Delaware Disability Benefits: SSDI, PFML, and Workers’ Comp

Delaware disability benefits come from several separate programs, and which ones apply to you depends on your work history, your income, how the disability happened, and who your employer is. The main options are federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Delaware’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave program, workers’ compensation if the injury was job-related, a state Disability Insurance Program for public employees, Medicaid healthcare coverage, county and city property tax exemptions, vocational rehabilitation services, and free legal help from Disability Rights Delaware.

SSDI and SSI: The Federal Baseline

Most people asking about disability benefits start with the two federal programs run by the Social Security Administration.

SSDI is for workers who paid into Social Security through payroll taxes and can no longer work because of a medical condition expected to last at least twelve months or result in death. Payments start the sixth full month after the disability began. There is no waiting period for people with ALS approved on or after July 23, 2020.¹

SSI is a needs-based program for people who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled and who have very limited income and resources. The resource cap is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple.² Disability applicants must show they earned less than $1,690 per month at the time of application; the general work-earnings cap is $2,073 per month.³ The home you live in, one vehicle, household goods, and up to $100,000 in an ABLE account do not count toward the resource limit.⁴

How to Apply

You can file for SSDI or SSI online at ssa.gov, by calling 1-800-772-1213, or in person at a local Social Security office. SSA advises applying as soon as the disability begins and not waiting on missing documents, because staff will help gather what is needed. Have ready your identification, detailed medical records and provider contacts, a list of current medications, work history for the past five years, and financial records such as W-2s. Originals like birth certificates are required but will be returned.⁵

The medical side of your claim is handled in-state by Delaware’s Disability Determination Services (DDS), a unit within the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation at the state Department of Labor. The local Social Security field office checks non-medical factors first, then sends the file to DDS, which gathers medical evidence and, if needed, arranges a consultative exam before returning the decision to Social Security.⁶ DDS can be reached at (302) 324-7600.⁷

If Your Claim Is Denied

You have 60 days from the denial notice to start the appeal. The four levels are the same in every state:

Reconsideration by a DDS examiner who did not work on the original decision.⁸
A hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.
Review by the Social Security Appeals Council.
A civil action in U.S. District Court.⁹

You can appoint an attorney or qualified representative at any stage.

Delaware Paid Family and Medical Leave

Delaware’s Healthy Delaware Families Act created a state Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program. Employer payroll contributions began January 1, 2025, and employees can submit benefit claims starting January 1, 2026.¹⁰

To qualify, you need to have worked for the same employer for at least a year and logged at least 1,250 hours in that period. Benefits replace up to 80 percent of wages, capped at $900 per week through at least December 31, 2027.¹⁰¹¹ For your own serious health condition or injury, you can take up to six weeks of paid leave in a 24-month period, and total combined leave for all qualifying reasons is capped at 12 weeks per year.

Coverage depends on employer size. Businesses with 25 or more Delaware employees must provide full coverage; businesses with 10 to 24 must provide parental leave only; businesses with nine or fewer, federal workers, and certain seasonal operations are exempt. An employer may opt out by offering a private or self-insured plan that meets or exceeds the state standard, and your cost under a private plan cannot exceed what you would pay under the state plan.¹⁰¹²

File a claim by email at PFMLClaims@delaware.gov or by phone at 302-761-8375.¹⁰

Workers’ Compensation for On-the-Job Injuries

If your disability came from a workplace injury, workers’ compensation, not SSDI, is the first line of wage replacement. Benefits are generally two-thirds (66⅔ percent) of your gross weekly wage at the time of injury, subject to statutory minimums and maximums. As of July 1, 2025, the maximum weekly benefit is $924.31 and the minimum is $308.11.¹³

There are four categories:

Temporary total disability, paid at 66⅔ percent of pre-injury wages while you cannot work at all.
Temporary partial disability, paid at two-thirds of the difference between pre- and post-injury wages for up to 300 weeks.
Permanent total disability, paid at 66⅔ percent of pre-injury wages for the duration of the disability.
Permanent partial disability, based on a percentage of scheduled losses (such as limbs or eyes) or nonscheduled losses (such as back or heart injuries). Disfigurement benefits are capped at 150 weeks.¹⁴

Claims for accidental injuries must be filed within two years of the date of injury; occupational disease claims within one year of diagnosis. Delaware does not provide cost-of-living adjustments on workers’ comp benefits, and attorney fees are capped at the lesser of 30 percent of the award or ten times the state average weekly wage.¹⁴

Disability Insurance for State Employees

If you work for the state, a school district, a charter school, Delaware Technical Community College, Delaware State University, the University of Delaware, or the Delaware Solid Waste Authority and participate in the Delaware State Employees’ Pension Plan, you have a separate Disability Insurance Program (DIP). The state pays the full premium, and enrollment is automatic for eligible employees hired on or after January 1, 2006.¹⁵

