What Criteria You Need To Meet To Qualify
To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, there are both medical and non medical requirements. There are three main criteria you must meet in order to qualify for SSD benefits:
- You must have a medically determinable disability that substantially limits your inability to maintain gainful employment.
- Your medical condition must either be terminal or be reasonably expected to last at least 12 months.
- You must have sufficient work credits available with the SSA.
For the purposes of the SSD determination, gainful employment is defined as the ability to earn at least $1,310 per month, or $2,190 per month if youre blind.
If the SSA determines youre eligible for benefits based on the medical records contained in your initial application or from the details of your continuing disability review documentation, then you have meet the criteria for the medical part for receiving SSD. The non-medical part of the review process includes the evaluation of your financial records and work history.
Are You Eligible To Apply For Benefits
Anyone is able to apply. Your local Social Security office staff will review the non-medical portion of your application to determine the benefits for which you are eligible. They will look at your work history, your age, your income and your resources.
In Oklahoma, your application is then sent to the Disability Determination Services . The DDS, a division of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, is responsible for making timely, and accurate disability determinations in accordance with Social Security Rules and Regulations.
DDS personnel, consisting of a physician or psychologist and a disability examiner, will consider all the facts in your case using medical information from your doctors, hospitals, clinics, and other places where you have been treated to determine if you are found to be medically disabled.
Once a determination on your claim is reached, you will get a written notice from the Social Security Administration explaining the determination. If your claim is approved, the notice will show the amount of your benefit and when payments will start.
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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How Do I Know If Im Eligible Based On My Work History
In order to meet the non-medical SSDI requirements, you must have worked enough and recently enough. Heres how it breaks down.
- The SSA determines the amount you work in credits, which dont ever expire. In 2018, for example, you would have earned one credit for every $1,320 you earned. The maximum number of credits you can earn this year is four.
- To qualify for SSDI, most people need 20 credits that were earned in the last 10 years. Still, younger workers may meet the requirement with much fewer credits. For instance, if you become disabled before 24 years of age, you may qualify for SSDI benefits with just six credits.
- Because the earnings needed for a work credit change each year, make sure to consult theSSA website for the latest information. You can also see how many credits you need to meet the non-medical SSDI requirements. This is based on your age and work history.
The Social Security disability process can be hard to navigate. Dont go at it alone turn to Disability Support Services. Our compassionate, experienced case managers will work with you to get you the benefits you deserve.Contact us at 410-244-0006 today to see if you meet both medical and non-medical SSDI requirements.
Musculoskeletal System And Connective Tissue
The SSA reports that the largest category of diagnoses among disabled workers receiving disability benefits was diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. These disabilities, which represented 32.3 percent of the diagnoses, involve damage to ones nerves, muscles, tendons or ligaments. Examples of this type of disorder include:
- ArthritisAn individual with rheumatoid arthritis, a disorder of the immune system, must experience significant limits on his or her ability to work to qualify for benefits under this medical diagnosis. Rheumatoid arthritis is sometimes referred to as a connective tissue disorder.
- Back pain;Abnormal curvature of the spine may affect an individuals ability to walk as well as the function of other body systems. The intensity of back pain and the limitations on an individuals ability to function are considered in a disability diagnosis related to back pain.
- FibromyalgiaFibromyalgia is a complex syndrome in which a person has widespread pain in the joints, tendons, muscles and soft tissues that lasts for more than three months. Claims reviewers will try to assess whether there is adequate evidence to show that the condition limits a persons ability to perform any type of gainful work.
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy; RSD describes a range of symptoms that may occur from injury, diseases or surgery. RSD is characterized by intense burning or aching pain typically caused by trauma to a single extremity.
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What Is The Non
Additionally, the non-medical part of the SSD review process includes the review of your employment history and your work credit status with the SSA. To qualify for benefits under your own work credits, then you would have had to contribute to the Social Security fund through payroll deductions from your own paychecks during the decade just prior to becoming disabled.
This part of the review will entail the SSA verifying you have the work credits necessary and will also require a calculation of your available funds. The SSA will determine how much your SSD benefits will be based on your contributions to the SSA fund throughout your employment, and by looking at the circumstances of your current situation, including your income or earnings.
