Can I file for Social Security disability if I'm on workers' compensation?

SSDI takes longer

Workers’ compensation can provide income while you’re waiting for SSDI. It typically takes a few weeks to get a decision on a workers’ comp claim, but the average processing time for disability benefit application was more than six months as of December 2025, according to Social Security Administration (SSA) data. (The SSA recommends filing for SSDI as soon as your condition prevents you from working because of the time it takes to go through the application process.)

But if you’re still getting workers’ comp when your SSDI starts, the total of both benefits can’t exceed 80 percent of what Social Security determines to be your “average current earnings” prior to when your disability began. If they do, the agency will reduce your SSDI benefits to bring them below the cap.

That offset, as it’s called, will continue until your workers’ comp benefits end or you reach full retirement age (whichever comes first). Once you reach full retirement age, your disability benefit switches to a retirement benefit, and the offset no longer applies.

Other disability-related government payments can also reduce SSDI benefits, including civil service disability or state temporary disability benefits. Veterans benefits and Supplemental Security Income do not reduce SSDI payments. You'll find more information in the Social Security pamphlet "How Workers’ Compensation and Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits."

Keep in mind

• If you are getting workers’ comp when you apply for SSDI, you'll need to provide detailed information to Social Security on those payments.
• The offset still applies if you receive a onetime settlement for workers’ comp, rather than a monthly payment. In these cases, Social Security prorates the lump-sum amount into a monthly increment and uses it to calculate the benefit reduction.
• Some states have a “reverse offset plan” — they reduce workers’ comp benefits if the recipient is also getting SSDI. Where Social Security recognizes a state's reverse-offset plan, it does not reduce SSDI payments based on workers’ comp.