Short-term disability begins after a 30-calendar-day elimination period and pays up to 75 percent of base pay for up to 182 calendar days (including the elimination period). STD is self-insured and paid through regular payroll. Benefits are offset by Social Security, workers’ compensation, and other government disability payments.¹⁶

Long-term disability starts after 182 consecutive calendar days of disability or when STD runs out, whichever is later. It pays up to 60 percent of pre-disability base pay, with a maximum of $8,000 per month, reduced by other income benefits. LTD is insured through The Hartford, which pays the employee directly. For the first 24 months, benefits are payable if you cannot do your own occupation; after 24 months, the standard shifts to any occupation. How long LTD lasts depends on your age at onset: disability before age 60 can carry benefits to age 65, while disability at 69 or later carries at least 12 months of benefits.¹⁷

File an STD claim with The Hartford if you expect to be out at least 30 calendar days. Questions go to the Statewide Benefits Office at 1-800-489-8933 or benefits@delaware.gov.¹⁵

Medicaid and Healthcare Coverage

Delaware Medicaid, run by the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, covers low-income individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled. Most home and community-based waiver services are delivered through the Diamond State Health Plan-Plus, a managed long-term services and supports program.¹⁸ One waiver stands apart: the DDDS Lifespan Waiver serves people 12 and older with autism or intellectual disabilities who meet an institutional level of care, covering day habilitation, residential habilitation, respite, supported employment, and home accessibility adaptations.¹⁹

Two eligibility categories matter especially to working-age people with disabilities. Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities (MWD) lets employed adults ages 16 to 65 keep Medicaid even when their earnings exceed standard thresholds, as long as they are Delaware residents, U.S. citizens or qualified aliens, paying FICA taxes, with countable income at or below 275 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. The Children’s Community Alternative Disability Program (CCADP) provides Medicaid to severely disabled children who do not qualify for SSI because of their parents’ income or resources.²⁰

Apply through the state’s ASSIST portal at assist.dhss.delaware.gov or call the DHSS Customer Relations Unit at 1-866-843-7212.²⁰

Property Tax Relief by County

Each of Delaware’s three counties and the city of Wilmington offers property tax relief for homeowners with disabilities, but the rules differ sharply.

New Castle County: disabled residents or those 65 and older, with at least 10 years of Delaware residency and household income no higher than $65,000.²¹
Kent County: exemptions on county and school taxes for disabled residents or those 65 and older, with income at or below $18,000 (single) or $24,750 (married). All existing taxes and fees must be paid in full by the April 30 application deadline.
Sussex County: a general subsidy on $16,000 of assessed value for homeowners with income under $15,800 (single) or $20,000 (married) and liquid assets of $15,000 or less; a separate disability or age-65-plus exemption on up to $229,000 of assessed value requires five years of county residence and income (excluding Social Security) under $6,000 (single) or $7,500 (married). Deadline April 30.
City of Wilmington: open to any resident with a disability, with tiered income limits of $15,000 for a sole owner, $19,000 for an owner living with a spouse, or $15,000 for a non-spouse co-owner.

Disabled veterans with a 100 percent service-connected, permanent and total VA disability rating and at least three years of legal domicile in Delaware can receive a credit covering the full non-vocational school district property tax on their primary residence, with an April 30 deadline.²²

Help Getting Back to Work

The Delaware Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) provides employment services to people whose disabilities create barriers to getting, keeping, or advancing in a job. You do not have to be unemployed to qualify; underemployed workers and people seeking advancement are also served. To be eligible, you need a disability that creates a barrier to employment and you must need DVR services to work. Services include career training, job placement, supported employment, benefits counseling, and pre-employment transition services for younger participants.

Start with a referral form by mail, fax, email to dol_dvr@delaware.gov, or the online portal. DVR will send an application packet, assign a vocational rehabilitation counselor, and build an individualized employment plan with you.²³

Free Legal Help: Disability Rights Delaware

Disability Rights Delaware (DRD), a program of the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc., is the state’s federally designated Protection and Advocacy system and Client Assistance Program. It provides free legal services to children and adults with physical or mental disabilities.²⁴

DRD handles special education disputes, employment discrimination, reasonable accommodations in housing and the workplace, Medicaid and Medicare problems, SSDI and SSI overpayments, abuse and neglect investigations, deinstitutionalization and community integration, and voting access.²⁵ Offices are in Wilmington (302-575-0660), Dover (302-674-8500), and Georgetown (302-856-0038).²⁴

Other Resources Worth Knowing

The Delaware Prescription Assistance Program (DPAP) helps low-income adults with disabilities and seniors over 65 who have no prescription drug coverage, offering up to $3,000 per year with a co-pay of $5.00 or 25 percent of the drug cost, whichever is higher. The Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities offers case management. For a single referral point, the Delaware Helpline at 1-800-464-4357 connects callers to more than 2,100 health and human service programs across the state.²⁶

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