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.
Fresno Disability Benefits Attorneys
Because nearly two-thirds of initial disability benefits applications are denied, it helps to have an experienced attorney to rely on. At Peña & Bromberg, PLC, we have the knowledge and skill that are necessary for submitting applications that will result in successful outcomes.
We understand that being disabled can be overwhelming, which makes navigating the SSA bureaucracy even more challenging. Our legal team will guide you through every phase of the application process, help you collect all the necessary information, and work closely with your medical team to ensure that all records are complete and accurate.
In the event that your application for disability benefits is denied, we will continue to work with you throughout the appeals process. At this stage, working with our experienced attorneys will improve the likelihood of your claim being approved. If a lawsuit in federal court becomes necessary, we will give you an honest assessment of your chances for success.
At Peña & Bromberg, PLC, our team is dedicated to helping the disabled obtain the benefits they have earned. Call our office today for a free consultation or complete the contact form on our website.
What Are The Eligibility Requirements To Get Social Security Disability Benefits
To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must have worked long enough in jobs covered by Social Security . Then, you must have a medical condition that meets Social Security’s definition of disability.
In general, we pay monthly benefits to people who are unable to work for a year or more, or who have a condition expected to end in death. The disability must be so severe the worker cannot work, considering age, education and experience.
If you think you may be eligible to receive disability benefits and would like to apply , you can use our online application.
Applying online for disability benefits offers several advantages:
- You can start your disability claim immediately. There is no need to wait for an appointment
- You can apply from the convenience of your home, or on any computer and
- You can avoid trips to a Social Security office, saving you time and money.
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What Is Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Security Income is a federal program that provides monthly cash payments to people who are in need and meet income eligibility. SSI is for people who are 65 or older as well as for blind or disabled people of any age, including children with physical disabilities or mental disabilities.
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What Information Will I Need To Apply For Social Security Disability
Once you have determined that you should be eligible for benefits, you next begin the process of gathering the information that you will need for your social security disability application, including your personal information, work history, and medical history.
Personal Information: You will need to provide personal identifying information for yourself and your family, including:
- Your birthdate,
- The name, birthdate, and social security number for your spouse,
- The name, birthdate, and social security numbers for any former spouses,
- The names and birthdates of any minor children, and
- Your bank account information so the SSA can directly deposit your funds the routing and account number from one of your checks will do.
- A contact person who is familiar with your medical conditions and who can provide information to the SSA if needed,
Work History: You will also need to provide detailed information about your employment history, including:
- Your income for the current year and the prior year,
- The name and address of your employer for the current year and prior year,
- A list of your employers for the past 15 years and the dates of employment,
- Dates of your military service if it was prior to 1968, and
- Information about any workers compensation or disability benefits you have previously received from the government, employers, or the military.
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How To Get A Social Security Card
Medically Qualifying For Social Security Disability Benefits
All of the conditions that qualify for disability benefits are listed in the Social Security Administrations Blue Book however, there is no specific SSA-Blue Book listing for Lyme disease. To medically qualify for disability benefits under a Lyme disease diagnosis, you will need to meet the symptom qualifications for another condition that is listed. Since many of the symptoms found in Lyme patients are seen in other listed conditions, you can still qualify for disability benefits due to Lyme disease.
Below is a list of conditions that fall into the existing Blue Book categories:
- Section 1.00 This applies if you have significant mobility limitations.
- Section 4.00 This applies if you have suffered heart damage or developed heart disease from Lyme disease.
- Section 12.00 This applies if you have anxiety or cognitive issues from Lyme disease.
- Section 14.09 This applies if you have arthritis in the knees or other weight-bearing joints that limits your mobility to a level that is considered disabled.
Medical records, tests results, treatment plans, and other medical documentation are necessary to support your claim for disability benefits. Your doctor needs to carefully prepare records and letters that will support your disability claim.