To Schedule A Free Case Evaluation Call The Disability Advantage Group Today
The Disability Advantage Group, is a Social Security law firm, and our team members want to help you get the benefits you deserve by ensuring you make the non-medical disability requirements for SSD and SSI. We offer a free case evaluation where we can answer your questions. To schedule an appointment, call today.
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Social Security Disability Insurance
Social Security Disability Insurance provides benefits to the disabled and, in some cases, their families. Individuals and their family members qualify for SSDI through the earning of Social Security work credits, and will only receive benefits if the disabled person was able to work long enough, and recently enough, to earn these credits.
What Is The Difference Between Ssi And Social Security Disability
What is the difference between SSI and SSDI ? The major difference is that SSI determination is based on age/ disability and limited income and resources, whereas SSDI determination is based on disability and work credits. In addition, in most states, an SSI recipient will automatically qualify for Medicaid.
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Nonmedical Requirements For Ssi
SSI is a need-based program that provides monthly payments to blind or disabled adults and children. You do not need a work record to qualify for SSI, but you must meet nonmedical requirements as well as meet limits on the financial resources available to you.
The income limit for 2021 is the $794 federal benefit rate for one person and $1,191 for a couple. Determining whether your income exceeds the limits for SSI can be tricky, so it helps to get advice from an SSI advocate.
Social Security allows you to exclude the first $20 of monthly earned or unearned income. It also lets you exclude the first $65 of earned income and one-half of any earned income that remains.
Resource limits for SSI are only $2,000 for one person and $3,000 for a couple. The value of the money you have in the bank or on hand, real estate, and other assets all count toward the resource limits. However, there are resource exclusions, such as the value of a home that you occupy as your principal residence.
What Are The Non
To qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance, SSDI you would need to meet the eligibility for both medical and non-medical qualifications for SSDI. The most common reason for denial is not being able to meet the medical qualifications but an inability to meet the non-medical criteria. This happens simply because not many people are aware of it.
While you might be chronically ill and meet all the medical requirements, you may still be denied SSDI claims because you do not have enough work credits or havent paid the FICA taxes.
How does your work history affect SSDI qualification?
Ever wondered where does your hard earned money go when you receive deducted net salaries? You must have noticed that often the amount you receive in your monthly paycheck may always be lesser than the amount initially stated on your work contract from the employer. This is because many companies pay the social security taxes on their employees. In short, all individuals who work have FICA taxes deducted from their paychecks automatically.
Since the SSDI is an insurance program it is funded by the Federal Insurance Contribution Act, FICA taxes collected from people who work and redistributed to those in need. If you pay FICA taxes, you basically pay into the Social Security Disability Insurance program. To be able to claim your social security you need to have worked and paid enough taxes into the system to retain coverage along with meeting the medical requirements.
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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.
Type Of Medical Information Needed
What we need from you is a clear and comprehensive medical assessment of your patient’s disabling condition, together with information about any limitations on the persons capacity to function. It is not necessary for you to include any particular statements or phrases to ensure that your patient qualifies for benefits.
The following information related to an applicants medical history is required for the medical report:
- the medical conditions, impairments, functional limitations, prognosis and treatment
- the impact of current and future restrictions on the applicants ability to work
- planned investigations and specialist consultations
- supporting documents , specialists report or hospital discharge reports)
We ask that you address the psycho-social impacts of the disability on your patient’s capacity to work. Please provide supporting documents for your comments as this will greatly assist us in making a decision.
We do not need your patients entire medical file. Provide only the medical information relevant to your patients capacity to work, including supporting documents such as:
- consultants reports
- hospital notes
Can I send clinical notes
If your clinical notes address all the questions in the medical report, you may send those notes instead of completing the entire medical report. However, you must also complete these 2 sections of the medical report:
Late CPP disability applications
Additional requirements of medical professional
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Contact An Experienced North Carolina Ssd Benefits Lawyer
The SSA maintains a list of impairments that are considered so severe that they automatically qualify one for disability benefits as long as all other requirements are met. These conditions are found in the SSAs Blue Book, which describes the medical evidence that is needed to prove the impairment.
You can also be declared disabled if you have a condition that is considered to be equal in severity to a listed impairment.
