You Can Still File A Claim And Apply For Benefits During The Coronavirus Pandemic
Get the latest information about in-person services, claim exams, extensions, paperwork, decision reviews and appeals, and how best to contact us during this time.
- Find out if youre eligible for VA disability compensation
- Gather any evidence youll submit yourself when you file your VA disability claim.
- Be sure your claim is filled out completely and you have all the supporting documents ready to send in along with your claim. This will help us process your claim quickly.
The Right Medical Records And Statement From Your Doctor Will Go A Long Way In Getting Approved For Disability Benefits
When applying for disability benefits through the Social Security Administration , you will need to present evidence showing that you have been unable to work for at least a 12-month period. You can help satisfy this burden by having your primary care doctor complete what Social Security calls a “medical source statement.”
Here’s what the doctor should include in a good medical source statement.
Types Of Disability Policies
There are two types of disability policies.
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Short-term policies may pay for up to two years. Most last for a few months to a year.
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Long-term policies may pay benefits for a few years or until the disability ends.
Employers who offer coverage may provide short-term coverage, long-term coverage, or both.
If you plan to buy your own policy, shop around and ask:
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How is disability defined?
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How long do benefits last?
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How much money will the policy pay?
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Work Below Substantial Gainful Activity
The Social Security Administration defines being disabled as the inability to engage in any Substantial Gainful Activity by reason of any medically determinable mental or physical impairment which . . . has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. and SSR 73-7).
Earnings are considered substantial gainful activity or SGA when they exceed $1,220 gross, pre-tax, per month as of 2018. If an individual is working but earning less than $1,220 per month, then Social Security may determine that they are not engaging in SGA. However, the SSA does consider other factors in addition to the amount of your earnings when determining whether you are capable of SGA.
How Working Affects Your Claim
If you earn money while receiving EI benefits, you can keep 50 cents of your benefits for every dollar you earn, up to 90% of your previous weekly earnings . Above this cap, your EI benefits are deducted dollar-for-dollar.
Youre not eligible to receive EI benefits if you work a full week, regardless of the amount you earn. However, this wont reduce the total number of weeks payable on your claim.
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Working And Earning Money
You can earn up to a certain amount per year without losing your disability benefits. For 2021, this amount is $6,100 . You must contact Canada Pension Plan as soon as you make more than $6,100 .
If you delay in contacting us when you start making over the allowed amount, you might have to pay some money back.
We may be able to help you return to work through the CPP Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program.
Re-starting disability benefits for the same disability
If you return to work but are unable to continue working because of the same or a related disability, you can ask to have the benefit automatically restarted without going through the usual reapplication process.
Examples
Working part-time while on CPP disability
Joseph returned to work on a part time basis in March 2021. He earned $6,170 by June 2021. Joseph must call Service Canada to let them know he has earned $6,100.
Additionally, he needs to tell them:
- the date he returned to work
- the hours he worked per week/month
- his hourly wages
- if the job is full time, part time, seasonal or self employed
Service Canada staff will contact Joseph to see how he is doing.
Working while receiving CPP disability and making less than $6,100 a year
Working while on CPP disability and making more than $6,100 a year
How Much Work Do You Need
In addition to meeting our definition of disability, you must have worked long enough and recently enough under Social Security to qualify for disability benefits.
Social Security work credits are based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income. You can earn up to four credits each year.
The amount needed for a work credit changes from year to year. In 2021, for example, you earn one credit for each $1,470 in wages or self-employment income. When you’ve earned $5,880, you’ve earned your four credits for the year.
The number of work credits you need to qualify for disability benefits depends on your age when you become disabled. Generally, you need 40 credits, 20 of which were earned in the last 10 years ending with the year you become disabled. However, younger workers may qualify with fewer credits.
For more information on whether you qualify, refer to How You Earn Credits.
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Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits
The Canada Pension Plan provides monthly payments to people who contribute to the plan during their working years.
You may be eligible for CPP disability benefits if:
- you contributed to the CPP for a certain number of years
- you’re under 65 years old
- you have a severe and prolonged mental or physical disability
- your disability prevents you from working on a regular basis
The benefits include payments to children of a person with a disability.
Apply as early as possible if you think you’re eligible for CPP disability benefits. Quebec residents may be eligible for a similar program called the Quebec Pension Plan . It may take several months to process your application.
