Disability Topics

Free Disability Evaluation

Disability Benefits

Who Can Get Disability

The Earnings Requirement

Rules for "Recent Work"

Apply for Disability Benefits

When You Should Apply

Benefit Topics

Social Security and Retirement

Qualify for Retirement Benefits

How Much are Benefits

Full Retirement Age

Early Retirements

Delayed Retirement

Survivors Topics

Survivors Insurance

Earn Survivors Insurance

Surviving Divorced Spouse

How Much are Benefits

Applying for Benefits

What Will I Receive

Right to Appeal

SSI Topics

What is SSI

How Much Can You Get

How Do You Qualify

Rules You Must Meet

Medicare Topics

Hospital Insurance Part A

Medicare Insurance Part B

Medicare Advantage Part C

Medicare Prescription Part D

Disability Benefits

Disability and Social Security

Free Disability Evaluation

Disability

If you are a filing for Social Security Disability for the first time, then fill in the form below to get a FREE, NO OBLIGATION Evaluation from an advocate in your area.

The form below will put you in touch with the people you need to file for Disability as well as assist those who are reapplying or appealing a decision. If you have already applied on your own and have been denied, don't worry, usually more than 60% of the time people are denied on their first attempt. Put your mind at ease, just fill out the form and have a disability advocate help you get the benefits you deserve.

Disability Benefits

Disability is something most people do not like to think about. But the chances that you will become disabled probably are greater than you realize. Studies show that a 20-year-old worker has a 3 in 10 chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age.

This they website provides basic information on Social Security disability benefits and is not intended to answer all questions. For specific information about your situation, you should talk with a Social Security specialist or advocate.

The SSA pays disability benefits through two programs: the Social Security disability insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. This section is about the Social Security disability program.

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Who can get Social Security disability benefits?

Social Security pays benefits to people who cannot work because they have a medical condition that is expected to last at least one year or result in death. Federal law requires this very strict definition of disability. While some programs give money to people with partial disability or short-term disability, Social Security does not.

Certain family members of disabled workers also can receive money from Social Security.

How do I meet the earnings requirement for disability benefits?

In general, to get disability benefits, you must meet two different earnings tests:
1. A “recent work” test based on your age at the time you became disabled; and
2. A “duration of work” test to show that you worked long enough under Social Security.

Certain blind workers have to meet only the “duration of work” test.

The table below, shows the rules for how much work you need for the “recent work” test based on your age when your disability began. The rules in this table are based on the calendar quarter in which you turned or will turn a certain age.

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The calendar quarters are:

First Quarter: January 1 through March 31
Second Quarter: April 1 through June 30
Third Quarter: July 1 through September 30
Fourth Quarter: October 1 through December 31

Rules for work needed for the “recent work test”
If you become disabled...	Then you generally need:
In or before the quarter you turn age 24	1.5 years of work during the three-year period ending with the quarter your disability began.
In the quarter after you turn age 24 but before the quarter you turn age 31	Work during half the time for the period beginning with the quarter after you turned 21 and ending with the quarter you became disabled. Example: If you become disabled in the quarter you turned age 27, then you would need three years of work out of the six-year period ending with the quarter you became disabled.
In the quarter you turn age 31 or later	Work during five years out of the 10-year period ending with the quarter your disability began.

The following table shows examples of how much work you need to meet the “duration of work test” if you become disabled at various selected ages. For the “duration of work” test, your work does not have to fall within a certain period of time.

NOTE: This table does not cover all situations.

Examples of work needed for the “duration of work" test
If you become disabled...	Then you generally need:
Before age 28	1.5 years of work
Age 30	2 years
Age 34	3 years
Age 38	4 years
Age 42	5 years
Age 44	5.5 years
Age 46	6 years
Age 48	6.5 years
Age 50	7 years
Age 52	7.5 years
Age 54	8 years
Age 56	8.5 years
Age 58	9 years
Age 60	9.5 years

How do I apply for disability benefits?

There are two ways that you can apply for disability benefits.
You can:
    1. Fill out our form and have a Social Security Specialist or Advocate assist you in filing for disability; or
    2. Contact your local Social Security office or to set up an appointment for someone to take your claim over the telephone. The disability claims
        interview lasts about one hour. If you schedule an appointment, a Disability Starter Kit will be mailed to you. The Disability Starter Kit will help
        you get ready for your disability claims interview.

When should I apply and what information do I need?

You should apply for disability benefits as soon as you become disabled. It can take a long time to process an application for disability benefits (three to five months). To apply for disability benefits, you will need to complete an application for Social Security Benefits and the Disability Report. You also can print the Disability Report, complete it and return it to your local Social Security office. For faster service you may want to have one of our Social Security Specialist help in the filing process. This is some of the information that will be needed to get the process started.

The information they need includes:
    · Your Social Security number;
    · Your birth or baptismal certificate;
    · Names, addresses and phone numbers of the doctors, caseworkers, hospitals and clinics that took care of you and dates of your visits;
    · Names and dosage of all the medicine you take;
    · Medical records from your doctors, therapists, hospitals, clinics and caseworkers that you already have in your possession;
    · Laboratory and test results;
    · A summary of where you worked and the kind of work you did; and
    · A copy of your most recent W-2 Form (Wage and Tax Statement) or, if you are self-employed, your federal tax return for the past year.

In addition to the basic application for disability benefits, there are other forms you will need to fill out. One form collects information about your medical condition and how it affects your ability to work. Other forms give doctors, hospitals and other health care professionals who have treated you permission to send us information about your medical condition.

Do not delay applying for benefits if you cannot get all of this information together quickly. Let us help by having a Social Security Specialist in your area help in the filing process.