Even if you dont have a listed impairment or one considered equal in severity to a listed one, you may still be deemed to be disabled if you can show that your medical condition keeps you from working or doing any other type of work.
Allow Hardison & Cochran to put its skill and experience to work for you in seeking disability benefits. In particular, we can help you to gather the medical evidence you need to show you are disabled.
Contact us today;and receive a free and immediate review of your case.
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Am I Eligible For Va Disability Compensation
You may be eligible for;VA disability benefits or compensation if you meet both of the requirements listed here.
Both of these must be true:
- You have a current illness or injury that affects your mind or body, and
- You served on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training
And at least one of these must be true:
- You got sick or injured while serving in the militaryand can link this condition to your illness or injury , or
- You had an illness or injury before you joined the militaryand serving made it worse , or
- You have a disability related to your active-duty service that didnt appear until after you ended your service
Presumed disabilities
- Veterans
- Qualified dependents
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Medical Criteria Needed To Qualify
You will also need to meet the medical requirements to qualify for disability benefits. Both SSI and SSDI have the same medical criteria. You must show you medically disabled to qualify for disability benefits. To be “medically disabled” means that you are unable to do any substantial gainful activity due to your condition. To prove this, you will need to meet a Blue Book listing. The Blue Book is a compilation of all medical conditions that may qualify for benefits.
The Blue Book is divided into different sections, each with different listings that qualify for disability benefits. You will need to show that your conditions meets the SSA definition of disabling for your condition. It explains how each condition may qualify for benefits. You can find what you will need to show that you meet the listing. This includes test results, medical documentation. You can do this with:
- Test results required by your Blue Book listing
- Scans, x-rays, CAT scans, MRI’s
- Treatment plans
Financial And Legal Standards
According to the Social Security Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, approximately 10 million Americans are currently receiving disability benefits. To be eligible for these benefits, an applicant must meet the basic medical & disability requirements. However, medical requirements are just one step in the claims process.
To get disability benefits through SSI or SSDI, there are also financial and legal standards that must be satisfied. In this article, our experienced Tacoma Social Security disability lawyers provide an overview of the non-medical requirements for Social Security disability claims.
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Supplemental Security Income Claims
In contrast to SSDI, the Supplemental Security Income program does not require applicants to pay into the system before drawing benefits. Instead, the non-medical requirements are based strictly on need. There is a so-called means test.
The SSI claims reviewer will review the applicants income and financial assets. If they have too much income or their assets are too substantial, then their disability will be denied on the grounds they do not meet the non-medical requirements.
Speak To Our Tacoma Wa Social Security Disability Lawyers Right Away
At the Alliance Law Group, our skilled Washington Social Security disability attorneys are committed to providing strong, effective legal representation to our clients. To arrange a free, fully confidential review of your disability claim, please do not hesitate to contact our law firm today at . From our office in University Place, we serve claimants in Tacoma and throughout the surrounding communities, including:
- Pierce County
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Is Your Condition Found In The List Of Disabling Conditions
For each of the major body systems, we maintain a list of medical conditions that we consider severe enough that it prevents a person from doing substantial gainful activity. If your condition is not on the list, we have to decide if it is as severe as a medical condition that is on the list. If it is, we will find that you are disabled. If it is not, we then go to Step 4.
We have two initiatives designed to expedite our processing of new disability claims:
- Compassionate Allowances: Certain cases that usually qualify for disability can be allowed as soon as the diagnosis is confirmed. Examples include acute leukemia, Lou Gehrigs disease , and pancreatic cancer.
- Quick Disability Determinations: We use sophisticated computer screening to identify cases with a high probability of allowance.
For more information about our disability claims process, visit our Benefits For People With Disabilities website.
A Claims Representative Will Evaluate Non
Whether you are filing an SSDI disability claim, SSI disability claim, or both types of claims, a trained claims representative from the Social Security Administration will review your application for non-medical eligibility. In fact, this review typically comes before any medical review. In other words, the reviewer will make sure you meet all relevant financial and legal requirements.
Assuming you do meet all of the non-medical requirements, then your claim will advance to the next level of review. At this point in the process, the medical evidence or disability-related evidence you submitted as part of your application will then be reviewed to ensure you also meet the medical standards. Only when all requirements are satisfied will disability benefits be approved.
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