Federal Insurance Contributions Act

I often hear my Social Security Disability (SSD) clients say “I never thought I would be one of those people that need money from the government” or “I’m not looking for a handout”.  When I hear this, I remind them that SSD is not a handout.  In fact, it is your own money.

If you look at your paystub, you will likely see a FICA deduction from your pay.  FICA stands for “Federal Insurance Contributions Act”.  This is the tax that pays for Social Security Disability, Social Security retirement, and Medicare benefits.  This money goes into a fund to pay for your monthly benefits in the event you are disabled from working.

That’s right, the money that you work hard for all those years, that you never saw because it was taken by FICA, is the same money you are getting back if the Social Security Administration finds you disabled.  Think of it as putting money into a savings account in the event you need money and cannot work.

It is my hope that when my clients are awarded SSD benefits, they use these resources to take care of financial problems and to get the medical treatment they need to get back to work.  But claimants should not feel guilty receiving SSD benefits since it is their own hard-earned money going back into their pockets.