New York Disability Benefits: Social Security Disability Insurance and SSI

If you become disabled and live in New York, you may be eligible for one or both types of Social Security disability benefits—Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

How to Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits in New York State

There are four steps to the disability determination process in New York.

Step 1: Filing Your Initial Application

First, you'll need to submit your application for SSDI or SSI. You can do this online at Social Security's web portal, by calling 800-772-1213 (if you're deaf or hard of hearing, you can call the TTY number at 800-325-0778) from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by going in person to your local Social Security field office. There are around 70 field offices in New York State.

If you're applying for SSDI, the benefit for adult workers who've become disabled, you can complete your application online. If you're applying for SSI, the benefit for disabled low-income adults and children, a Social Security representative will contact you to complete your application.

Disability applications in New York State are handled at the initial level by claims examiners with the Division of Disability Determinations (DDD). DDD is part of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Contact information for the main office is below:

Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
Division of Disability Determinations
PO Box 165
Albany, NY 12260-0165

Telephone: 800-522-5511
Email: [email protected]

After your initial application, any questions you have should be directed towards your claims examiner at DDD. For fiscal year 2023, DDD examiners approved 41% of the initial disability applications that were filed in New York.

Step 2: Reconsideration of a Disability Denial

If your application isn't approved at the initial level, you can appeal the denial by requesting reconsideration. Reconsideration means that a different claims examiner at the DDD will review your file and decide whether the initial decision was incorrect. For 2022/2023, DDD examiners in New York awarded disability benefits in 15.5% of reconsidered claims.

You can start your appeal by filing Form SSA-561, Request for Reconsideration, within 60 days of the date you received your denial letter. You may submit the form electronically or mail it to your Social Security field office.

Step 3: Requesting a Hearing With an Administrative Law Judge

If you haven't been approved for disability benefits after reconsideration, you can ask to have a hearing in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ). At this stage, the New York state DDD hands your claim off to a federal agency responsible for holding disability hearings, the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO).

Each OHO branch has around one to two dozen ALJ who hold hearings for disability claims, based on the location of the field office where the application was filed. New York State has 10 OHO branches statewide, in the following locations:

Albany (serves the field offices for Albany, Gloversville, Hudson, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Queensbury, Schenectady, and Troy)

2nd Floor
12 Corporate Woods Boulevard
Albany, NY 12211

Telephone: 866-643-3035
Fax: 833-659-0413
eFile Fax: 877-379-8560

Bronx (serves the field offices for East Bronx, Hunts Point, Laconia Avenue, North Bronx, South Bronx, and West Farms)

2nd Floor, Suite 200
220 East 161st Street
Bronx, NY 10451

Telephone: 866-563-9573
Fax: 833-632-0077
eFile Fax: 877-379-8661

Buffalo (serves the field offices for Batavia, Buffalo, Dunkirk, Jamestown, Niagara Falls, Olean, and Ridge Road)

2nd Floor
130 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202

Telephone: 866-348-5819
Fax: 833-632-0071
eFile Fax: 877-379-8633

Long Island (serves the field offices for Freeport, Melville, Mineola, Patchogue, Riverhead, and West Babylon)

730 Federal Plaza
Central Islip, NY 11722

Telephone: 877-379-8559
Fax: 833-359-0115
eFile Fax: 877-379-8559

New York City (serves the field offices for Bedford Heights, Brooklyn New Utrecht, Downtown East Harlem, East Village, Midtown, Uptown, and Washington Heights)

Room 2909
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278-0035

Telephone: 877-405-6744
Fax: 833-985-2296
eFile Fax: 877-379-8642

NYC—Varick (serves the field offices for Boro Hall, Brooklyn Flatbush, Brooklyn Bushwick, and Canarsie)

3rd Floor, Room 315
201 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014-9998

Telephone: 866-964-9971
Fax: 833-359-0113
eFile Fax: 877-379-8558

Queens (serves the field offices for Cypress Hill, Far Rockaway, Flushing, Jamaica, Long Island City, and Rego Park)

Joseph P Addabbo Federal Building
155-10 Jamaica Avenue, 2nd Floor
Jamaica, NY 11432

Telephone: 866-931-6092
Fax: 833-632-0075
eFile Fax: 877-304-5005

Rochester (serves the field offices for Geneva, Greece, and Rochester)

U.S. Federal Building, Suite 3000
100 State Street
Rochester, NY 14614

Telephone: 866-331-3271
Fax: 833-511-0339
eFile Fax: 877-304-8991

Syracuse (serves the field offices for Binghamton, Corning, Elmira, Ithaca, Ogdensburg, Oswego, Syracuse, Utica, and Watertown)

5th Floor
300 S. State Street
Syracuse, NY 13202

Telephone: 888-655-6477
Fax: 833-779-0462
eFile Fax: 877-304-5049

White Plains (serves the field offices for Monticello, New Rochelle, Newburgh, Peekskill, Poughkeepsie, West Nyack, White Plains, and Yonkers)

Suite 202
75 South Broadway
White Plains, NY 10601

Telephone: 877-691-6146
Fax: 833-563-0489
eFile Fax: 877-304-8717

As of early 2024, the average wait for a hearing in New York was 10 months, with a low end of 7 months in the White Plains office to a longer wait in the Bronx of 13 months. In 2023, ALJs in New York approved 65% of the cases they heard—making the wait worth it for many disability applicants.

Step 4: Appeals Council Review

If you've received an unfavorable decision following your disability hearing, you can ask the Appeals Council to look at the judge's decision and see if the judge made a "reversible error." If the council determines that the ALJ didn't abide by the proper procedures, rules, or regulations, they can send your case back ("remand") for another hearing or make a decision on their own.

The Appeals Council reviews decisions from ALJs across the entire country. You can request Appeals Council review online, or you can fill out Form HA-520, Request for Review of Hearing Decision, and mail it to the following address within 60 days of receiving your unfavorable decision:

Social Security Administration
Office of Appellate Operations
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21235-6401

If the Appeals Council declines to review your case, you've exhausted your options within the Social Security Administration. However, you can bring your case to federal court in New York. Depending on where you live, you can file a lawsuit in one of the four district courts (Northern, Eastern, Southern, or Western District of New York) with jurisdiction over your claim.

New York State Disability Benefits Payments

If you receive SSDI, your monthly payment depends on the amount you paid into the Social Security system. The individual calculations can be pretty complex, but in 2024, the maximum amount you can receive in SSDI is $3,822 per month (although the average amount paid out is much lower, at $1,537 per month).

If you receive SSI, the federal monthly benefit amount for an individual is $943 and $1,415 per couple (in 2024), but whether you receive this full amount depends on your income.

New York also offers additional payments for those receiving SSI who are in particular situations, called State Supplement Program (SSP) benefits. You don't have to apply for SSP separately—your application for SSI will count for both programs.

The table below shows the combined federal SSI and state SSP amounts that may be received by SSI recipients in New York in 2024.

In addition, some New Yorkers who receive SSI may receive additional money through the State Supplemental Personal Needs Allowance. Those who live in a nursing home in New York may receive an additional $25 per month, while those in other medical facilities may receive an additional $5 per month. This payment is also administered by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

New York State Short-Term Disability Program

New York is one of a handful of states that provides benefits, through an employer insurance program, for people who can't work for up to six months. This state program differs from Social Security disability benefits, which are only available for people who are unable to work for twelve months at a minimum.

The NY State Disability Insurance program covers temporary disabilities, pregnancy, and childbirth. Under the short-term disability program, you could be eligible for temporary disability benefits of up to $170 per week. For more information, see our article about getting short-term disability in New York.