Filing for Disability in New York: Social Security and SSI

While Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are administered by the federal government according to federal law, in New York State, there are differences in the approval rates and in the amounts of the SSI monthly payment. And employees for the State of New York play a hand in deciding whether you're disabled.

Whether you've filed a disability claim in New York or you're about to file a claim with Social Security and you live in New York, here are some answers to questions you may be asking.

How to File for Disability in New York

You can file for disability by visiting a local field office, calling the Social Security call center, or by going online:

Local field office. There are 126 Social Security field offices in Social Security's New York Region. To find the one nearest you, use Social Security's field office locator.

Calling Social Security. You can call the Social Security Administration (SSA) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 800-772-1213. Those who are deaf or hearing impaired can call 800-325-0778. You can speak to a representative or schedule an appointment to file a disability application by calling this number.

Applying online. If you're filing for SSDI, you can complete the whole application online at www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/. If you're filing for SSI, you can start the SSI application online, but Social Security will contact you to finish your application, either over the phone or in person.

Who Decides Whether I Get Disability Benefits in New York?

A claims representative at the field office will review your application to make sure you've met the work history requirements for SSDI or the financial requirements for benefits for SSI. The field office will then send your application to a New York state agency called the Division of Disability Determinations (DDD).

A claims examiner at the DDD will decide whether you're medically eligible for disability, with the help of a medical consultant (doctor or psychologist) on staff.

How Do I Appeal a Disability Denial in New York?

If you file for Social Security or SSI disability benefits and your application is denied, you'll need to appeal. After getting a denial from the Division of Disability Determinations (DDD), you have to request that the DDD reconsider its decision. When you request a reconsideration, a different claims examiner will review your file.

If the DDD denies you again after the reconsideration, you can request an appeal hearing in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ).

What Are My Chances of Approval for Disability in New York?

New Yorkers have a slightly better chance of getting approved for disability benefits than other Americans, at every stage of the process. In 2023, at the initial application stage, the approval rate for initial disability applications in New York was 41%. The approval rate at the reconsideration stage was 17%.

At the appeal hearing level, during the 2023 fiscal year, New York ALJs approved 65% of cases and denied 35%. (Nationally, only 59% of cases were approved during the same period.)

The average wait time for a disability hearing in New York is 10 months, the same as the national average.

Source: ALJ Disposition Data Fiscal Year 2023 and Average Wait Time Until Hearing, December 2023 (Social Security).

How Much Are Disability Benefits in New York?

The average SSDI payment in New York is $1,389 per month, but some people can receive up to $3,822, depending on the income they earned over their lifetime. (Widows and disabled adult children receive less.) Read more about how Social Security calculates your SSDI payment.

Monthly SSI payments can go up to $943 per individual and $1,415 per couple in 2024. But this payment is adjusted if you have additional income above the allowable limit. Because most SSI recipients have some type of extra income (including free food and shelter), the average federal SSI payment in New York was only $608 at the end of 2022.

Fortunately, the state of New York pays a supplemental payment to people receiving SSI from the federal government. For example, for a single person living alone, New York pays an additional $87, and for a couple living on their own, New York pays an additional $104.

The supplemental amount varies depending on whether you live with others, whether you're married, whether your spouse receives SSI benefits as well, and whether you live in a nursing home, group home, or assisted living situation. The county or borough where you reside may also affect the amount you receive from the state of New York.

Here's a chart of the combined federal and state payments in 2024 for a single person or a couple without any countable income.

Source: New York SSI and SSI Monthly Benefit Levels Chart, 2024

NY's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) can answer your questions about the supplemental payment, but you don't need to apply for it separately. When you apply for SSI, Social Security will share your information with the OTDA, which will determine your eligibility for the state supplement.

Fortunately, New York exempts 100% of Social Security benefits and SSI benefits from a resident's tax liability. That means the state doesn't tax SSDI or SSI payments. For people with higher incomes, the federal government will tax a portion of their SSDI benefits. But the IRS will never tax SSI benefits.

Is There a Limit on Medical Record Fees in New York?

You may want to submit your recent medical records to the SSA yourself rather than wait for the claims examiner at DDS or the judge at the hearing office to collect them.

New York allows doctors and other medical professionals to charge a reasonable fee for medical records (up to 75¢ per page). But you can be charged the full reproduction cost for X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans (but not original mammogram films), plus postage.

However, your doctor or a health care facility can't deny you your medical records because you can't pay for them. (NYS Department of Health.)

Who Can I Contact About My Disability Case in New York?

Here is the contact information for the disability determination and hearing office locations in New York.

New York DDD Locations

If your disability application doesn't receive a technical denial at the Social Security field office, it will be sent to the Division of Disability Determinations (DDD), a state agency with various locations in New York, to be evaluated for medical disability. Social Security will decide which of the DDD locations in New York to send your file to, based on the location of your field office.

