How We Review Your Disability Benefits
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: April 14, 2016
When you receive disability benefits, Social Security will periodically conduct a review of your condition to make sure you still qualify for blind or disability benefits. With the right information, you can be prepared when this happens.
When your case comes up for review, we’ll send you a letter asking you to come to your local Social Security office. We’ll ask you about how your medical condition affects you and whether it’s improved. We’ll also ask you to bring information about your medical treatment and any work you have performed since Social Security decided you were disabled.
A disability examiner from your state’s Disability Determination Services will request reports from your medical providers, and will carefully review all the information in your case. If the medical evidence is not complete or current, we may ask you to have a medical exam at no cost to you.
Social Security conducts a disability review of your case approximately every three years depending on the nature and severity of your medical condition and whether it’s expected to improve. If we don’t expect improvement, we’ll review your case every seven years.
When we conduct a disability review, if we find that your medical condition hasn’t improved and is still preventing you from working, you’ll continue to receive benefits. Your benefits only stop if the evidence shows your medical condition has improved and you are able to work regularly.
If you disagree with our decision, you can appeal and ask us to look at your case again. When we notify you of our decision, we will explain how you can appeal that decision.
You can visit us online for more information, or read our publication What You Need to Know When You Get Social Security Disability Benefits.
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Tags: Disability
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Doug Walker, Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Deputy Commissioner, Office of Communications
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Thomas C.
I just tried to go to the link of what to know about disability benefits and came back as page not found. What’s going on ?
R.F.
Hi Thomas. If you are referring to our publication: “What You Need to Know When You Get Social Security Disability Benefits“, please try again. Also, you can visit our Disability Benefits web page for more information.
engineer k.
when I will be crs ate a social security number.
is it possible that I live in Bangladesh.
out site of U.S.
engineer k.
when I will be create social security bumper.
is it possible that I live in bangladesh.
thank all of you
Paul
After waiting almost 1200 days I had my ODAR hearing with Judge Ortis in the Baltimore Maryland office.
I still don’t know what the judgement is but I have got to say that the hearing started right on-time and during the 2 hour (!) interrogatory there wasn’t a single time that I felt patronized, belittled, or otherwise maltreated.
Although I was reaching my physical limitations- and Judge Ortis clearly noticed it- his professionalism carried things through with consistency and good nature.
For this, I give Judge Ortis an A+.
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Daphne O.
Does anyone understand the way your monthly benefit is calculated? The way I understood my letter was they took my last year pay that I applied for SSD. Well, I only worked 10 hours that January, was denied in March, hired an attorney, went to court June the following year. For 1.5 years I had absolutely no income other than the 10 hours in January. My benefit check (which is not a benefit, I worked and paid into that system) each month is less than what I made working those 10 hours! How is that right?
R.F.
For disability benefits, the amount an individual can receive depends on the amount on their average lifetime earnings when those earnings are insured under Social Security. For retirement, we use the highest 35 years of earnings to compute an individual’s benefit amount. You can create a my Social Security account to manage your retirement or disability benefits, review your earnings record, and the estimated Social Security and Medicare taxes you’ve paid. To get started, go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount/.
Marie
I am 7 months into my 9 month TWP (trial work period) through the Ticket To Work program, and I just received Continuing Disability Review forms in the mail. I had read in the Social Security Red Book that if an individual was a SSDI recipient, that an incentive to them during their trial work period was that a Disabililty Review could not be done?
Does anyone know?
Lindan
You are right unless a medical re exam was established or the review started before your Tiicket to Work. Let them know. They may not be aware of it unless you let them know.
Sheryl P.