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Qualifying For Temporary Disability Benefits In Hawaii
Hawaiians working at least 20 hours for 14 out of the last 52 weeks may qualify for temporary disability benefits. In addition, applicants must be currently employed when filing a Hawaii Temporary Disability Insurance claim in order to qualify. Eligible claimants may receive up to $650 in weekly cash payments for no more than 26 weeks per benefit year. For more information, read Frequently Asked Questions About Hawaiis TDI Program.
Benefits For A Disabled Child
A child under age 18 may be disabled, but we don’t need to consider the child’s disability when deciding if he or she qualifies for benefits as a dependent. The child’s benefits normally stop at age 18 unless he or she is a full-time student in an elementary or high school or is disabled.
Children who were receiving benefits as a minor child on a parents Social Security record may be eligible to continue receiving benefits on that parents record upon reaching age 18 if they are disabled.
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Signing The Online Application
You will have a chance to review your answers and make changes, if needed. Once youve filled everything out, we will ask you to confirm that your answers are true to the best of your knowledge.
The last step is to sign the online application by agreeing to the signature terms and then clicking Submit Now. You can check the status of your submitted application using a confirmation number we provide.
If someone else submits the online application on your behalf, one of our representatives will contact you by phone to:
- Verify your intent to file.
- Confirm the information provided.
- Obtain any additional information needed.
- Offer you the opportunity to provide your verbal consent to sign the application.
We will also mail you a paper copy of the Application Summary for your records.
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Applying For Social Security Disability And Ssi Benefits
You can apply online for Social Security Disability benefits, you can file in person at your local Social Security office, or by calling 772-1213.
To find your local Social Security office, click here and enter your home zip code. Locate a Social Security Office.
Before you begin your application, you should collect certain information regarding your medical treatment, work history and other facts. To view a checklist of the information that you will need, Disability Checklist.
When you are ready to apply for Social Security Disability Benefits, Apply for Disability. You will not have to complete the entire application in one sitting. You will have the option of saving your application and returning to it later.
You can also complete most of your application for SSI Disability benefits online, but to finish the application process you will have to visit a Social Security office. You canApply for SSI to begin the SSI application process for yourself or for a child.
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Apply For Benefits Online
You should apply for disability benefits as soon as you become disabled. Follow these easy steps to apply online for disability:
- To start your application, go to our Apply for Benefits page, and read and agree to the Terms of Service. Click Next.
- On that page, review the Getting Ready section to make sure you have the information you need to apply.
- Select Start A New Application.
- We will ask a few questions about who is filling out the application.
- You will then sign into your mySocial Security account, or you will be prompted to create one.
- Complete the application.
You can use the online application to apply for disability benefits if you:
- Are age 18 or older.
- Are not currently receiving benefits on your own Social Security record.
- Are unable to work because of a medical condition that is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death and
- Have not been denied for disability in the last 60 days.
Note: If your application was recently denied, our application is a starting point to request a review of the determination we made.
You may be able to file online for SSI at the same time that you file for SSDI benefits. Once you complete the online process above, a Social Security representative will contact you if we need additional information.
You Must Already Have 40 Social Security Work Credits And Paid Fica Taxes For 5
Insufficient work history is another one of those disability secrets that confuses many people who receive a technical denial letter. Look at it this way: If youre disabled and cannot work, youre technically asking the SSA for early retirement withdrawals. If youve only worked four years full-time in the last decade, thats technically not enough credits to make you eligible. Or maybe you worked full-time for 22 years, but your employer didnt withhold Social Security taxes from all your paychecks.
Heres another example: Youre a federal employee whose government pension automatically disqualifies you from receiving Social Security disability insurance checks. Your monthly SSDI check also depends on how long you worked as well as your paychecks . In any given year, you can earn a maximum of four Social Security work credits with full-time employment. Plus, the amount you need to earn one work credit increases each year to keep pace with increasing average wages. In 2019, youll get one Social Security work credit for every $1,360 you earn, according to the SSA.
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Social Security Field Offices
There are 33 Social Security field offices in Georgia, which are served by either the Atlanta, Atlanta North, Chattanooga, Covington, Macon, Savannah, or Tallahassee OHO locations. Call the SSA at 800-325-0778 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, to get contact information for your closest field office or use Social Securitys field office locator.