If you applied for CPP or QPP disability benefits and were told that you’re not eligible, you can ask to have your application reviewed or considered again.
Once you reach age 65, your CPP disability benefit will automatically change to regular CPP payments. Your regular CPP payments may be less than the CPP disability payments you got before.
If so, consider:
Can I Work While Waiting For A Decision On Ssdi Benefits Look At Your Sga
If you are like many people seeking disability benefits from the Social Security Administration , you may be facing a common dilemma: You are hurting and unable to work, but your normal bills and household expenses do not simply go away because of your condition. Plus, it is likely that you are incurring additional medical costs for treating your illness or injury. When you are confronted with these financial difficulties, the logical assumption is to go back to work to make money any way you can.
What you may not know is that doing so can have an impact on your Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, including a situation where you already applied but have not been approved. It is critical to discuss your circumstances with an experienced disability attorney who can tell you more about the extremely complicated laws governing a claim.
Working Before a Decision on Disability Benefits
Generally, it is necessary that you be unable to work when you apply for SSDI and while waiting for a decision. The SSA presumes that you are not disabled if you are able to work, even if you work through the pain. However, the analysis of whether you qualify for disability benefits goes even deeper into SSA regulations, specifically those on your capacity to work and whether you have succeeded when attempting to return to your job.
Your Substantial Gainful Activity Level
However, there is more to your SGA when looking at the words that comprise the phrase:
Unsuccessful Work Attempts
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Can You Get Fers Retirement For Job
If workplace stress caused a physical or mental condition that keeps you from being able to perform your job duties to render “useful and efficient service,” you can get federal disability retirement benefits. The cause of a medical condition is not relevant to determine whether or not a postal employee or federal employee is eligible for federal disability retirement. To convince the Office of Personnel Management that you have a disability, you may need to provide objective medical clinical reports and diagnoses that connect the stressful or hostile work environment to a physical or psychological diagnosis. However, the OPM may look for evidence to show that your disability is “situational”that is, your medical condition would go away if you went to work in a different workplace.
What Are The Benefits Of Working While Disabled
Work incentives include: Cash benefits continue, for a time, while you work Medicare or Medicaid benefits continue while you work Help with education, training, and rehabilitation to start a new line of work Social Security and SSI have different rules. We describe the rules under each program in this booklet.
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More Information On How To Request A Review Of The Decision
There are 3 ways you can make your request for reconsideration:
- your name
- your Social Insurance Number or Client Identification Number
- a detailed explanation of why you do not agree with the decision
- any new information that could affect the decision
- your signature and the date
If you complete your request on paper
Sign and date your written request and submit it:
Reconsiderations can take several months to complete, depending on the case. Service Canada will review your application and any new information you submit in support of your request and send you a decision by mail.
Explanations For Collecting Unemployment Benefits
If you have collected unemployment benefits and you attend an appeal hearing, be prepared to explain why you’re collecting unemployment benefits, or why you collected them recently. The judge may ask what jobs you applied for while you were collecting unemployment . If the jobs were ones that your stated limitations say you aren’t capable of doing , you may have a problem. You may want to offer to amend your alleged onset date to a date after you stopped collecting unemployment benefits.
Likewise, if you applied for a full-time desk job but are telling the judge you can’t sustain any full-time work, you may also have a problem. You could argue that you probably could not have been able to sustain full-time work for more than a few weeks without great pain or other symptoms or without getting fired. As federal judges have stated in the past, “A desire to work does not mean that a claimant can actually work,” and “Receipt of unemployment insurance benefits does not prove ability to work.”
If you have a valid argument that there is no legal conflict between your collecting unemployment benefits and disability benefits, tell the judge. Here are some examples:
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Working Part Time After You’re Approved For Benefits
After you start receiving benefits, the rules change a bit as to whether you can work part time. For Social Security disability insurance , technically the SGA limit still applies, but you have what’s called a “trial work period.” This is a period of nine months during which you can more than the SGA limit. For more information, see our article on the trial work period.
If you’re receiving SSI, the $1,310 SGA limit applies only during your first month of benefits. After that, the SSI income limit applies instead. Because of the way earned income is counted , there is no set SSI income limit for those who work part-time. But the more you earn, the lower your SSI payment will be. And when you start making upwards of $1,600, your SSI payment will be reduced to zero. To understand how this works, see our article on the SSI income limit.
