Claimants frequently ask if Social Security Disability Insurance is a long-term disability program that they can expect to get indefinitely or if it is a program that awards cash benefits for a set period of time.

Social Security Disability Insurance is only awarded to qualifying claimants who have worked enough, paid enough in employment taxes and who can prove that their condition is expected to last for at least 12 continuous months. It can also be very difficult to get; some claimants fight for SSDI benefit for up to 2 years.

For this reason, it is best to think of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as a permanent disability program which is offered primarily to workers who do not expect to return to full-time employment.

With this said, however, there are many medical breakthroughs and advancements in technology that can help many claimants improve to such a degree that they may be able to return to work.

If you are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance and you would like to attempt to reenter the work force, the Social Security Administration has several programs (i.e. Trial Work Period) that can help you do that while continuing to receive Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicare benefits.

Never return to work without talking to the Social Security Administration first. Many disability claimants are hesitant to do this, but the Social Security Administration can help ensure that you get your Social Security Disability Insurance benefits as long as possible while you are making your work attempt.

Can I lose my Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits?

As mentioned above, SSDI benefits may be given to claimants as long as they unable to return to full-time employment, but there are several reasons that the SSA may no longer consider you disabled. Social Security Disability Insurance may be terminated if a claimant:

• Returns to work and begins to perform substantial gainful activity for longer than is allowed under the Trial Work Period.
• The Social Security Administration determines a claimant is no longer disabled after performing a Continuing Disability Review
• The claimant reaches their full retirement age. At this point their Social Security Disability Insurance benefit is automatically converted to a retirement benefit. Claimants will not receive Social Security Disability Insurance and SSA retirement benefits simultaneously.

What can I do to ensure I keep my Social Security Disability Insurance?

There are certain mistakes that claimants make that can jeopardize their SSDI benefits. As mentioned above, some claimants simply do not understand how much they can work or how the Trial Work Program works and they return to work and make too much money.

Other claimants stop getting adequate medical care or following their doctors prescribed treatment plan, which can jeopardize their benefits during the Continuing Disability Review.

Most claimants, however, who continue to get adequate medical care and who do not begin working too much or making too much earned income, can continue to get SSDI benefits until they reach their full retirement age or they are able to return to substantial gainful employment.

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For example, if the custodial parent is unable to provide the financial support that the noncustodial parent enjoys, the assumption made by the court is that the noncustodial parent is responsible for paying an amount of child support that reflects their lifestyle. The courts often award child support as a percentage of the noncustodial parent’s income.

Child support may have to be paid by either the mother or the father and payments are made on a monthly basis. The optimum method of child support collection is done by payroll deduction prior to the parent receiving their wage. This type of payment structure has eliminated some of the law enforcement efforts that tend to be costly and time consuming.

How is child support paid if the paying parent is on SSA disability?

Many claimants want to know what will happen to their child support payments if the noncustodial parent becomes disabled and no longer has an earned income from employment, but is instead, relies on the Federal Government each month for financial support through either Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance. Whether or not your ex-spouse or partner’s disability benefits will be garnished for child support will depend on what type of disability payment they are receiving.

• Social Security Disability Insurance

According to Social Security Ruling 79-4, “the Social Security Administration can withhold a percentage of a claimant’s Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI benefits in an amount equal to what SSA could withhold to pay delinquent income tax debt.”

Prior to withholding any type of payment the Social Security Administration should notify the claimant 60 days in advance. So if your ex-spouse or partner is receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits the amount of payment could be reduced by the courts, especially if the monthly amount of SSDI benefits they are receiving is substantially lower than their prior wages, but you should continue to receive some type of child support payment.

• Supplemental Security Income Benefits

Unfortunately, if your ex-spouse or partner does not qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance, which means that they have not been working and paying employment taxes and are not “insured” for SSDI benefits, assuming they are determined disabled by the Social Security Administration they will only be entitled to receive Supplemental Security Income (assuming they meet the income and resources requirements for SSI).

Supplemental Security Income is not generally seized for child support. The Supplemental Security Income payment is considered a “public welfare benefit” and is not derived from the claimant’s earnings record. Supplemental Security income is similar to other public benefits that are not seized such as food stamps.

So to answer the question, if your ex-spouse is receiving Social Security Disability Insurance, although the amount of child support paid may be reduced by the court, you should still receive some type of payment. If your ex-spouse is receiving Supplemental Security Income, you may not receive child support.