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Get Ssa Benefits While Living Overseas
U.S. citizens can travel to or live in most, but not all, foreign countries and still receive their Social Security benefits. You can find out if you can receive benefits overseas by using the Social Security Administrations payment verification tool. Once you access the tool, pick the country youre visiting or living in from the drop-down menu options.
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Filing For Social Security Disability Benefits In Michigan
There are multiple ways to file for Social Security disability in Michigan. You can file in person at a local Social Security Administration field office. Or you can telephone the SSA at 772-1213 or apply online at www.ssa.gov .
To apply for disability benefits in Michigan, youll need to have a significant amount of information on hand, including details about the condition that cause you to be unable to work, medical or psychiatric treatment youve obtained , and your past employment and earnings.
After you file your application, it will be sent to Disability Determination Services , a state-level agency under the Michigan Department of Health Services. A claims examiner at DDS will decide whether you are disabled.
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What Do I Need To Know About Advance Designation
You should be aware of another type of representation called Advance Designation. This relates to the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018, which was signed into law on April 13, 2018.
Advance Designation allows capable adult and emancipated minor applicants and beneficiaries of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and Special Veterans Benefits to choose one or more individuals to serve as their representative payee in the future, if the need arises.
To help protect whats important to you, we now offer the option to choose a representative payee in advance. In the event that you can no longer make your own decisions, you and your family will have peace of mind knowing you already chose someone you trust to manage your benefits. If you need a representative payee to assist with the management of your benefits, we will first consider your advance designees, but we must still fully evaluate them and determine their suitability at that time.
You can submit your advance designation request when you apply for benefits or after you are already receiving benefits. You may do so through your personal account, by telephone, or in person.
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Applying For Disability: Ssi And Ssdi
Did you know that you can submit an initial application for disability benefits on the internet, over the phone, or in person at a local Social Security Administration office?
Assuming you filed everything correctly and the SSA can easily gather your medical records, you should receive a decision within five months. If you make a mistake on the application, or your application gets lost in the masses, you may need to wait a year or more to hear back from the SSA regarding the decision of your application.
If the SSA approves your claim, your benefits should begin within a few months. If you waited for more than five months to get approved, you will be awarded back pay on top of your monthly benefits.
Back pay is a lump sum of the total amount of monthly benefits you should have received had your application been processed in a timely fashion. Additionally, if you waited to apply for disability benefits but were too ill to work, you could be entitled to additional past-due benefits known as retroactive payments. Depending on how long you wait to be approved, you could be entitled to a five-figure back pay settlement.
But what do you do if your claim is denied? Fortunately, you dont have to give up. The SSA has a thorough appeals process available for the qualified applicants whove slipped through the cracks.
Who Pays The Benefit
Sometimes your employer has an arrangement with the insurance company known as an Administrative Services Only agreement, where the insurance company adjudicates the claim, but your employer is responsible for paying the benefit. The insurance company advises your employer if benefits are approved, should continue to be paid and when they are denied. However, the insurance company is not allowed to release confidential medical information to your employer.
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Get Disability Benefits Help
Millions of people turn to the Social Security Administration every year to receive financial assistance through Social Security disability benefits. Filling your disability claim can be an overwhelming process, and a daunting one. More than 60% of Americans have their disability claim denied initially. Fortunately, there may be assistance for you or your loved through a Social Security disability attorney or advocate.
To have your disability claim reviewed for free, please fill out our free disability evaluation. A Social Security attorney or advocate will reach out to you to review your options and go over the disability benefits you may be entitled to. Working with an attorney may be able to save you the time of appealing your process, getting you the benefits you’ve earned faster.
Social Security Program
There are two forms of disability benefits available for you: Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income . Medically qualifying for each is the same, but technically, SSDI and SSI have their own criteria. SSDI is for people who have worked and paid Social Security taxes, while SSI is for people with a dire financial need. Speak with an attorney to determine if you should apply for SSDI, SSI, or even both. You can learn more on: