New Jersey disability benefit amounts vary widely by program. State Temporary Disability Insurance and Family Leave Insurance each pay up to $1,119 per week in 2026. Workers’ compensation for a job-related injury pays up to roughly $1,599 per week. Federal SSDI averages about $1,630 per month and tops out near $4,152, while needs-based SSI pays a maximum of $994 per month for an individual, plus a New Jersey state supplement. What you actually receive depends on your earnings history, the cause of your disability, and which program covers your situation.
Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)
TDI covers workers who cannot do their job because of an illness or injury that did not happen at work. The weekly benefit is 85% of your average weekly wage during your base year, capped at $1,119 per week in 2026.1Department of Labor & Workforce Development. NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development Announces New Benefit Rates for 2026 Your base year is roughly the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim, and the state can look at alternate base year periods if that window doesn’t produce enough earnings.2NJ Leave Benefits. Alternate Base Year
To qualify you need at least 20 base weeks earning $310 or more, or combined base-year earnings of at least $15,500. Payments do not start on day one. There is a seven-day waiting period, and benefits begin on the eighth consecutive day of disability. If your disability lasts three weeks or longer, that first week is paid retroactively as long as your employer did not pay you for it.3Department of Labor & Workforce Development. FAQ: Temporary Disability Insurance The maximum duration is 26 weeks within any 52-week period.
Family Leave Insurance (FLI)
FLI pays cash benefits when you take time off to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member. The formula matches TDI: 85% of your average weekly wage, capped at $1,119 per week in 2026.4NJ.gov. Family Leave Insurance
Duration is where FLI differs. Continuous leave can run up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period. Intermittent leave is capped at 56 individual days (eight weeks) in the same 12-month window.4NJ.gov. Family Leave Insurance FLI covers the cash benefit only. Job protection during leave comes from the separate New Jersey Family Leave Act, which applies to employers with 30 or more employees.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
SSDI is the federal program for workers who have paid Social Security payroll taxes long enough to qualify. Your monthly amount is based on your lifetime average earnings, not on how many work credits you have accumulated.5Social Security Administration. Overview of Our Disability Programs Higher career earnings produce a higher check.
For 2026 the maximum monthly SSDI benefit is approximately $4,152. The average payment is around $1,630 per month after the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment that took effect in January 2026, and typical payments fall between $1,500 and $2,600.6Social Security Administration. Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information
Earning above a set threshold while collecting SSDI can end your benefits entirely. In 2026 that “substantial gainful activity” threshold is $1,690 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,830 per month for blind individuals.7Social Security Administration. Substantial Gainful Activity
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI is a needs-based federal program for people with disabilities who have limited income and resources. No work history is required. The 2026 maximum federal payment is $994 per month for an individual and $1,491 per month for an eligible couple.8Social Security Administration. How Much You Could Get From SSI
New Jersey adds a state supplement to the federal amount, and the supplement varies with your living arrangement and other factors.5Social Security Administration. Overview of Our Disability Programs Your check can also be reduced. If you live in someone else’s household and they pay all of your shelter costs, the Social Security Administration can cut your payment by one-third. As of late 2024, food provided by others no longer counts toward that reduction.9Social Security Administration. SSI Spotlight on One Third Reduction Provision
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation covers employees injured on the job or who develop a work-related illness. For temporary total disability, New Jersey pays 70% of your average weekly wage at the time of injury. In 2026 the maximum weekly rate is approximately $1,599 and the minimum is $320. Rates are set by the state and adjust annually. All reasonable and necessary medical care related to the injury is also paid.
Permanent partial disability follows a schedule of losses. The schedule assigns a specific number of weeks of compensation based on the body part affected and the severity of the impairment. The weekly rate stays at 70% of your pre-injury wages or the statewide maximum, whichever is lower.10Justia Law. New Jersey Code Title 34 – Section 34-15-12
What Happens if You Qualify for More Than One Program
Collecting from more than one program does not always mean stacking full payments. The main offset involves SSDI and workers’ compensation. When you receive both, the Social Security Administration caps your combined benefits at 80% of your average earnings before disability, and anything above that gets deducted from your SSDI check.11Social Security Administration. How Workers’ Compensation and Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits
This reduction continues until you reach full retirement age or the workers’ compensation payments stop, whichever comes first. Lump-sum workers’ compensation settlements can also trigger an offset, so notify Social Security immediately if your workers’ compensation payment changes. VA benefits, state and local government disability payments where Social Security taxes were deducted, and SSI do not trigger the SSDI offset.11Social Security Administration. How Workers’ Compensation and Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits
On the state side, if you file a TDI claim for an injury that later turns out to be work-related, you can collect TDI while your workers’ compensation claim is pending. Once workers’ compensation is awarded, you have to reimburse the state TDI fund.12Department of Labor & Workforce Development. Temporary Disability Insurance
How Taxes Affect What You Keep
The advertised benefit amount is not always what lands in your bank account. Tax treatment depends on the program, and state and federal rules do not align.
- TDI and FLI are exempt from New Jersey state gross income tax. The state treats these payments as accident or health insurance, which is excluded from taxable income under New Jersey law.13Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 18-35-2.3 – Employee Accident or Health Insurance Exclusion From Taxable Gross Income
- State Plan TDI is treated as third-party sick pay for federal income tax and must be reported on your federal return. You can request federal withholding by submitting Form W-4S with your claim.14NJ.gov. Temporary Disability Insurance Program
- FLI is federally taxable. You will receive a 1099-G for any benefits paid during the tax year.15Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Tax Forms
- SSDI may be partially taxable at the federal level depending on your total income. If SSDI is your only income, you likely will not owe federal tax on it.
- SSI is not subject to federal or state income tax.
- Workers’ compensation is generally not taxable at the federal or state level.
Deadlines That Affect Whether You Get Paid
You can lose benefits you are otherwise entitled to by filing late. For New Jersey TDI, file your claim within 30 days of the first day of your disability. Late applications require an explanation, and benefits can be reduced or denied if you cannot justify the delay.3Department of Labor & Workforce Development. FAQ: Temporary Disability Insurance
If your TDI claim is denied, you have 21 calendar days from the mailing date of the decision to appeal, either online or in writing to the Division of Temporary Disability Insurance.16Division of Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance. Appealing a Decision SSDI runs on a much longer clock: initial decisions typically take three to six months, and federal appeals can stretch well beyond a year. Workers’ compensation timeframes vary depending on whether the employer disputes the claim.