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 I Worked for years but did not apply in time for Social Security

Claimants who have worked for many years, sometimes “paying into the system” for twenty or thirty years, but who stop working and wait too long, are generally the most upset. If you worked and paid employment taxes for years you may have been under the assumption that disability was similar to retirement benefits and at any time you could apply and automatically receive your Social Security Administration disability payments.

Unfortunately, that is not how the system works. According to the Social Security Administration, in 2012, you earn one credit for each $1,130 of wages or self-employment income. When you’ve earned $4,520, you’ve earned your four credits for the year. The amount of work credits you will need to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance will vary based on your age when you become disabled, but most claimants will need 40 work credits to qualify.

The catcher and it’s a big one is that “20 of the work credits you earn must be in the last 10 years ending with the year you became disabled.” So for example, if you are 54 years of age you will need 32 work credits to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and 20 of those must be earned in the 10 years before you became disabled.

Maybe you quit working 10 years ago and all of your work credits are too old. What are your options? You will have to find out what your date last insured was and see if you have medical evidence to prove you became disabled prior to this date. Talk to a disability lawyer for more information if you need help.

I have never worked. Can I get SSDI benefits?

Other claimants who are denied Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are generally those who have worked sporadically over the years, never earning much and never paying into the Social Security Administration system. The fact that these claimants are expecting to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance is a little more surprising, but it happens.

If you have not worked and have not paid taxes you will not qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

What are my disability options?

For the first set of claimants who have not earned work credits recently enough or who are lacking just a few work credits, ideally, they would be able to return to work for a few years and generate enough work credits to qualify. They could also, as mentioned above, work with a disability lawyer to prove their disability started prior to their date last insured (DLI).

Claimants who have never worked will have to apply for Supplemental Security Income benefits.

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Doctors do not have to fill out any forms or provide a note for your SSDI or SSI claim but what they include in your medical record (or do not include) can affect your chances to win Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits.

What information should your doctor provide for your disability claim?

Although a doctor’s note that you are disabled may be useful, the most important form that your treating physician can complete for you is the Residual Functional Capacity Form or Ability to Work Activity Form.

What the Social Security Administration really wants to know to determine whether or not you are disabled, which is not provided by a note, is whether your condition leaves you with enough residual capacity to perform substantial gainful activity. The benefit of the Residual Functional Capacity Form is it clearly lists the limitations, both physical and mental, that you have from your disabilities.

Another benefit of the Residual Functional Capacity form is it allows the doctor to discuss why your condition limits you in specific areas.

A copy of the residual functional capacity form can be downloaded from the internet and taken to your doctor. Keep in mind, there are two different types of Residual Functional Capacity Form: physical and mental. If you have physical limitations be sure and use the physical Residual Functional Capacity Form which clearly outlines your physical limitations. Questions included on a physical RFC form include:

• How much weight can you life or carry?
• How long can you sit/stand/walk?
• How well can you use your hands?
• How well can you use your feet?
• Do you need a cane or assistance to ambulate?
• Do you have limitations in your postural activities?
• Do you have hearing or visual limitations?
• Do you have environmental limitations?
• Does the claimant have limitations in their daily activities of living?

All of the information provided by the doctor is very specific and it directly relates to the claimant’s ability to work sedentary, light, medium, or heavy work. With this information the Social Security Administration can clearly determine if you are able to work your past jobs, recent jobs or retrain for new work.

The mental residual capacity form will be similar to the physical form but it will detail limitations from your mental health condition.

What information should your doctor not provide for your disability case?

Frequently we are asked if your doctor has to “support” your Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income claim. It depends what you mean by the word support. Do they have to provide an RFC form? No, in fact, many doctors are simply too busy to be bothered with any paperwork for a Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income disability case.

If your doctor is unwilling to provide any information for your Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance case that may be fine, but if they have included any information in your file about how you are NOT disabled or that you could perform work, this could hurt your case. It may be time to find another doctor.

Why complete the Residual Capacity Form?

If you do not have enough medical documentation from your treating physician the Social Security Administration will send you to a consultative examiner who will complete a residual capacity form (either mental or physical depending on your condition). It is very important to have your own medical evidence to counter any claims made by the consultative examiner.

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What is Supplemental Security Income?

Supplemental Security Income benefits are offered to disabled, blind or aged claimants who are unable to work for at least twelve continuous months and who have very limited income and resources.

