Experts Advice: Dont Go It Alone
Vieillet says the intricacies of each program are confusing, even to the experts. For the average person, it can be downright overwhelming.
When letters from Social Security start coming in the mail, they scare the bejesus out of people, says Teresa Nier, benefits and employment manager with My Employment Options.
For disabled workers, joining a free work-incentive program and employment network can help. Ticket to Work offers benefits protection for recipients who want to test the employment waters. And organizations like My Employment Options have certified benefits counselors on staff to help applicants trudge through the paperwork and fine print all while finding a job that fits their unique needs.
To avoid unexpected benefits cuts or having to return overpayments to the agency, people need to keep Social Security updated with phone numbers and addresses, Nier says. Open those letters. Ask questions.
For James, the idea of not working is unsettling. He doesnt want to be a burden.
Im more of an entrepreneur, he says. Im a very social person. Im very outgoing.
I want to try to make this work. Somehow.
Adam Hardy is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. He specializes in ways to make money that dont involve stuffy corporate offices. Read his latest articles here, or say hi on Twitter .
Does Your Employer Know If You File For Disability
Your disability examiner is tasked with:
While disability examiners typically rely on information provided by the claimant, they do sometimes contact past employers to find out more about the claimants past work and what they did there.
So your employer may discover you have applied for disability if they end up being questioned or interviewed by your social security disability examiner.
Va Disability In A Divorce
When a veteran has a service-connected disability, she may be entitled to receive VA disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs. If the disability rating assigned by the VA is under 50%, then a retired member must waive retirement, dollar for dollar, to receive VA disability.
Why waive retirement to receive disability? Two reasons first, disability is not taxable, and second, the payments are not divisible by the a domestic relations court.
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Information About Unemployment Benefits For Ssi And Ssdi Recipients
Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, many people in New York have been receiving unemployment benefits. A person is allowed to receive unemployment benefits and disability benefits at the same time. However, the Social Security Administration is allowed to consider a persons unemployment benefits when deciding whether or not that person is disabled. When a person receives unemployment benefits, the person is certifying he or she is ready, willing, and able to work. This certification could be considered as evidence that a person is not disabled. On the other hand, a person can qualify for disability benefits even though he or she is capable of performing some work, so receiving unemployment benefits would not automatically disqualify a person from receiving disability benefits.;
When a person is receiving disability benefits the Social Security Administration will periodically conduct a review of your condition to make sure you still qualify for disability benefits. If a person received unemployment benefits since the last review, that may be considered in a continuing disability review.
Because unemployment benefits may impact a persons eligibility for disability benefits, it is wise to speak to an attorney if you plan on receiving both.
If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance , unemployment benefits will not affect the amount of the SSDI payment, but, as stated above, it may be considered in determining whether you are disabled.
Working And Ssi Benefits
You can begin to work and continue to receive SSI benefits as long as your wages and other resources do not exceed the SSA’s income limit for SSI; however, your monthly benefit amount will be reduced in proportion to your income.
Here’s how the SSA reduces your income. Both the federal benefit amount and the SSI countable income limit are $794 . The SSA will reduce your benefit by the amount of your countable income. Fortunately, not all of your income is countable income.
If your only income is from your job, the SSA does not include the first $85 you earn toward your countable income. After taking the $85 adjustment off of your income, the SSA will deduct, from your monthly benefits, 50 cents for every dollar you earn. For example, an individual who earns $1,000 a month from working has $457.50 of countable income . The individual’s monthly SSI benefit amount would be reduced by $457.50.
Your monthly benefit amount is also affected by the amount your state adds to the federal SSI payment, if any. For more information, see our article on how much SSI pays.
If your SSI payments stop because you earn too much money , but you are subsequently forced to quit work because of your disability, the SSA will reinstate your benefits without the need for a new application for a period of five years.
Learn more about the SSI work incentive programs.
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Qualifying For Disability Due To Degenerative Disc Disease
The Social Security Administration gets many applications for disability based on degenerative disc disease, and most of them get denied, unless other physical or mental problems are alleged as well. Degenerative disc disease by itself is not recognized as a listed disability by the Social Security Administration . Why? For one reason, the pain caused by disc degeneration is usually intermittent, and often goes away after a few months of conservative treatment.
