Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is designed to provide monthly benefits to people who have a medically determinable disability that restricts their ability to be employed.
At the same time, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a program that pays cash benefits to disabled children, disabled adults, and elderly individuals who are either American citizens or citizens of another country.
Like all other benefit programs, disability benefits programs have laid down requirements before applicants can qualify.
First, you need to ascertain your disability status before anything else.
Due to the technicalities of these requirements, potential recipients of the SSDI and SSI are advised to employ the expertise of disability attorneys for a stress-free experience.
To assist you in building your claims, we have provided the basic things you need to know about the disability benefits in this article.
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Conditions For Recognition As A Disabled
Do you think you might be qualified for disability benefits? You may want to speak to a disability lawyer to assess to be sure and put you through how to apply. Get direct access to an experienced disability attorney when you click here for more information and make your inquiries. It’s important to note that social security will recognize you as disabled if the following conditions are met without exception of any;
- You must have been unable to do your previous job because of an illness.
- You cannot do other jobs due to your medical condition.
- You’ve been disabled for a year, or your disability is expected to stay for a minimum of one year, or your disability can result in death.
Qualification For Disability Benefits
Your qualification for the SSDI or SSI can be determined by how you answer the following questions;
Are you a legal US citizen?
As a legal US citizen, if you meet all the stated conditions of a disabled person, you can apply for the benefits. This is because US citizens get awarded social security benefits the most. However, if you aren’t a citizen yet but you have contributed to social security taxes, you may be considered worthy of the SSDI and/the SSI.
Can you still work at any of your previous jobs?
To be qualified, you must not do any of your previous work because of your medical condition. Your work history would be reviewed individually to make sure you satisfy this condition.
The more your work history is, the more likely you will be qualified for the benefit.
If you can still perform in any of your previous work, you may have difficulty proving that you are eligible for the benefit.
This is why you should hire an experienced attorney to help you through the process of assessing and applying for the SSDI or SSI.
Monthly income
The social security administration will evaluate your Substantial gainful activities (SGA) to determine if you are awarded the benefits.
If your income is over a particular amount, you may not be considered eligible for the benefits in whatever class you fall. However, in some cases, your inability to earn the monthly SGA may not be enough reason to qualify.
Likewise, your ability to go over the SGA monthly is not the sole determinant that you aren’t entitled to. Circumstances around your work will also be evaluated to ascertain the accuracy of your earnings too.
Credit requirement for SSA tax contribution
The Social Security Administration(SSA) measures your commitment to paying taxes by calculating your total number of credits.
Credits are the point you earn when you contribute tax to social security. You can make a maximum of 4 credits in a year. You must have contributed enough tax to the SSA to qualify for the social security benefits.
Based on the requirement, you must have up to 40 credits in total. Out of these 40, 20 credits must be from the 10 years before our disability was confirmed.
Difficulty with daily activities
Perhaps your current illness is stopping you from performing your normal day-to-day activities. It will help to add it to your document when applying for the SSDI. To prove that, you should have a session with your therapist for concrete evidence. Your inability to function at the things you did before the medical condition will be considered and may help increase your chance of being approved for the program.
What Do You Need From Your Doctor To File For A Disability Benefit
Your medical source statement needs to be filled out by a health care provider like your doctor, therapist, or clinic. Whatever the medical personnel fills may help you claim if it satisfies all the conditions set by the Social Security Administration. In the source statement, your doctor should include:
- A list of your tests and diagnosis.
- Confirm your eligibility for the program.
- Report on your capacity to function in everyday activities
- Your doctor’s opinion based on your medical history
- Side effects from your medications.
How To Apply
It is easy to apply for the SSDI. You can either call the SSDI toll-free number; 1-800-772-1213 between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm or apply online. You should apply for the disability benefit immediately after you discover your disability. Ordinarily, the SSDI will not begin payment until 5 months after your status is confirmed by the SSA and approved.
The only condition exempted from the waiting period is the disability caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). So, in order not to waste any time, you should apply immediately.
However, if you apply for SSI, you start getting the benefits a month from filing your claim.
Why Should You Apply?
Your inability to function normally means you may not be able to make enough income to take care of yourself anymore.
The SSDI offers monthly cash benefits to recipients and provides them with Medicare two years after discovering their disability. SSI recipients, on the other hand, get monthly cash benefits and Medicare right away. Applying for the SSDI and SSI will go a long way in assisting you with medical bills and other expenses you may incur during your disability period.
However, you should do proper research about the benefit programs and requirements before applying.
To make the process easier for you, you should get an attorney who already has experience in the disability field.
That will help you accelerate the assessment of your eligibility and increase your chance of being considered.