If You Have a Disability, Social Security Can Help
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: October 8, 2015
October is Disability Awareness Month. For Social Security, disability is always at the forefront of our conversations. We hear stories daily about Americans living with disabling conditions who need help from the system they contributed to during their working life. Their stories make us proud of the work we do.
Through our Faces and Facts of Disability website, we share the stories about what it means to receive disability benefits from Social Security. The site highlights some of the people who benefit from our programs. We believe that learning the facts and hearing peoples’ stories about disability allows for a better understanding of what’s perhaps the most misunderstood Social Security program.
The Social Security Act sets a very strict definition of disability. Social Security pays benefits to insured people who can’t work because they have a medical condition that is expected to last at least one year or result in death. The impairment must be so severe that it renders the person unable to perform not only his or her previous work, but also any other substantial work.
Social Security doesn’t provide temporary or partial disability benefits. Because the eligibility requirements are so strict, our disability beneficiaries are among the most severely impaired people in the country. Our new online resources, the state disability fact sheets and our national disability issue paper, provide specific information about our recipients’ demographics by state and congressional district. These resources are proof of Social Security’s economic impact and benefit to our most vulnerable citizens.
Disability is something we don’t like to think about, or we may think it can’t happen to us. But the odds of becoming disabled are greater than we realize. The Social Security disability program excels in providing services to people when they need it the most.
For us, disability has faces and names — among them Larry, Kiera, Ebbie, Charlotte, Jamie, and Christine. We want to invite you to come see their faces, and learn the facts. They are truly at the heart of what we do.
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Tags: Disability, SSA
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Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications
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Lenny
If I apply for SSD online and SSI and RSDI a few months later. How many decision notices/letters should I be receiving in total?
Derek R.
I forgot to mention that I’ve been divorced for over 12 years. I live alone & i have multiple health problems.My x wife has remarried & moved on.I just want to know just what i am entitled to.The pension application is from “I AM National Pension funds.
Araminta T.
I need some advice for my daughter. She had just been awarded SSDI for lupus which has hospitalised in ICU for over a week 5 times in as many years. Her spleen and liver are most affected and she needs blood transfusions to build up red and white cells and platelets. She has no insurance as she has had no income, from being too ill to work. She has been told she does not qualify for medicaid. Her only income will be a little over $800 per month. Renting an apartment or small house (splitting the rent and costs) will take more than half of her monthly payment. She has no car as she cannot drive. So must live where there is public transport. Her foodstamps were cut from $200 per month to $16 per month when the SSDI was awarded.
My main worry is how does she get the medical care she needs? She got so sick the last 2 times because she could not afford to see a specialist and buy the medicines she needs to stop her immune system from attacking her body.
What is the recourse for person on SSDI to get regular health care?
R.F.
Hi Araminta. In some cases, disabled individuals can be eligible to receive social services from the state in which they live. You can get information about services in your area from your local social services office. Or, you can visit the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) web page for more information. We hope this information helps.
Allison
I will be having a brain tumor removed with six months expected down time. Looks like I will not be able to collect anything because it won’t be a year correct? I am 63 and I didn’t want to draw my social security yet but I guess I will have too pay my bills. I have a recovering alcoholic friend who receives, reduced housing, food stamps and hundreds of dollars every month. He works under the table and goes shopping at Woodcraft every weekend after getting paid cash. He buys what I only dream of. Just isn’t right. But no one said life is fair.
R.F.
Hi Allison. Yes, disability benefits are paid to people under their full retirement age who are unable to work because of a medical condition that is expected to last one year or more or end in death. However, if you think you are disabled, and you are not sure how long you will be out of work, you can apply for both Retirement and Disability benefits at the same time. We will process your application for disability and we can begin paying retirement benefits, while we wait for a medical determination. Click here to see what you can do online. For more information, please contact your local office, or call us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Generally, you will have a shorter wait time if you call later in the week. We hope this information helps.
KING
When I was a child my families life was turned upside-down by my father’s disability. We struggled the entire time my father was unable to work, although we were always affected by my father’s injuries financially and emotionally, eventually another WORK related injury made his initial WORK related injury so bad he was unable to… well, work. Medical bills and medication costs dug a hole in my parents wallet and credit that made growing up a painful experience.
When he eventually passed away, due to a faulty drug, the aid we received was too little too late. I lost my father, my childhood home, my sanity, and hope in the future due to the waiting process and constant denials… When is enough enough? There is no excuse for this.
Many individuals lose too many years and copious amounts of money to the snails pace and constant denials this system is notorious for. I know there isn’t much I can do about it and I’m sure everyone involved with this system is more than well aware of these problems. However, I share my story in hopes it inspires someone to work towards a solution.