In addition, for back problems to automatically qualify for disability, the SSA requires that a person have severe issues such as needing assistance walking, needing to significantly adjust their position more than every two hours, or experiencing specific nerve-related problems. For more information on the SSAs requirements for back claims in general, see Nolos article on getting disability benefits for back problems.
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Help If Youre Employed
You may be able to top up a low salary by claiming Universal Credit.
You also might be able to get an Access to Work grant to pay for:
- special equipment, adaptations or support worker services to help you do things like answer the phone or go to meetings
- help getting to and from work
- mental health support
- communication support at a job interview
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Wow I Am Sorry To Hear Your
Wow, I am sorry to hear your situation, mine hasn't got to that point yet as I have my house on the market, can't work, no money, staying with my sister, came here from 400 miles away to take a job only to lose it 6 weeks later, lost 2 of my 4 cats, my life is upside down too, thank GOD I have no children …only my 2 cats…. Pray to GOD and trust him 101% and see what he does for you…I know my day will come too, this too shall pass. I will pray for you and your family…
Is Herniated Disc A Permanent Disability
A severe herniated disc can be considered a disability and make you eligible for Social Security disability benefits if it meets the requirements in the Social Security Administrations Blue Book.
The Blue Book is the official listing of all of the conditions that qualify a person to receive disability benefits.
Each listing in the Blue Book also contains a set of requirements that a person must meet in order to qualify for benefits because of that condition.
A herniated disc by itself is not usually enough to qualify for disability benefits unless it is expected to make a person unable to work for at least 12 months and it meets the criteria that are listed in the Blue Book.
According to the Blue Book in order to qualify disability benefits a herniated disc must meet one of these three conditions:
- results in the compromise of a nerve root or the spinal cord, such as
- causes distributed pain, limits spinal motion, and/or causes motor loss due to the atrophying of unused muscles,
- causes sensory or reflex loss and limits motion in the legs measured with a positive straight-leg raising test
If your herniated disc has caused one of those conditions and you have medical documentation like X-rays or MRIs to prove it then you can qualify for Social Security disability benefits due to a herniated disc.
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Title Ii Disability Benefits
This article discusses how work can affect a personâs eligibility for Title II disability benefits, commonly referred to as âSocial Security Disability.â The next Voice article will discuss preserving Medicare and Medicaid benefits when a Title II disability recipient begins to work.
Title II of the Social Security Act provides three types of insurance benefits for individuals with disabilities. Some people receive Title II disability benefits on their own work history . Others receive Title II disability insurance on the account of a deceased spouse or former spouse s Benefits or DWB). Some adult children receive Title II disability benefits on the account of a disabled, retired or deceased parent . In order for a worker, spouse, or child to qualify for Title II disability benefits, the worker on whose account benefits are paid must have paid Social Security taxes on earnings and must have earned the requisite number of work credits. Title II disability benefits are a type of insurance and are not affected by a personâs assets or unearned income.
To Work Or Not To Work
If youre going to a job a few days a week, the SSA might have a hard time believing your disability is severe enough to award benefits to you. Working while you wait for your benefits to begin is not forbidden. However, its a good idea to consider the type of work you do and where you do it while the Social Security Administration decides your condition and benefits.
The SSA is on the lookout for SGA . While they dont want you to have a disability that keeps you from working, if youre applying for benefits, you need to have a disability that keeps you from maintaining SGA.
If your part-time job looks like its providing you with too much income, you wont qualify for disability benefits.;To avoid breaching the substantial gainful activity threshold:
- Non-blind individuals can earn no more than $1,260 per month
- Blind individuals can earn no more than $2,110 per month
The SSA monitors your earnings to make sure you arent exceeding the maximum each month. In some cases, when you earn too much money in a month, you could receive a lower benefit payment that month.
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Why Do Disabled People Still Lose Out
For starters, federal policy hasnt kept up with inflation or changes in the labor market, experts say. Thats especially so for Social Supplementary Income, the program James is on.