After a 30 plus nursing career, high BP , 2 heart attcks with stent placement, type 2 diabetes, spinal stenosis, diverticulosis, charcot foot disease, scoliosis, asthma/copd, muscle weakness and unbelievable stabbing pain and numbness of feet. Denied disability twice. The company I hired just filed to have a hearing. Blessed that after my second heart attack my oldest daughter moved me to fl with her and her husband. I qualified for Food stamps $196 month but no medicaid. Try to eat heart healthy on that. My daughter buys med personal hygiene supplies, pays for my medications. I go to a clinic where my heart is being monitored by a NP who is thorough but she is not a cardiologist. My last job was with crackheads and malingerers who collect social security while they do and sell drugs. Must be nice. I have been working since the age of 16 and have to beg for help. I can no longer drive due to side effects of med for feet. So am pretty much homebound, depressed. Funny how I filed then waited 5 months was denied twice in 2 months but can up to a year to see a judge. This system is so broken and it’s so sad hard workers are treated like second class citizens. Illegal aliens get more than I do.
Lindan
I sympathize with you. Registered nurses are the one group Social Security seems to believe have transferable skills to sedentary or light work. This they get denied even if they had to lift patients etc in their past jobs.
Manuel S.
WHILE THERE ARE SO MANY OF YOU SEEKING TO GET SOCIAL SECURITY, SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS, SETTLEMENTS WE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND THAT SOCIAL SECURITY DOES NOT MEAN SUPPLEMENTAL SUPPORT FOR COMING DOWN WITH A MULTITUDE OF HEALTH DIAGNOSIS.
THE MAIN FACTORS TO SOCIAL SECURITY ARE THE WINDOW OF ELIGIBLITY, AND OUR AGE.
FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY IF YOU BECOME TOTALLY BLIND YOU MAY BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY. THE BENNFIT AMOUNT MAY VARY FROM CASE TO CASE TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION KEY FACTORS IN A GIVEN CASE SCENARIO.
IN GENERAL TERMS WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT SOCIAL SECURITY, AND SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENNEFTIS ARE NOT THERE FOR ONE SUDDENLY BECOMES UN-EMPLOYED OR UNABLE TO WORK.
FOR INDIVIDUALS STILL IN THE LABOR MARKET AND OF WORKING ABILITY SOCIAL SECUIRITY IS MAY NOT BE WITHIN REACH.
THIS INDIVIDUAL MAY REHABILITATE AND BE ABLE TO RETURN TO HIS USUAL OCCUPATION, IF NOT THEN RE-TRAINING INTO AN ADJUSTED OCCUPATION.
MY HEART, MIND, AND SOUL ARE WITH YOU ALL IN PRAYER.
THE LORD HAS GIVEN US THE ABILITY TO DO SOMETHING, IF THAT SOMETHING IS INTERRUPTED THEN THERE IS SOMETINH ELSE WE CAN DO.
RECENTLY I MET WITH ONE OF MY CLIENTS AND A STATE REHABILITATION COUNSELOR IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY.
MY CLIENT WAS LOOSING HER VISION, IN MULTIPLE TREATMENT PROCEEDURES. ON OUR WAY BACK TO OUR OFFICE THE CLIENT SAID TO ME HOW REMARKABLE IT WAS THAT HER COUNSELOR WAS FULLY BLINDED DUE TO AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT. HE REHABILITATED, WENT INTO A NRE CAREER, TAKING THE BUS TO WORK, GETTING SPECIAL VISION ENHANCEMENT EQUIPMENT, HAD TO LEARN BRAIL, AND HE WAS FUNCTIONING FULL CONFIDENT WITH HIS EQUIPMENT AND WHAT HE WAS DOING.
MY CLIENT WENT ON TO REHABILITATION, AFTER HER TREATMENTS REGAINED HER VISION AND WENT ON TO WORK FOR ANOTHER 15 YEARS.
HAD THIS CLIENT TAKEN A STEP BACKWARDS AND SAID ” I CANT DO THIS” SHE MAY NOT HAVE DONE IT. INSTEAD SHE WAS CONVINCED THAT IF HER COUNSELOR COULD DO IT ” SHE COULD DO IT ALSO” AND SHE DID IT.
