Disability How Far Back Will Social Security Pay Me?

Updated February 3, 2026

If you are approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you may be eligible for back pay, which covers the time between when you applied and when your benefits were awarded. In addition, SSDI claimants — but not SSI recipients — may also qualify for retroactive pay based on the onset date of the disability and the application date, up to a maximum of 12 months before the application was filed.

A Pittsburgh Social Security Disability lawyer can help you understand your options regarding back pay and retroactive benefits. They can assist in ensuring you receive the benefits you are entitled to by properly documenting your disability onset date, filing appeals if necessary, and providing guidance throughout the process.

What Are Back Pay and Retroactive Benefits for Social Security Disability?

The Social Security disability process often takes several months—or longer—to complete. During that time, you are not receiving monthly benefits, even though your medical condition may already prevent you from working. That delay is why Social Security provides back pay and, in some cases, retroactive benefits.

What Is Back Pay?

Back pay refers to the benefits that build up while Social Security reviews your disability claim. If your application or appeal is approved, Social Security will start your monthly payments and may also issue payment for the months you were eligible but not yet paid.

• For SSDI, back pay is often paid in a lump sum
• For SSI, back pay may be paid in smaller installments

What Are Retroactive Benefits?

Some people who qualify for SSDI may also be eligible for retroactive benefits. These benefits apply if your medical condition prevented you from working before you filed your disability application.

Retroactive benefits are based on the date Social Security determines your disability began, as long as you met all eligibility requirements at that time. The Social Security Administration can pay retroactive payments for up to 12 months. This period of time is from the onset date of your disability to your application date.

How Far Back Can Social Security Pay Benefits?

Many people assume Social Security pays disability benefits based on the date their claim is approved. In reality, the approval date simply confirms that you qualify for benefits — it does not determine how far back Social Security will pay.

Social Security places limits on how far back disability benefits can be paid. For SSDI, retroactive benefits are generally limited to up to 12 months before the date you applied, as long as you met all eligibility requirements during that time.

Because of these limits, both when you apply and how Social Security determines the start of your disability can significantly affect how much back pay you receive.

How Social Security Decides When Your Benefits Begin

Social Security does not automatically pay benefits back to the date you stopped working. Instead, it uses your Established Onset Date (EOD), which is the date the Social Security Administration decides you first met its definition of disability.

To determine your EOD, Social Security may rely on:

• The date you say your disability began on your application
• A different date supported by your medical records
• A date established later in the process, including during an appeal

Your EOD plays a central role in determining both back pay and retroactive benefits. Even a small change in this date can have a major impact on how much you are paid.

A Five-Month SSDI Waiting Period Affects Back Pay and Retroactive Pay

Even if you are approved for SSDI, Social Security does not pay benefits for the first five full months after your disability begins. This rule is known as the five-month waiting period, and it applies to most SSDI claims. It is important to understand how the waiting period works:

• You do not have to wait five months to apply for SSDI benefits
• The waiting period applies even if your claim is approved
• Benefits generally begin with the sixth full month after your disability started

For example, if Social Security determines that your disability began in January, your first payable month of SSDI benefits would typically be June.

Because Social Security does not pay benefits during the five-month waiting period, those months are not included in back pay or retroactive benefits. Even if approval takes many months or years, Social Security will still subtract the waiting period when calculating how far back your benefits are paid.

Understanding this rule can help set realistic expectations and avoid surprises when back pay is awarded. A Pittsburgh SSDI lawyer can help explain how this rule applies to you and affects any potential payments.

When Will I Receive My Back Pay?

After Social Security approves your disability claim, back pay is not always issued immediately. In many cases, it can take several weeks — or sometimes longer — for Social Security to process and release past-due benefits.

Back pay is often paid separately from your regular monthly benefits. You may receive your back pay before your first ongoing payment, after it, or at roughly the same time. For SSDI, back pay is typically paid as a lump sum, while SSI back pay may be issued in installments.

Delays in receiving back pay are usually administrative and do not mean there is a problem with your approval. Understanding this timing can help reduce uncertainty and frustration after your claim is granted.

What if My Disability Status Changes During the Application Process?

In some cases, applicants do not meet the disability eligibility criteria when they first apply. However, as they navigate the appeals process, their medical status changes, and they qualify for benefits.

When this occurs, the SSA will assign a new EOD. While this would allow you to begin receiving monthly disability benefits, it might also eliminate some of your retroactive benefits and limit your back pay.

Does Receiving Retroactive Benefits Affect Monthly Payment Amounts?

Back pay and retroactive benefits are meant to cover payments you should have received earlier but did not because your claim was still pending or you applied after you became eligible. 

Receiving these past-due benefits does not reduce the amount of your regular monthly Social Security Disability or survivor benefit going forward. Your monthly payment amount is based on factors such as your earnings record, eligibility rules, and benefit type—not on whether you receive back pay.

Why Monthly Payments May Change in Some Situations

While back pay itself does not lower future payments, monthly benefit amounts can change for other reasons. For example:

• Social Security may adjust benefits due to changes in the law
• Certain benefit reductions or offsets may apply depending on your work or pension history
• Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) can increase monthly payments over time

In some situations, new laws or policy changes may even result in higher monthly payments.

Timing of Back Pay vs. Monthly Benefits

In many cases, Social Security issues back pay separately from regular monthly benefits. This means you may receive your past-due payment before, after, or at the same time as your first ongoing monthly payment. Processing delays are common and do not necessarily indicate a problem with your claim.

Can an Attorney Help Me with My Benefits?

Yes. Having a disability lawyer on your side can make the Social Security process easier and help protect the benefits you are entitled to receive, including back pay and retroactive benefits.

When Berger and Green takes your case, our disability lawyers handle the application or appeal from start to finish, so you don’t have to navigate the system on your own. We help by:

• Completing and filing your Social Security Disability application
• Managing appeals if your claim is denied
• Addressing issues related to your disability onset date, which can affect how far back Social Security pays benefits
• Representing you and advocating for you at your Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing
• Guiding you through every stage of the process and keeping you informed along the way

Seeking disability benefits can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially when delays or denials occur. Many people are denied on their first application or disagree with Social Security’s decision about when their disability began. If that happens, we can step in, handle the appeal, and fight for approval of benefits.

Our goal is to make the process easier, so you can focus on your health while we handle the legal work.

Call Berger and Green Today to Get a Free Case Evaluation

At Berger and Green, we have helped thousands of people with their disability benefits claims. We know how to seek your best results through the appeal process, too.

You don’t have to be alone in your claim for benefits. Call Berger and Green today for a consultation to discuss your disability claim.