How Often Will You Receive Payments
This is another area that can vary. Fortunately, your payment questions should be answered clearly within your plan documents.
Be aware that if your employer works with an insurer to offer short-term disability benefits, then payments will usually be administered through the insurance company. That means they might arrive on a schedule different from the payroll timing youre used to .
Meaghan Tiernan, a senior copywriter for a marketing agency in San Francisco, used her short-term disability for maternity leave. She was given a debit card that her short-term disability payments were added to.
I think it was one lump sum every two weeks on an regular basis, she explains. They even include weekends, so it was typically every 14 days that I was paid. Then youd have to transfer the funds from that debit card to your bank account if that was your preference.
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Can I Apply For Social Security Disability While I Am Still Getting Sick Leave Or Long Term Disability From My Employer
You can apply for Social Security disability while you are receiving sick pay or short-term disability benefits from your employer and while you are using vacation pay or annual leave to cover sick days. You can also apply if you are receiving or expect to receive long-term disability from your employers plan. If you think that your disability will last longer than twelve months or that it is expected to result in your death, you should apply for Social Security Disability as soon as possible without waiting for your other benefits to expire.
File as soon as you think you qualify for Social Security Disability, regardless of other benefits you receive. By applying for disability early, it will be easier for you to remember details of when you were first injured or became ill, as well as all the doctors you have seen, and other important information needed for your Social Security claim.
Can I File A Ssdi Claim While Receiving Unemployment Benefits
Employees who have been fired or laid off may consider filing for unemployment benefits. However, sometimes a job termination may be related to the employees disability. Perhaps the employee worked for an employer that allowed certain accommodations for the disability that other employers might not allow. For example, an employer might allow a disabled employee to take longer breaks, perform light duties only, or be excused from overly strenuous tasks. As Missouri disability attorneys, we have seen those employees have greater difficulty finding a new job. While they look, they may file a SSDI claim, but could they also be eligible for unemployment benefits?
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Cathy Try And Hang In There
Cathy try and hang in there, i am in current situation, have disc problems, surgery made it worse, it& #039 s been 4 years without money, worked in soda business 24 years straight, I& #039 m about to lose my house in September due to back taxes, very suicidal as of late, I never dreamed that this can happen to people in America who paid into Social security for over 20 years, someone has to step in and stop these atrocities, an alj who has no background in medicine, in my case she admitted she never even read my reports, not to mention I waited 2 full years for my hearing, to have people losing evythng they own is just ashame. If I end up homeless I just can& #039 t see me continuing on, what do I tell my grandchildren, all I want Is what I paid into it for 24 years, good luck Cathy I hope you live a long happy life
How To File A Disability Insurance Claim In Sdi
Log in to your BPO account. Select SDI Online. Select New Claim. Select Disability Insurance and follow the steps in each section. Submit the completed Part A Claimants Statement. Save your receipt number. You must provide this number to your physician/practitioner. Wait nine days after you become disabled to file your claim.
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How Do You File For Short
If you believe that youll need to take advantage of your short-term disability benefit, your first step is to make sure that your illness or injury is well-documented, as youll have to provide some medical evidence or backing.
Consult with your doctor and find out what youre up against first. Make sure you speak honestly about your symptoms and the things that you are experiencing. That medical record will be reviewed by an insurance company, so start out with a strong pronouncement of, Hey, Im having this problem, advises McDonald.
Then, approach your HR department to begin the process of filing a claim . Dont have an HR department? Connect with your manager or consult your plan documents to understand exactly what you need to do to submit your claim.
Be aware that short-term disability plans have a requirement for how many days you need to be out of work before you can claim disabilityits called an elimination period. The reason is that they dont want to invoke short-term disability for something that could be covered by sick days, says Bartolic.
Does Maternity Leave Count As Short
Youve probably heard of circumstances where people use their short-term disability for pregnancy and maternity leave. Doing so is fairly common, but whether or not youre able to do so yourself is also dependent on your plan.
We actually see a lot of short-term disability policies that specifically address maternity leave, explains Bartolic. These plans also will explain how much time off is offered for maternity leave, which can vary based on things like whether the mother had a vaginal birth or a c-section.
Some employers exclude maternity leave from their short-term disability plan and have an entirely separate program to address paid leave for childbirth.
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