Deeming the Income from your Spouse

If a claimant marries a spouse and this spouse is not eligible for Supplemental Security Income payments the Social Security Administration “deems” part of their income to the claimant and makes the assumption that some of their income would be used for the claimant’s support. Like many rules from the Social Security Administration, deeming is a very complicated calculation and you need to contact the Social Security Administration directly for specific information about how your spouse’s income could affect your SSI benefits.

So to answer the question, yes, if your spouse makes too much money or if they bring resources into the marriage which raises your resource limit above what is allowed by the Social Security Administration, you could either be denied Supplemental Security Income, your SSI benefit could be reduced or your could lose your Supplemental Security Income benefit altogether.

What is Social Security Disability Insurance?

Everyone knows someone else who got married but their disability benefit was not affected. Many claimants do not realize that there are two different types of disability benefits offered by the Federal Government: Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance.

If you have worked, paid taxes, and earned work credits and become disabled by a severe mental or physical health condition which is expected to last for at least 12 continuous months you may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance.

The Social Security Administration determines disability using the same criteria for both programs so the main difference for determining whether you can receive Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance will be whether or not you have enough work credits to qualify for SSDI. Unfortunately, if you do not have enough work credits you will not be able to receive SSDI benefits and your only option will be Supplemental Security Income.

If you qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance the benefits are based on your work record, and the Social Security Administration does not consider your income or resources or the income and resources of your spouse. It will not matter if you marry or get divorced or whether your spouse makes a substantial amount of money, your Social Security Disability Insurance benefit will not change.

This does not seem fair to many claimants, but Supplemental Security Income is only offered to claimants who have very limited income and resources. Claimants did not “pay into” the SSI system and are not entitled to SSI benefits if they do not meet very specific criteria.

The Social Security Administration requests that claimants notify them if they go through a life event such as divorce, separation, marriage, birth of a child or spousal death. Failing to contact the SSA for certain life events could result in an over payment which you would be required to repay.

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Unfortunately, many claimants fail to take a few basic steps to simplify the process and make it much harder and longer than it has to be. For claimants who do not understand the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income process, who fail to ensure they meet the criteria established by the Social Security Administration or who fail to get proper medical care the process can be very long and difficult, often resulting in multiple disability denial decisions.

Five steps to simplify the disability process:

There are five basic steps that every disability claimant should take BEFORE applying for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits.

• Review websites and find out the difference between Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. Take one hour and read about what it means to be disabled, what you need to prove you are disabled and what criteria the Social Security Administration uses to analyze your condition.

• Do not wait for the Social Security Administration to send you to a doctor- they won’t. Yes, they may send you to a consultative examiner but this does not generally help your case. Claimants should seek continuous medical care for their mental and physical health condition and follow the prescribed treatment plan outlined by their doctor. Failure to see a doctor or follow the doctor’s plan will make it extremely difficult to win Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits.

• Get all of the proper documents together BEFORE you meet with the Social Security Administration. The SSA will need certain information to process your disability claim. This will include employment records, prescription information, birth certificate, marriage and dependent information, tax information, public benefit information, disability information, doctor’s information (names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of treatment).

•  Talk to a disability lawyer. Disability lawyers work on a contingency basis and they only get paid if a claimant wins their Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income case. Ask a disability lawyer the right questions to make sure you get disability as soon as possible.

•  Appeal denials within 60 days. Countless claimants apply over and over again. Not only do they fail to understand why they have been denied, they also fail to use the appeal process that the Social Security Administration has established for claimants. There are appeal levels within the disability process where claimants have a greater chance of being awarded benefits, especially at the Social Security Administrative hearing level. This is especially true if the claimant, who has been denied at the application level, takes the time to get more medical evidence to support their disability claim.

Does the disability process have to be difficult? Not if you follow these easy steps: make sure you understand the process and meet the outlined criteria for SSDI or SSI, provide the SSA with the right information, get great medical care and talk to a Social Security Disability lawyer.

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What does a Social Security Administration Representative Payee do?

If you have decided you need help managing your disability funds you can be assigned a representative payee. The representative, who is appointed by the Social Security Administration, has the legal authority to use the claimant’s benefits to pay for the “current and foreseeable needs of the beneficiary.” The representative payee’s duties can include:

• Maintaining savings accounts to meet the current and future needs of the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income claimant.
• Helping the claimant get proper medical treatment.
• Completing written report to account for fund management.
• Keeping records of how funds are spent.
• Notifying the Social Security Administration of major changes which affect the representative payee’s ability to do their job.
• Identifying the claimant’s financial needs.
• Returning funds that the claimant should not receive to the SSA.
• Notifying medical facilities of information.