IN THE MEAN TIME SHE ADDED CREDITS TO HER SOCIAL SECURITY WHICH WILL ENABLE HER TO GET HER FULL SOCIAL SECURITY BENNEFITS BASED ON HER EARNED CREDITS.
IF YOU ARE AT A DEAD END, SEEK PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING, AND YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE BOOKOO DOLLARS.
COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH OFFERS A FEE BASED ON A SLIDING SCALE, IF YOU ARE A VETERAN THEY CAN REFERR YOU TO A PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR AT NO COST TO YOU.
REACH OUT TO RESOURCES AROUND YOU AND YOU CAN BEGIN TO CONNECT WITH AN APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATION, OR SERVICE WHICH CAN GUIDE YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR YOUR SPECIFIC IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
I CAME HOME FROM THE VIETNAM WAR WITH A 100% DISABILITY; A FRACTURED SPINE, I WAS TOLD I WOULD NEVER WALK AGAIN, WITH TWO DAUGHTERS AND A WIFE TO SUPPORT I WAS DEVISTATED.
ONCE I WAS CONNECTED TO A VIABLE RESOURCE I LEARNED THAT THERE WAS NO REASON I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO WORK AGAIN. I WAS TOLD THAT SURGERY WAS THE ANSWER, THAT I WOULD HAVE TO FOLLOW MY
DOCTORS INSTRUCTIONS TO THE ” T ” , THEY BROUGHT ME A STACK OF CASES OF CLIENTS WITH THE SAME NATURE OF INJURY I HAD, THAT I WOULD NOT ONLY BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO WORK BUT THAT MY SPINE WOULD BE ABLE TO WITH STAND 9000 POUNDS PRESSURE AFTER SURGERY.
LET ME TELL YOU, I DID IT, I GOT MY SURGERY DONE IN 1986 AND I HAVE BEEN A PRODUCTIVE WORKER, WITH PTSD, DIABETIS, ASTHMA, CANCER, SLEEP ALNE, SCIATIC EPISODES ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AT AGE 70 NOW I AM READY TO RETIRE FROM STATE SERVICE THIS YEAR.
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE ROAD IS CLUTTERED WITH SO MANY BUMPS IN THE WAY SO WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO NAVIGATE AROUND THEM, AND SOMETIMES WITH THE AID OF PROFESSIONAL; BUT IT IS DO-ABLE.
I DO WISH YOU ALL ONLY THE BEST, AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO FOR IT!!!
QueenAmitiel
Thank You. GOD Bless you 🙂
Marianne
I have had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since age 11(now 29). Along with endometriosis, hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia, bilateral hip and knee replacements since age 12. I applied for disability before my first knee replacement which was 10 years ago and was NEVER denied like a lot of people, but now after 10 years, suddenly and over the last two years, I’m being reviewed constantly ever since I reported part-time (about 12 hrs a week) work and getting conflicting information from SS. This last time, somehow my multiple chronic autoimmune diseases are “magically” cured? I filed an appeal and haven’t heard back, meanwhile, my Medicare has been cut off and I’m forced to wait around in limbo, while I’m currently experiencing an RA flare for the last year pretty much and having trouble getting some of the meds I just started a couple weeks ago. I’ve tried calling and continue to be put on hold for over 30 mins only to get disconnected suddenly. I feel as though I’m being harassed and railroaded out of the system even though I’m not one of the people scamming the system. I’m just mind blown about the recent decision about my health because it’s physically impossible to be well enough to work full time. Did I mention the only reason I’m able to work at all is because I am a physical therapy aide at an indoor heated therapy pool where I use to pay to go to, and now get paid to be there with the added benefit of my own physical therapy which is crucial to keeping me moving at all.
Doc
Hello again, Sister. Shortly after I wrote to you I had to change my e-mail addsrse. Sorry. Is there a way I can write a personal letter to you??? Thank you for all that you do in the name of the Lord.