Tell me about qualifying for disability

[copzgirl1171]

Are you looking at a work disability or SSI?

[copzgirl1171]

You would first need to go to her local social security office and file. They would then send releases to all of her doctors for her records and their recommendations.

We were told by the neuro in no uncertain terms that DH could not work, so we kind of had the cart before the horse since he knew that DH needed disability. I would recommend getting her neuro on board if you can, it will make things easier if they know she is applying.

It is a difficult process that involves a lot of follow through and keeping up with things.

Most people are denied the first time. DH was not and it only took 6 weeks for him to be approved, something that everyone in the SS office even said was amazing (but DH's last MRI showed a huge deficit and "dead" area). It is really important to stay on it and do EVERY little thing they require of you/her.

They want people to fail on the follow through and make it as hard as possible for things. Just make sure to keep copies of every single thing and record dates and times of phone calls and who you spoke with

[arborgold]

Ditto in that they want to make it INCREDIBLY hard for people. My mother has been on SS disability since I was about seven due to disabling mental health issues. Occasionally she's reviewed, and then denied, and then there's panic, but then her psychiatrist will file another letter indicating just how impossible it would be for her to work and she's approved again.

And ditto copz about keeping copies and records of EVERYTHING.

[Deleted]

One is need based (SSI) and one is based on your quarters of coverage (SSDI.)

The first step is applying at the local office. If she gets denied, she has certain rights of appeal and can get a hearing before an administrative judge if she makes it that far in terms of being denied, then she can appeal once more to the agency and then it can go to court if necessary. My advice would be to apply, and if she gets denied I'd contact a SS attorney (they take a percentage of the payments, but there's a cap) at that point in time to help gather the records, etc. Whether she gets approved or not will depend on a variety of factors, including unfortunately who reviews her application.

As to how long it will take.....anyones guess. She could hear back relatively quickly, and it could take years for the process to shake out. If she has to go through all the appeals it will take longer. We are doing a lot of hiring to help with the workload but there is still a backlog of cases that have to be worked through - and applications have been high the past few years.

[Deleted]

Also, I can tell you that there is not really this sense, at least at my level of trying to screw over the claimants by making the process as hard as possible. But when you have thousands of applications a year, yeah, you have to have an involved process because SS literally cannot afford to pay everyone who applies. And a lot of people apply just to see if they will get it when they don't need it (such as my sister, who was denied.). It's a tough line to walk - making sure everyone gets it who needs it buy trying to limit the abuse.

[karinothing]

Jun 19, 2012 8:23:58 GMT -5 @mrsbecky07 said:

One is need based (SSI) and one is based on your quarters of coverage (SSDI.)

The first step is applying at the local office. If she gets denied, she has certain rights of appeal and can get a hearing before an administrative judge if she makes it that far in terms of being denied, then she can appeal once more to the agency and then it can go to court if necessary. My advice would be to apply, and if she gets denied I'd contact a SS attorney (they take a percentage of the payments, but there's a cap) at that point in time to help gather the records, etc. Whether she gets approved or not will depend on a variety of factors, including unfortunately who reviews her application.

As to how long it will take.....anyones guess. She could hear back relatively quickly, and it could take years for the process to shake out. If she has to go through all the appeals it will take longer. We are doing a lot of hiring to help with the workload but there is still a backlog of cases that have to be worked through - and applications have been high the past few years.

I want to ditto all this. I want to add that while you can't force the Dr. to write any specific it would be hugely helpful if the Dr. would give your mom specific work limitations explaning why she can't work vs. just saying "she can't work." If that makes sense. You may also want to get a note from her employer indicating her decrease in functioning at work.

If she is close to retirement can she just take retirement early?

Note, she can't just continue to work while filing for disability (assuming she makes more than 1K per month). She is going to have to quit and not work during the time she is applying (and yes this could take years, so if she is still able to work it is probably best to continue doing so, since she likely needs income).

ETA: Oh and to ditto what Becky said. It isn't that SS is purposely trying to deny people. It is just our standard of disability is high. Our standard is that a person can't work ANY job in the national economy not just their current job. If you can go work staring at a security camera all day, then you aren't disabled even if you were a neurosurgeon before.

[copzgirl1171]

If she is approved after a certain amount of time she still has the ability to earn a little extra income via a part time job or the like. I "think" $600 a month is the cap.

DH has a small part time job where he can use his wheelchair and tracks his income so he never goes over

[karinothing]

Jun 19, 2012 8:32:39 GMT -5 @copzgirl1171 said:

If she is approved after a certain amount of time she still has the ability to earn a little extra income via a part time job or the like. I "think" $600 a month is the cap.

DH has a small part time job where he can use his wheelchair and tracks his income so he never goes over

I believe it is 1K now (at least I know 1K is the cap for when you don't qualify for disability due to earnings).

[apples21]

Jun 19, 2012 8:23:58 GMT -5 @mrsbecky07 said:

One is need based (SSI) and one is based on your quarters of coverage (SSDI.)

The first step is applying at the local office. If she gets denied, she has certain rights of appeal and can get a hearing before an administrative judge if she makes it that far in terms of being denied, then she can appeal once more to the agency and then it can go to court if necessary. My advice would be to apply, and if she gets denied I'd contact a SS attorney (they take a percentage of the payments, but there's a cap) at that point in time to help gather the records, etc. Whether she gets approved or not will depend on a variety of factors, including unfortunately who reviews her application.

As to how long it will take.....anyones guess. She could hear back relatively quickly, and it could take years for the process to shake out. If she has to go through all the appeals it will take longer. We are doing a lot of hiring to help with the workload but there is still a backlog of cases that have to be worked through - and applications have been high the past few years.

all I have to add is if she does end up getting an attorney, do only after she was denied at least once, also discuss with them what they will be doing for her before she signs anything stating that they will be representing her. There are some out there who do absolutely nothing, but make sure that they are going to get paid if approved in the first couple stages of the process.