22 Mar Can I get unemployment and disability at the same time?

Q. I have been out of work since April 2020 and have been collecting unemployment. During this time I applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and I was awarded benefits in February 2021. Social Security tells me it does not affect my benefit but I am not able to reach unemployment. Can I get both at the same time?
— Unsure

A. We’re sorry to hear you’re out of work.

Your case may get complicated.

In the state of New Jersey, it is legal to collect both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and unemployment benefits, said Ken Van Leeuwen, a certified financial planner with Van Leeuwen & Company in Princeton.

Neither amount is affected by collecting the other, he said.

But it can be a tricky process, however, because the criteria for collecting each of these can be somewhat contradictory, he said.

“To qualify for unemployment, you must be actively seeking employment opportunities which can be difficult while qualifying for disability benefits, which requires that you are largely not able to work,” he said. “Social Security officials will consider any receipt of unemployment benefits when approving your claim, so it will be up to you to prove why these two are not conflicting.”

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This story was originally published on March 22, 2021.

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