Not everyone has enough time to wait for a judge to approve a case. Some judges are best known for their low approval rates. According to our lawyer, we were stuck with one of the worst.
I know these aren’t the kind of stories you want on your website, but I have to say something because ten years later, I still harbor a great deal of animosity towards this unjust and untimely system.
This wasn’t a case of “not being disabled enough” it was blatant and willful neglect on our judges part. His doctor of TEN YEARS was the one who was on our side. He had a pinched nerve and a slipped disk with visual proof in an MRI or X-RAY. It wasn’t bad enough to warrant surgery yet how could we pay for the medication he needed (even with insurance the cost was too much) he suffered from sciatic nerve pain. He was recommended not to sit or stand for more than six hours at a time by his doctor, so why did the judge keep saying he could work? He was a physical laborer his whole life and didn’t understand computers. Unacceptable.
My teenage angst turned into a debilitating mental illness after I couldn’t wake my dad up one day….. Now I too am disabled as a result, yet I refuse to be another case that causes another family to suffer through the waiting that drained me of all hope and happiness in my youth. Nothing can bring my father back or give me back my adolescence, but someone can make sure that neglectful courts are held accountable for their poor judgments and that nobody ever has to go through this soul-sucking waiting game again. (honestly a single payer health care system would be a lot more efficient on protecting the citizens of the USA from this kind of injustice… in my case, I likely wouldn’t of been able to avoid the trauma of my father’s death – but I wouldn’t have to struggle as I do to get the mental health care I need today.)
Thanks for the time it took to read this *if anyone did and I hope you all have a wonderful day.
Sue B.
I have filed for disability for myself and my child and we were both denied. I have filed for a reconsideration determination because I have fibromyalgia and depression and lymes disease. The excruciating pain I feel on a daily basis makes life unbearable at times. I honestly wish sometimes that the people who decide these applications can for a fraction of a second feel what I feel and still decide that I’m not disabled enough. My depression keeps me withdrawn from the world because I can’t stand being around people. My daughter was sexually abused by her father and now suffers from PTSD, depression, ADD, and ODD. She is 16 years old but she is not mentally mature enough to care for herself but yet the people who make the decisions feel that she is not disabled enough. I have been out of work for just over a year. My husband is the only one working and his income is not enough. We are on the verge of losing our home. We have lost two vehicles to repossession already about to lose our third… How much more disabled does someone have to be?
KING
Utilize any government program you can, contact 311 for help with bills – they should be able to provide you with resources that could at least temporarily keep you from losing anything else. Most importantly, don’t lose hope – maybe look into support groups, if any exist…. Hang in there, these things are notorious for being slow.
David
“She is 16 years old but she is not mentally mature enough to care for herself but yet the people who make the decisions feel that she is not disabled enough.”
The fact is: your 16 year old daughter has not built up ANY work credits to qualify for SSDI. This is an insurance program that you have to pay into. Your 16 year old is entitled to nothing but SSI; which is a needs based benefit which you would unlikely qualify for because your husband is working.
Furthermore, it looks like this place needs a little brutal honesty. This is the truth, and I am really not trying to make anybody feel bad; however, if you can perform ANY kind of work, you are not considered disabled. That means, telemarketing, door greeter, food critic, anything. Also, do not throw an adjective before your condition. No one at SSA cares if you say it, it means nothing. Words like: severe, extremely, or major are unnecessary, and nobody cares. The question is, do you qualify under the rules and regulations set forth by SSA; the answer for many of you is unfortunately “no.” Some of these stories I am reading here are just blatant fantasies; not all, but some.
Angelo K.
Would you be considering exchanging links?
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Head-Soccer-Cheats-And-Hack/1401095683509651
Ayako T.
It’s great of you to tell your side of the story. Love it.
http://tinyurl.com/zxdmxwe
Lenny
If I apply for SSD online will my medical determination be the same for later applications for SSI and RSDI? or are they different programs with different medical determinations.
R.F.
Thanks for your question Lenny. Generally, when you apply for disability benefits, we take applications for both the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. We use the same medical determination for both of these programs. RSDI refers to the Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits paid to workers, their dependents, and survivors. Remember that once you complete the online disability application, you will still need to complete your Supplemental Security Information (SSI) application at your local office. Please call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday to have one of our representatives schedule an appointment for you with your local office to complete your SSI application.
Lenny
What if I submit my work activity report and it revealed that I earned over the maximum amount to qualify for SSI, will I still have to go to my local office to complete a SSI application? What will happen next?
D.B.
Hi Lenny. The decision to file an SSI application, despite your earnings amount, is up to you. You can apply in person at your local office or you can call our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213, to schedule a telephone appointment.
Kathryn T.
Ssi disability is a joke.People who need it don’t get it and people who don’t need it or even deserve it get it. Way to much fraud. Makes me SICK.