We Have The Answers To Common Questions Regarding Social Security And Veterans’ Disability Benefits

In order to be considered disabled, a Social Security disability applicant must be unable to engage in any substantial activity because of a physical or mental condition that is expected to last for at least 12 months or result in death. According to this definition of disability, it is not enough that you cannot do your current job. You must be unable to work in any job and meet the other requirements to receive Social Security disability.

The Social Security Administration Will Want to Know About Your Skills

In order to determine if you can do another job, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is going to examine your work skills. The agency may want to know if you have other skills that could transfer to other jobs. When considering the transferability of your skills, the SSA can only:

• Consider your skills from past relevant work that is semi-skilled or skilled.
• Transfer the skills to other semi-skilled or skilled work—not unskilled work.
• Determine the transferability of skills after taking the specific steps described in the agency’s transferability of skills analysis.

A transferability of skills analysis is one of the last steps in a Social Security disability determination, and it need not be completed for every Social Security disability applicant. Instead, the analysis only has to be done if it could make a difference in the outcome for an individual applicant. Transferable skills should be a vocational advantage when looking for a new job.

It is important that you understand transferability of skills and other factors related to your Social Security disability application before you apply for benefits. To learn more, please start a live chat with us today.

If you are blind, you should not have to worry that working for lower wages will impact how much you can receive in future Social Security disability benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) does not want to discourage you from working now. Accordingly, there is a policy in place that allows you to protect your future Social Security disability benefits.

The Disability Freeze

The policy that protects your future Social Security disability (and other) benefits is known as the “disability freeze.”  A disability freeze excludes the years that you earned lower wages because of your blindness from how your Social Security disability benefits are calculated. Thus, if there comes a time when you file for Social Security disability, the amount that you can earn will be based on your earnings before your income was impacted by your disability. In other words, the time when your wages were lower is considered “frozen” and is not considered when determining the amount of your monthly Social Security disability benefit.

But You Have to Take Action

A disability freeze does not happen automatically, and it is not something that the Social Security Administration will consider on its own. Instead, you need to contact the Social Security Administration now to request the disability freeze.

If you have any questions about your rights or you need help getting the Social Security disability benefits you deserve, please start a live chat with us today and schedule an initial meeting with one of our experienced Social Security disability lawyers.

Generally, the same rules apply to nonprofit or charitable organizations that apply to other employers. If you were employed by a nonprofit organization, you and your employer were both required to pay Social Security tax on your earnings. Your part of the Social Security tax should have been withheld from your paycheck and submitted to the government by your employer.

However, some religious groups oppose paying into the Social Security system, and the law allows them not to participate. If you worked for such an organization and earned more than $100 a year, you were required to pay into the Social Security system as if you were self-employed.

The Same Rules of Eligibility Apply

If you work for a nonprofit or a for-profit employer, then you may be eligible for Social Security disability as long as:

• You paid into the Social Security system for the required amount of time. You need to earn a certain number of work credits based on your age in order to collect benefits.
• You have a medical condition that is likely to last for 12 months or more or that is likely to be fatal. Some, but not all of these medical conditions are included in the Listing of Impairments. Your doctors’ evaluations and prognoses will be important in determining how long your condition is expected to last.
• Your medical condition makes you unable to work. Your doctors’ evaluations will also be important in determining whether or not you can work. Additionally, your work history, education and other factors will be relevant.

If you have any questions about your eligibility, please start a live chat with us today and schedule an initial consultation with one of our experienced Social Security disability lawyers.

Your Social Security disability application has been approved and you are momentarily relieved that you will be receiving benefits to help with the financial strain of being out of work due to your medical condition. However, you can’t help but wonder if and when the benefits will end.

There Is No Set Time When Your Disability Benefits Will Cease

Social Security disability is not awarded for a period of months or years. Instead, it is awarded indefinitely and until you no longer qualify.