Although many of the duties seem similar, if a person has been assigned power of attorney over a claimant this is not the same as a representative payee and the durable power of attorney does not automatically allow this person to manage the claimant’s SSDI or SSI funds. They would need to apply and be assigned as representative payee by the Social Security Administration.

Persons who wish to be a representative payee must contact the Social Security Administration, submit an application, Form SSA-11, documents verifying their identity and complete an in-person interview with the Social Security Administration.

What a Social Security Administration Representative Payee cannot do

The duties and responsibilities of the representative payee are clearly outlined and limited. Representative payees do not have the authority to perform any of the following:

• Sign legal documents for the claimant which are not sent by the Social Security Administration.
• Have control or manage funds that are not related to Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits: earned income, 401IK income, pensions, etc.
• Use the claimant’s money for their own personal use or use funds for non-necessary services that would leave the claimant without sufficient funds for food, medical care and housing.
• Move the claimant’s disability funds to their own bank account or another person’s bank account.
• Charge the claimant for the services they provide, unless authorized to do so by the Social Security Administration.
• Keep Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits that belong to the claimant after the representative payee’s duties have been terminated.

Who is assigned as a Social Security Administration Representative Payee?

Minor children and adults who are determined incompetent will automatically be assigned a representative payee. Other claimants who simply feel unable to manage their own Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits can also request a representative payee.

Claimants who do not request a representative payee will be assumed to be competent and able to manage their own Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income funds.

Other Issues Reported to the Social Security Administration

Finally, the representative payee must communicate with the Social Security Administration in the event that the claimant dies, moves, marries or starts working (even for limited income). They also must report if the claimant’s health improves or the claimant receives additional government funds. The payee also must tell the SSA if the claimant has been committed to an institution, sentenced for a crime, leaves the U.S. for more than 30 days, gets custody of a child or if the representative payee decides they can no longer provide their services to the claimant.

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Today we will talk about five easy steps that EVERY claimant should follow to make sure their Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is processed as quickly as possible.

Give the Social Security Administration accurate information.

Surprisingly, SSI and SSDI claimants complete disability applications and submit it to the Social Security Administration with missing or inaccurate information. Medical evidence is used to make your disability determination so if the doctor’s name, address or phone number is inaccurate or missing, this will delay your disability application

Get good medical care to document the severity of your condition.

Given the current state of medicine in America this is difficult for many disability claimants but absolutely necessary. We get a lot of questions on our forum about whether or not it is possible to win Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits without seeing doctor, and it may be possible, but it is VERY improbable.

Understand the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income disability process.

Do you know what the SSA considers a disability? Do you know how long you must be disabled? Do you know what the SSA Listing of Impairments is and whether not your disability is on this list? Surprisingly, many disability claimants do little to no research before applying for SSI or SSDI benefits. Take one hour and review our website www.socialsecurityhome.com or the SSA website www.ssa.gov for the answers to your disability questions.

Talk to a disability lawyer.

Do you have to have a disability lawyer to win disability benefits? No, many claimants win SSI and SSDI benefits without legal help, but disability lawyers help thousands of claimants each year and will expedite your disability case at every step of the disability process.

Follow-up with the Social Security Administration.

I hear from claimants every day who filed an application six months or a year ago (maybe 2 years ago) and have heard nothing about their claim. There claim may have been denied months ago but they have no idea of the status of their disability application. It will take the SSA 90 to 100 days to process a disability claim, but if you have not heard from the Social Security Administration within 100 days, call them and find out what YOU can do to help move the process along. Do not hassle the Social Security Administration but DO be proactive when it comes to getting your SSI or SSDI claim approved.

Although some SSI or SSDI claimants do have to wait up to 2 years to win Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits, most claimants who understand the process, who provide great medical documentation, who talk to a disability lawyer and who proactively work WITH and not AGAINST the SSA, will eventually have their disability benefits approved

If you have a severe health condition which does not allow you to work and you meet the requirements of SSDI or SSI, it is time to talk to a disability lawyer. Fill out the FREE evaluation form and a disability lawyer’s office will contact you for a free disability consultation and discuss how to speed up your disability application.

