HOW DOES 'BACK PAY' HAPPEN?

Back pay, also called "past due benefits" refers to the lump sum settlement that Social Security pays the claimant when the claim is first decided in the claimant's favor.
Back pay is also the amount from which any 
attorney's fee can be paid. 

Back pay can accumulate in either of 2 ways:

1)  You file an application several months AFTER you become disabled and Social Security pays you back to the date of disability.  For instance, you become disabled on 6/1/14 but don't file your claim until 6/1/15.  You are allowed to go back and pick up 12 months of back pay.

2)  Social Security takes a long time to approve you.  Let's say you file an application for disability on 6/1/14 and get denied.  You file and appeal and have to wait a year for a hearing (very common).  If you eventually get approved, Social Security will owe you several months of back pay.  In this case, they will owe about 18 months in back pay.

What will my attorney usually get?  Your representative cannot get more than 25 percent of your back pay.  There is also a cap on that fee as a dollar amount.  

Can the attorney get any part of my future monthly disability payments?  No.  Social Security will not allow your representative to take any part of your monthly payments.  This is highly regulated in the federal law.  Also, if you win your case but don't receive any back pay, there cannot be any attorney's fee. 

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