Three of the most common causes for Social Security disability benefits to end include:

• You go back to work. If you earn a substantial income beyond a trial work period, you may be found ineligible for Social Security disability because your medical condition no longer prevents you from working.
• You reach retirement age. When you reach retirement age, you will no longer receive Social Security disability benefits, but you may be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits instead.
• Your condition results in your death. Social Security disability benefits end with the recipient’s death.

Once your Social Security disability application has been approved, it will be subject to regular continuing reviews. In most cases, these reviews occur every 3-7 years, but the Social Security Administration can decide to conduct them more frequently.

If you have any questions about your continued eligibility, it is important to take action quickly so you can protect your rights and keep getting the benefits you deserve. Please start a live chat with us today if you need more information about your specific continued eligibility for Social Security disability.

You are probably not eligible for Social Security disability based on the facts you provide in your question. Social Security disability is only intended for permanent disabilities, and if you can return to work in about six months then your condition will not be considered to be permanent.

Typically, in order to qualify Social Security disability you must either be:

• Expected to be out of work for one year or more from the date on which you apply for Social Security disability benefits; or
• Diagnosed with a terminal condition.

The time that you already missed from work is not relevant to this part of your application and the disability examiner should not consider that time when determining your eligibility for Social Security disability benefits.

That Doesn’t Mean It’s Time to Give Up

It does, however, mean it is time to think carefully about your doctor’s prognosis and to consider getting a second opinion. If you agree with your doctor and feel that you will be able to return to work within the year then Social Security disability is probably not for you. However, your doctor’s prognosis is really just an educated guess. If you believe that your condition will prevent you from working for more than a year beginning on the date on which you file for Social Security disability, or if you believe that the condition which is preventing you from working is terminal, then you should get a second opinion and consider a Social Security disability application.

For more information about Social Security disability eligibility, please read our FREE book, Social Security Disability: What You Need to Know.

Yes, you may be eligible for Social Security disability if your work history and medical condition meet the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) requirements for eligibility.

Usually, you must be unable to work for 12 months or have a condition that is likely to result in your death in order to be eligible for Social Security disability. Thus, if you have already been out of work for a year and you are expected to be out of work for at least one more year, then you may meet this element of eligibility.

However, You Still Need to Meet the Work History Requirements

The work history requirements can be confusing because they depend on your age and because the number of work credits that you need to qualify for Social Security disability can change from year to year. However, there are some general rules that you should know.

In order to qualify for Social Security disability you typically must…

• Have earned 40 work credits. You can usually earn up to four credits a year. Credits do not expire and some of your credits may have been earned many years ago.
• Have earned 20 work credits within the last ten years before you became disabled.

Of course, some exceptions to these general rules do apply. However, you should not let a year out of work due to a medical condition prevent you from applying for Social Security disability. Instead, you should find out the truth about your potential eligibility by reading our free Social Security Disability Fact Sheet.

Yes. Your parent should not go to any kind of medical appointment—including a consultative medical exam ordered by his Social Security disability examiner—without having an interpreter available. In order to benefit from the exam, your parent needs to understand what is happening and what the doctor recommends.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes three reasons why interpreters are important in the consultative medical exam process. Those reasons include:

• Making the SSA’s process more efficient
• Deterring fraud
• Making sure that applicants with limited English proficiency are treated fairly

Accordingly, it is important to know how to get the interpreter your loved one needs.

Who Is a Qualified Interpreter?

The SSA has specific requirements about the qualifications of a person who is serving as an interpreter for a Social Security disability applicant. Those qualifications include being able to:

• Read, write and speak fluently in English
• Read, write and speak fluently in the language of the applicant
• Provide an accurate interpretation of questions and responses by the applicant and the person performing the consultative exam. This includes not making inferences or asking independent follow up questions.
• Demonstrate basic familiarity with terms used in the disability determination process
• Comply with all Social Security confidentiality and disclosure requirements
• Demonstrate that there is no conflict of interest. Thus, an interpreter should not have a personal stake in the outcome of the case and may not be a beneficiary of the applicant.