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Eligibility for SSI depends largely on two factors: your income and your resources.  Income refers to money you get as wages from a job, other Social Security benefits and any retirement or pension fund payments you receive.  Resources refer to things you own such as real estate, cash on hand, stocks and bonds you own, and money in bank accounts.

SSI benefits can be paid retroactively, going back to the date you originally filed your claim, if approved. If you are approved for this retroactive pay, you will be paid in installments, rather than getting one lump sum check.  Many people have reported they have had payments deposited into their bank accounts even before the official notice they are getting them arrives. Usually, a claimant will receive their first payment around 60 days of approval.

How far back your back pay goes depends mostly on two factors: How long your claim has been pending, and the date determined for the onset, or beginning of your disability. For SSI claims, you will receive installments equal to three months of the maximum SSI benefit you’re due when your claim is processed. Six months from your first installment you are issued another three months’ worth, and at the year mark the final installment is paid.

Although there is a five month waiting period on Social Security Disability Insurance claims, which means that after you’ve been approved the SSA effectively eliminates your first five months of benefits. There is not a waiting period for SSI benefits.

In 2006 President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act, requiring that past due SSI benefits that exceed three times the maximum monthly benefit (the federal benefit rate plus the state supplementary payment amount, if it applies) payable to claimants must be paid in up to three installments, six months apart. The law also limits the amount of the first two installments to three times the maximum monthly benefit.  The rest owed to you would be paid in the third installment.

The amounts paid in the installments may be increased in certain cases, such as when an individual has outstanding debt relating to food, shelter, clothing, or has certain medical needs. A qualified and experience Social Security disability attorney can help you make sense of the requirements, and help you get the money you need.

If, for some reason your claim for SSI benefits is rejected, you have 60 days to file an appeal. If you are then approved, the beginning of the back payments will be retroactive to the date you filed your first claim. If you don’t file an appeal within 60 days and refile a claim, the back payments will begin based on the second filing date, discounting the initial filing date altogether.

If your Social Security Disability application is reviewed by a Social Security disability examiner or an Administrative Law Judge they will use three basic criteria to determine if you are disabled. First, do you have a mental or physical condition that is substantiated through medical documentation? Second, is your condition so severe that it prevents you from performing substantial gainful activity? Third, is your mental or physical health condition expected to last for at least 12 months or result in your death?

The disability examiner will specifically use what the Social Security Administration calls the Sequential Evaluation Process to determine if you are disabled.

STEP 1: Are you working?

If a claimant is working and the Social Security Administration determines it is “substantial work” the Social Security Disability claim is automatically denied without a review of the claimant’s mental or physical health condition.

STEP 2: Do you have a severe impairment?

If a claimant’s condition is not severe and does not affect their functional ability to work the claimant is denied Social Security Disability benefits.

STEP 3: Does the impairment equal or exceed an impairment listed in the guidelines?

The Social Security Administration has a list of impairments which they consider severe and if a claimant’s condition equals or exceeds the listing the claimant is automatically awarded Social Security Disability benefits.

Now you may be curious about the question of functional capacity to perform work and how it is factored into the Social Security Disability decision. Until Step 4 of the sequential analysis, functional work capacity is not considered, but at Step 4 it is the most important consideration that the disability examiner will consider when awarding disability benefits.

STEP 4: Are you able to do your past employment?

The disability examiner will review all of the relevant jobs a claimant has performed over the past 15 years and determine if the claimant has enough “residual work capacity” to perform their past job or a similar job. If the disability examiner determines you are not substantially limited by your mental or physical health condition and you can perform past work, you will be denied Social Security Disability benefits.

STEP 5: Is there any other lighter work you can do?

The disability examiner will assess a claimant’s physical abilities which include the nature and extent of the claimant’s limitations and their ability to work a job on a continuing and regular basis. Physical limitations can include the inability to: sit, stand, walk, lift, carry, push, pull, stoop, reach, crouch or manipulate objects. The mental abilities of the claimant are also evaluated including their inability to: understand, remember, carry out instructions, respond to supervisors or adapt to a work setting.

The Social Security Administration does not decide disability based on functional capacity alone in fact, there are a variety of vocational factors which are also considered such as a claimant’s age, educational level and work history. The most important consideration for claimants, however, is not what type of disability they have been diagnosed with but whether or not their condition(s) are severe and leave them with so little residual functional capacity to work that the claimant is unable to perform substantial gainful activity.