While the program mainly caters to the elderly and children with disabilities, Jamess situation highlights several dated provisions. For example, the $85 income deduction was set when the act was signed into law in 1972. It hasnt budged since. The $2,000 cap on liquid assets to qualify for SSI was set in 1989.
Another issue is the maximum monthly payout of $783. While this number does change annually, Romig notes its well below the poverty line.
For SSI and SSDI recipients who do work, their earned income can fluctuate month-to-month because its often hard to stick to a fixed work schedule due to the nature of their conditions. This makes it difficult for even the most earnest recipients to accurately report their income.
You always want people to work to their fullest potential, of course. This is America, Romig says. Thats one of our foundational ideals.
But the difficulty of navigating the programs coupled with the threat of losing benefits as a worker often clashes with that value.
Us Okays Special Unemployment Pay For Disability Recipients
By: Erik Gunn July 28, 2020 6:30 am
Unemployment Office
After weeks of waiting and being told no, laid-off Wisconsin workers who also collect federal disability payments got some better news on Monday: They, too, can get jobless pay.
A U.S. Department of Labor official, in a letter sent Monday;to the state Department of Workforce Development , said that Wisconsin residents enrolled in the Social Security Disability Insurance program and who lost work because of the COVID-19 pandemic can qualify for special unemployment payments for workers not eligible for regular unemployment compensation.
In a press release emailed at 9:31 p.m. Monday, DWD stated that having received awaited official guidance the department today encouraged Social Security Disability Insurance recipients whose ability to work was impacted by COVID-19 to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits.
DWD said eligible applicants could receive PUA retroactive to the first week they were out of work due to COVID-19, as far back as the week ending Feb. 8.
The DWD statement said that Gov. Tony Evers, DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman, and Democratic members of Wisconsins Congressional delegation had sent letters to the Labor Department arguing that SSDI recipients out of work due to COVID-19 should not be excluded from receiving PUA benefits, especially during a period of public health emergency.
Shut out from unemployment
Dont sell the story.
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Is Your Condition Severe
Your condition must significantly limit your ability to do basic work-related activities, such as lifting, standing, walking, sitting, or remembering for at least 12 months. If it does not, we will find that you are not disabled.
If your condition does interfere with basic work-related activities, we go to Step 3.
If You Go Back To Work
If you’re like most people, you would rather work than try to live on disability benefits.
There are special rules that help you keep your cash benefits and Medicare while you test your ability to work. We call these rules “work incentives.” For more information about Social Security work incentives, read Working While Disabled: How We Can Help.
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An Overview Of Work Credit Requirements For Ssdi
The Social Security Administration says that you generally need at least 40 work credits over your lifetime to qualify for Social Security benefits at retirement. However, the number of credits required to qualify for SSDI varies by age. You do not want to assume that you lack the right amount of work credits based on the facts of another persons situation. We can use the following scenario to explain the work credit system.
Suppose you worked with a 50-year-old man who became too ill to work because of Parkinsons disease, and he had only worked at a job that paid into Social Security for 5 years. You can earn up to 4 work credits a year. In this situation, your coworker would only have 20 work credits, and likely would not qualify for benefits.
If you worked at the same place of employment for 5 years and became disabled, you might assume that you do not have enough work credit but that assumption could be incorrect. For example, if youre 35 years old, you would only need 20 work credits to qualify for SSDI benefits. Again, your age and how long and how recently you worked a job that paid into Social Security will determine how many work credits you need to apply for SSDI.
When Will Ssdi Coverage Lapse
You must meet the recent work test and the duration of work test in order to qualify for SSDI. Heres the recent work test: Typically, if you are 31 or older, you must have worked at least 5 of the last 10 years to keep up your SSDI coverage. Put another way, you will need to have earned 20 credits in the 10 years immediately before you became disabled. There is an exception to this rule for certain blind applicants.
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So How Can I Get Rid Of Disc Pain And Disc Problems
Glad you asked. The answer to this question will depend on how much pain your herniated disc is causing you and how far the disc has herniated into the area surrounding the spine.
No one wants to be in pain, but no one wants surgery either. The good news here is that most people dont need surgery for a herniated disc, they just need to know the 9 little secrets for getting rid of disc pain.