Fred enjoyed a long, successful working life and decided to retire. He was collecting Social Security retirement benefits as well as a union pension. But life as a retiree bored Fred, so he decided to get a part-time job working at a local home inprovement store. Unfortunately for Fred, he suffered an injury to his back while assisting a customer with a large sale item.

QUESTION: Can Fred collect Workers’ Compensation benefits even though he was already collecting Social Security retirement benefits as well as a pension?

ANSWER: Yes. Under the Social Security guidelines, Fred is able to collect Social Security retirement (or “old age”)  benefits and still earn wages from work. However, Fred can only earn up to a certain dollar amount from working in order to remain eligible to receive his Social Security retirement benefits. If Fred can establish that (1) he was hurt at work and (2) that he is disabled and suffering a loss of earning power as a result of his work injury, he can collect workers’ compensation benefits AND still remain entitled to receive his Social Security payment as well. It is also important to note that if Fred began to collect his Social Security retirement benefits AFTER he was already on workers comp, his workers comp payments woud be reduced by 50% of the amount he received in “old age” benefits from Social Security. As Fred was receiving Social Security retirement benefits BEFORE he was injured on the job, this offset or credit would not apply.

If you’ve suffered a work injury and have questions about your claim, contact me at tcummings@dlplaw.com or call (570) 347-1011 for a free consultation.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive.  Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.