Wow, congrats on getting back on your feet! And sober if that's the case too. I'm sober myself. Many years on opiates and booze.

But that's absolutely insane about the back pay thing. I've never heard about that before. I also know that the more you have worked, the higher the SS pay is. I got a statement recently that said I would get somewhere around 2k if I got disabled. Not bad if you have a spouse doing the same, you both work under the table, and you live outside the major shithole cities. Easy middle class life, even without working under the table, in the cheaper states.