An applicant may use his own interpreter, such as relative or friend, as long as that person is considered qualified by the SSA. Alternatively, an applicant may have an interpreter appointed for him. Either way, it is important to make sure that your parent has someone he trusts serving in this important role.

You are not alone. Many of our clients have physical conditions that require accommodations. As a law firm that has represented people in Social Security disability matters for more than three decades, we understand your needs and we are committed to helping you.

We Don’t Ever Want You to Worry That Your Disability Will be a Barrier to Working With Our Law Firm

To that end, our Social Security disability lawyers want you to know that:

• Our office is handicap accessible. People with all kinds of physical and other disabilities are able to come to our office.
• There is no office visit required to start your case. We can start your case after talking to you on the phone and getting the documentation we need. Thus, we may be able to get started without you leaving your home, hospital, or long-term care facility.
• We will schedule meetings for your comfort and convenience. If you need to testify before an Administrative Law Judge, we will work with you to meet your unique needs. For example, if you tire easily, we can have multiple, shorter meetings to prepare you to testify.

We are committed to providing the same quality representation to all of our clients, regardless of their unique disabilities. Additionally, we know that sometimes, it is not a disability that creates a barrier to seeking legal counsel, but rather something else. For that reason, we are able to provide information in Spanish and we are willing to make accommodations for clients with other needs.

To learn more about how we may be able to help you, please start a live chat with us today or call us directly at (214) 373-3761.

For purposes of Social Security disability, the sequential evaluation process means that the Social Security Administration (SSA) must answer a specific set of questions in a specific order to determine eligibility.

The set of questions consists of five inquiries. The adjudicator, or person deciding whether or not to approve the Social Security disability application, must answer the following questions in the order that they are provided below.

The Five Questions

In order to determine eligibility, the adjudicator must decide:

• First, is the applicant currently engaged in substantial gainful activity?
• Second, is the disability severe?
• Third, does the disability meet the requirements of a condition included in the Listing of Impairments? If not, is it substantially equal to such a listing?
• Fourth, can the applicant do any of his past relevant work?
• Fifth, can the applicant do any other kind of work?

While the questions must be answered in the order provided above, they may not all need to be answered. After each question the adjudicator has two options. He may decide that the applicant is disabled or that the applicant is not disabled. If the adjudicator finds that the applicant is disabled, the inquiry ends and the application should be approved. No additional questions have to be answered. However, if he does not find the applicant to be disabled then he must go on to the next question on the list in the order provided above.

If you have any questions about this process or how it might apply to you, please fill out our online contact form and we will contact you directly to answer your questions.

Generally, members of the public or the press may request information from a government agency, such as the SSA, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). However, there are exceptions to the FOIA rule and the SSA is not supposed to release personal information about living people to the public.

You Can Feel Confident Submitting Personal Information to the SSA

In order for the SSA to make a fair and accurate Social Security disability determination for you, the agency is going to need personal and sensitive information including, but not necessarily limited to:

• Your medical records, which may include your mental health records.
• Statements from your treating physicians, which may include your prognosis.
• Your work history, which may include your previous job responsibilities and the locations where you worked.

There are many reasons why you would not want this information released to the public or to an individual without your consent, and it is the SSA’s responsibility to safeguard your privacy.

Unless You Give Consent

If there is someone with whom you want to share your Social Security disability applicationor file, you have the right to provide your consent to have the information shared. This may include, for example, a doctor, social worker, or someone else. It is best to provide your limited consent in writing to the SSA. Additionally, if you have an authorized representative, such as an attorney, you may allow that person to access your records by filling out the correct SSA form, such as Form SSA-1696-U4.

If you know anyone else who is concerned about privacy during the Social Security disability application process, please share this FAQ with her so that she can better understand her rights.