If you don't receive a letter from DDD within a month or two of applying, you can call the toll-free DDD number for the New York Region at 800-522-5511 to find out to which office your case was sent. Here are the phone numbers and addresses for the DDD locations:

Disability Determination Services
P.O. Box 165
Albany, NY 12260-0165
518-473-9320

Division of Disability Determinations
PO Box 5191
Bowling Green Station, NY 10274-5191
212-240-3456

Office of Disability Determination Services
P.O. Box 5030
Buffalo, NY 14205-5030
716-847-5007

Division of Disability Determinations
P.O. Box 9009
Endicott, NY 13761-9009
607-741-4195

New York Hearing Offices

Hearings are held at an Office of Hearing Operations (OHO). There are ten different OHO offices throughout New York State. Below is the contact information for each office.

Albany Hearings Office

12 Corporate Woods Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Albany, NY 12211
Telephone: (866) 643-3035
Fax: (833) 659-0413

The Albany OHO handles the following field offices: Albany, Gloversville, Hudson, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Queensbury, Schenectady, and Troy.

Bronx Hearings Office

East 161st Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200
Bronx, New York 10451
Telephone: (866) 563-9573
Fax: (833) 632-0077

The Bronx OHO handles the following field offices: All Bronx offices, Hunts Point, Laconia Avenue, and West Farms.

Buffalo Hearings Office

130 Delaware Avenue, 2nd Floor
Buffalo, NY 14202
Telephone: (866) 348-5819
Fax: (833) 632-0071

The Buffalo OHO handles the following field offices: Batavia, Buffalo, Dunkirk, Jamestown, Niagara Falls, Olean, and Ridge Road.

Jersey City Hearings Office

325 West Side Avenue, Second Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07305
Telephone: (877) 773-7451
Fax: (833) 721-0877

The Jersey City, New Jersey OHO handles the following NY field offices: Hylan Boulevard and Staten Island.

Long Island Hearings Office

730 Federal Plaza
Central Islip, NY 11722
Telephone: (877) 379-8559
Fax: (833) 359-0115

The Long Island hearing office handles the following field offices: Freeport, Melville, Mineola, Patchogue, Riverhead, and West Babylon.

New York Hearings Office

26 Federal Plaza, Room 2909
New York, NY 10278-0035
Telephone: (877) 405-6744
Fax: (833) 985-2296

The New York hearing office handles the following field offices: Bedford Heights, Brooklyn New Utrecht, Downtown East Harlem, East Village, Midtown, Uptown, and Washington Heights.

New York Varick Hearings Office

201 Varick Street, 3rd Floor, Room 315
New York, NY 10014-9998
Telephone: (866) 964-9971
Fax: (833) 359-0113

The New York Varick hearing office handles the following field offices: Boro Hall, Brooklyn Flatbush, Brooklyn Bushwick, and Canarsie.

Queens Hearings Office

Joseph P Addabbo Federal Building
155-10 Jamaica Avenue, 2nd Floor
Jamaica, NY 11432
Telephone: (866) 931-6092
Fax: (833) 632-0075

The Queens hearing office handles the following field offices: Cypress Hill, Far Rockaway, Flushing, Jamaica, Long Island City, and Rego Park.

Rochester Hearings Office

U.S. Federal Building, Suite 3000
100 State Street
Rochester, NY 14614
Telephone: (866) 331-3271
Fax: (833) 511-0339

The Rochester hearing office handles the following field offices: Geneva, Greece, and Rochester.

Syracuse Hearings Office

300 S. State Street, 5th Floor
Syracuse, NY 13202
Telephone: (888) 655-6477
Fax: (833) 779-0462

The Syracuse hearing office handles the following field offices: Binghamton, Corning, Elmira, Ithaca, Ogdensburg, Oswego, Syracuse, Utica, and Watertown.

White Plains Hearings Office

75 South Broadway, Suite 202
White Plains, NY 10601
Telephone: (877) 691-6146
Fax: (833) 563-0489

The White Plains hearing office handles the following field offices: Monticello, New Rochelle, Newburgh, Peekskill, Poughkeepsie, West Nyack, White Plains, and Yonkers.

Before your hearing, you may want to check for address and phone number changes with Social Security's hearing office locator.

New York Rehabilitation Services

If you think you may be able to go back to some type of work, and you're interested in free job retraining, contact New York's vocational rehabilitation services in Albany. New York's ACCES-VR helps people with disabilities to find jobs through rehabilitation and training.

New York State Education Department
Office of Adult Career and Continuing Education Services - Vocational Rehabilitation
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234
800-222-JOBS
Website: https://www.acces.nysed.gov/vr

New York State Short-Term Disability Benefits

The State of New York provides up to six months of paid disability benefits to qualified employees through its temporary disability benefits (DB) law. Benefits are limited to 50% of average weekly wages. To qualify, you must have worked full-time for 26 weeks for a single employer or worked part-time for 175 days. You can get short-term benefits for any injury or illness that keeps you out of work for seven days or more, including pregnancy. For more information, see our article on New York's short-term disability (DB) program.

Get More Information on Filing for Disability

If you'd like to find out more about getting disability and what to expect during the application process, check out these articles:

• What's the Difference Between SSDI and SSI?
• Do You Qualify for Disability Benefits? (Take our quiz.)
• How to Get Financial Assistance While Waiting on Disability
• Can You Work While Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits?
• Who Is Most Likely to Get Approved for Social Security Disability Benefits?

_{Other Sources:
Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2022
Annual Statistical Supplement, 2023}