In the United States the Federal Government are responsible for administering Social Security retirement benefits as well as Social Security disability insurance, normally referred to simply as SSDI. SSDI is designed to provide a monthly cash benefit to those who are disabled, either physically or mentally, to the point where they are no longer capable of doing any significant work and earn a living.
The eligibility requirements:
Retirement benefits are almost always granted, this is not so with SSDI. For an applicant for disability benefits to be approved, he or she must have worked long enough and paid Social Security tax and earned a specific number of what are called “work credits.” It is possible to get a maximum of four work credits in a calendar year. In the event your disability begins before you have earned sufficient work credits you can apply for Supplementary Security Income but to do so you must be a low income earner and have minimum assets. The rules and laws that apply to Social Security are very complex and to even determine if you are eligible or not you should consider speaking with a Social Security lawyer in Evanston.
Work credits:
Work credits are the key issue when applying for SSDI. The age when you became disabled is that which is used to determine how many work credits you must have to be considered for benefits; if you became disabled when you were 50 as a simple example; the matrix used by the Social Security Administration shows that you need at least 28 credits. Knowing that the maximum number of credits that can be earned in a year is four; then you will have had to work for seven years, furthermore, five of these years have to have been in the last seven years.
Medical eligibility:
As well as satisfying the work credit criteria you must prove a medical condition that meets the rules of Social Security. SSDI is not available for those who suffer from any condition; the condition must be sever, long term and total.
* If the disability interferes with your work it is considered severe.
* If it lasts 12 months it is considered long term
* If you cannot work for a year this is total disability
Approval:
Statistically nearly 75 percent of initial applications for SSDI benefits are refused, the chances of approve improve considerably when you use a Social Security lawyer in Evanston to guide you. If you get approval you will see the benefits begin in five months from the date of approval, if you do not get approved you and your lawyer will be faced with making appeals. The appeal process may take several months but when you finally do get approval you will get back pay retroactive back to the date when you first applied.
Social Security rules and laws are extremely complex, rarely will a layperson be able to understand and comprehend them hence the need for a Social Security lawyer in Evanston to help with and guide you through the process. You are invited to contact The Law Offices of Jeffrey A. Rabin & Associates, Ltd. Visit us online at www.hawkvw.com
